Plenty of exciting racing was had at Parap Pool last week as swimmers from across the Territory competed for championship glory

SWIMMERS from across the Territory and interstate competed in the 2021 Open and Age Championships to achieve personal bests and nationals qualification last week.

Action from the Open and Age Championships at Parap Pool. Picture: Zac Slack

SWIMMERS from across the Territory and interstate competed in the 2021 Open and Age Championships to achieve personal bests and nationals qualification last week.

The premier event of the Top End swimming calendar saw Parap Pool play host to 240 competitors with an extra 40 competing in the participation meet.

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Some of the Territory’s finest swimmers were on show, including Andrew Materazzo, who previously swam the fastest 100m freestyle time in Australia at the age of 14.

Materazzo, along with James Smith, Alison Culgan, Damian Culgan, Sienna Walo and 2021 ambassador Tia Hutton all qualified for nationals and will compete in the Australian Age Championships on the Gold Coast in April.

Swimming NT pathways manager Thomas Noblett was proud of the event’s success and particularly excited to see the six Territory swimmers qualify for nationals.

“The event ran really well with some awesome results and racing and plenty of personal bests all around,” Noblett told the NT News.

“It was awesome to have some of our racers come up from interstate and see six of our swimmers qualify for nationals.

“They have had their eyes on these nationals for a long time as a goal of theirs and have worked hard each week to qualify with up to nine sessions each week.

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“We were up in numbers from last year while down on interstate travellers which really shows the growth the sport has experienced up here.”