Competition Update - Junior Festivals to Round Out the Summer
- Jun 27, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 3, 2025
Announcement of Dates & Venues for 2026 Junior Festivals
We are excited to release the dates and venues for our Junior Festivals to be hosted at the end of the summer in 2026.
As part of continuing our alignment with the Competition Review released in 2024, the Junior Festivals will be held at the end of the summer period on the last weekend of February.
For the first time in years, the Junior Festival - Mako will be hosted at the Splash Palace in Invercargill, where swimmers will travel to the bottom of the South Island to take part in the festival for swimmers aged 12 and under. The festival in Invercargill will be hosted across three days to accommodate those who will travel, meaning a Friday afternoon session, two sessions on Saturday and finishing with the Sunday morning session.
The Hawke's Bay will host the Aquaknights festival for the first time at the Hawke's Bay Regional Aquatic Centre across four sessions on the Saturday and Sunday of the weekend.
The All Stars festival will be held at the Coastlands Aquatic Centre for the second consecutive year as an ideal central location for those in the zone to access. This festival will once again be held across three sessions from Saturday afternoon and two sessions on Sunday.
We intend to host the Harlequins festival in Auckland on the same weekend as the other three competitions. Confirmation will follow in the coming months once an exact venue can be secured.
Swimming NZ's Head of Participation, Competitions & Engagement, Dale Johnson, is excited to see the last of the recommendations rolled out.
"We are looking forward to hosting the festivals again in 2026, with the introduction of Dive Start Clinics at each of the zones a big win this year. After receiving lots of positive feedback, we can't wait to host our junior swimmers at their respective festivals."
The competition information and criteria will be shared later in the year, which will be communicated when shared. All information will be accessible via the pool calendar on the Swimming NZ website.
Key Details
Please see an overview of the key details for the Junior Festivals in 2026 below:
2026 Junior Festival - Mako
Dates: 27 February - 1 March 2026
Location: Splash Palace, Invercargill
2026 Junior Festival - All Stars
Dates: 28 February - 1 March 2026
Location: Coastlands Aquatics Centre, Paraparaumu
2026 Junior Festival - Aquaknights
Dates: 28 February - 1 March 2026
Location: Hawke's Bay Regional Aquatic Centre
2026 Junior Festival - Harlequins
Dates: TBC (pending venue confirmation - preferably 28 February - 1 March 2026)
Location: Venue TBC, Auckland
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The shift toward regional junior festivals at the end of the summer season seems useful from a development perspective because it gives younger swimmers a clear competitive milestone without making the calendar feel overly crowded. Holding events across multiple sessions also appears practical for clubs travelling longer distances, particularly where families need to plan accommodation and transport around competition schedules. The introduction of Dive Start Clinics is another interesting element because technical development can be incorporated alongside racing rather than treated as something separate. There is also a broader lesson here for sports organisations: competition structures work better when venue access, travel demands, athlete age, and progression are considered together. Even outside swimming, that kind of planning can require careful…
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