Locals named in huge NENW Speedo Sprint finals squad

Among their number are representatives from the Tamworth City Swimming Club, Swimming Gunnedah, 360 Scully Park Swimming Club, and Kootingal Moonbi Swimming Club.

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Graham Johnstone and John Hickey, who coach at the Kootingal and Gunnedah clubs respectively, are co-coaches of the NENW team and will travel to the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre this weekend.

While Johnstone is eager to see what the "great" squad from Kootingal can accomplish, he said the overall team is one of the best he has seen.

"It's probably the strongest squad we have ever sent to the Speedo Sprint finals," he told the Leader.

The full squad features swimmers from a number of regional areas including Armidale, Glen Innes, Muswellbrook, Denman, and Werris Creek.

Many of the athletes this season have been busy setting personal bests, Hickey said, but the one question that remains is the quality of city swimmers.

"This time of year, if we can get another PB we'll be very happy because we've been setting PBs all year," he said.

"It's been a great climb by not just [the Gunnedah] guys but all the North West swimmers.

"These kids have been racing all year, so we've raced a lot of them already. It'll be interesting to see the mix of city kids involved, because we've raced country and regional but not city kids. We'll find out how fast they are when we get there."

The Speedo Sprint Series is an event aimed at young swimmers between the ages of eight and 13 years old which allows them to take part in 50m events.

The finals will take place on Saturday, March 12, at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre with warm-ups to begin from 7.30am.

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