Announcement of a Winners’ Prize at 2025 Apollo Projects NZ Open Water Swimming Championships
We are excited to announce an additional prize to go alongside the NZ national title for male and female open winners of a particular race in Taupo next month.
Race Director of the aQuelle Midmar Mile, Wayne Riddin, has reached out to newly appointed Head Coach – Olympic, Graham Hill, to build an association with New Zealand swimmers.
“I spoke to Graham last week and suggested bringing over the NZ winners of the 5km distance that takes place at Lake Taupo on the 12 January 2025. We thought it would be a great association with a past winner and Olympic coach now in New Zealand who has coached numerous winners of the Midmar Mile as well over the years.”
SNZ’s Head Coach – Olympics, Graham Hill, believes this is a great opportunity to help develop our open water swimming programme.
“The aQuelle Midmar Mile is one of the largest open water competitions in the world, with over 10,000 swimmers taking part. It attracts some of the best open water swimmers to compete, so it’s a great opportunity for our New Zealand swimmers to race internationally.”
Learn more about the aQuelle Midmar Mile being held 8 – 9 February 2025 in South Africa.
Hill and Riddin have a known each other a long time, with both being double winners of the Midmar Mile, and have attended multiple Olympic Games together. Some of their favourite highlights together were Terence Parkin winning silver at Sydney 2000 and both Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Berg winning gold at London 2012.
“It’s lovely to continue the bond that Wayne and I have had over many years to now support our New Zealand swimmers to develop in the open water. To have two swimmers gain this opportunity to aid their development and be part of the event that holds the Guinness World Record as the largest open water swimming event in the world is excellent.”
The prize for each NZ open age winner of the 5km event in Taupo will be R20,000 contribution to flights to South Africa, plus accommodation, transport, food and entries whilst in South Africa.
SNZ’s Head of Participation, Competitions & Engagement, Dale Johnson, believes this is an excellent prize to encourage swimmers to race in Taupo.
“Our championships in Taupo are one of the best weekends of the year, as it’s such a beautiful spot to swim. By providing this additional opportunity to further enhance open water swimmers in this country, we believe all swimmers should consider getting involved in the championships next month. Open water swimming is a lot of fun and it’s a great weekend for a team to attend to kickstart their year.”
Whilst this prize is linked to the 5km distance, there are plenty of other distances to help you be inspired to race in open water. With championship races of 2.5km, 5km, 7.5km (age groups) and 10km for individuals and the 4 x 1km relay, we encourage all clubs to be involved across the weekend.
Don’t miss out on entering the 2025 Apollo Projects NZ Open Water Swimming Championships before entries close on Sunday 15 December.
For those who wish to be involved in the publicly available Epic Swim, there are loads of opportunities for you to enjoy your weekend in Taupo. Check out the Banana Boat NZ Ocean Swim Series webpage for more details and to enter now.
Comments