Selection Criteria Released for 2026 International Teams
- dale493
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Announcement of Selection Criteria - 2026 International Competitions
After a promising 2025 - returning to the podium at the Para Swimming World Championships, good signs and debutants at the World Aquatics Championships, and numerous medals and national records at the World Cups - we are heading into 2026 with momentum and optimism.
At the weekend, at the SWIMCONZ Conference, we presented the outline of the Performance Pathway for Olympic and Paralympic success at Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 – Podium LA28 and Aquablacks Project B32. For each of these, 2026 represents an important milestone – establishing credentials to genuinely challenge in two years’ time in Los Angeles or the compelling vision of a near home Games in six years in Brisbane.
The presentation of this performance pathway is available below, with full details to follow shortly.
In conjunction, we are pleased to announce a range of selection criteria that will define our Teams for 2026.
The senior teams criteria encompass all those in sight of LA2028 Games places, bringing together a tight medal focus with a development standard for those emerging. We remember well that it was in 2022 that our women’s 4 x 200m freestyle team first broke through, before their historic run to the final in Paris 2 years later; and various criteria embrace the opportunity for competitive relays.
At the same time, there are numerous opportunities for youth and junior swimmers to take some of their first steps on the international stage, with around 140 places up for grabs, from Tri Series and Oceania Championships, World Para Swimming Series to Para Pan Pacs, Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs, and the short course season of World Cups and World Short Course Championships to kick us into 2027.
For the Olympic Pathway, the double-header of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July quickly followed by the Pan Pacific Championships in Los Angeles in August provides the headline, with World Cups and Oceania Championships sitting just below:
Commonwealth Games: Limited quota of places sees selection focused on medal potential for individuals and relays.
Pan Pacs: Merging the typical standard of World Aquatics A with the development standard of A+1.5% for 21 yo or younger, in an ideal opportunity for first exposure to the LA host city. Open water selection will be from 10km result plus B standard in the pool. And opportunities for emerging relays.
The World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Series (Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan – “Silk Road”): Warm-up for the World Short Course Champs, or a focus for those just missing the cut, with a selection standard of World Aquatics B prioritised from the NZ Short Course Championships.
Oceania Championships (Fiji in May): A further opportunity for those progressing from Juniors (19-21 yo) to find their international feet, with a selection standard of 650 World Aquatics points (likely highly competitive for finals and podia).
World Short Course Championships (Beijing in December): Elevating the selection standard for senior teams (e.g. 2027 World Aquatics and World Para Swimming World Championships) to respective “A/MQS standards”, setting the benchmark for Aquablacks through until the LA2028 Games.
For those on the longer horizon to Brisbane 2032, the Junior Pan Pacs, Tri Series, World Junior Open Water and Oceania Championships provide plenty of opportunities:
Junior Pan Pacs (Vancouver in August): The pinnacle of the 2026 junior calendar, with selection standards similar to this year’s successful World Junior Championships, plus inclusion of wider relay opportunities.
Tri Series (Western Australia in July): The next priority for our junior and youth swimmers, aiming to wrestle back the trophy from Victoria, selected from NZ Age Group and NZ Championships.
World Junior Open Water Championships (Argentina in September): The pinnacle for aspiring junior endurance swimmers, selected from NZ Open Water Championships, plus pre-requisite 600/650 World Aquatics points for 1500m pool times.
Oceania Championships (Fiji in May): A further opportunity for aspiring youth swimmers to taste international competition, selected from Regional and NZ Age Group Championships, with a selection standard of 650 World Aquatics points (likely highly competitive for finals and podia).
Youth Olympic Games (Dakar in November): Limited quota places will be available, with events and standards not yet confirmed.
For the Paralympic Pathway, the Commonwealth Games will be complemented by World Series opportunities and potential invitations to other major international meets such as European and/or Pan Pacific Championships. The selection standards will be as follows:
Commonwealth Games: By invitation from Commonwealth Sport based on Commonwealth Ranking in a limited range of events.
World Series or major international meets: Eligibility generally based on Minimum Qualifying Standard (MQS) from this year’s World Championships.
For the Paralympic Development Pathway, the Australian leg of the World Series (Gold Coast in February) and the Para Pan Pacific Championships (TBC) will provide a first taste of this level of competition, along with targeted opportunities for international classification.
Full details of all these criteria are available through respective links on the Swimming NZ website. Sincere thanks to the High Performance coaching groups and Athlete Leadership Group for consulting diligently on all these criteria, to present coherent pathways towards pinnacles for both Olympic and Paralympic Pathways. Exciting times ahead!
Please note a corresponding Coach Selection Policy will follow shortly.
NZ Teams Available for 2026
We have listed the international competitions with New Zealand teams available for selection below, presented in chronological order.
2026 Oceania Championships
Location: Fiji
Dates: 10 - 12 May
2026 Tri Series
Location: Western Australia
Dates: July (exact dates to be confirmed)
2026 Commonwealth Games
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Dates: 24 - 29 July
2026 Pan Pacific Championships
Location: Irvine, USA
Dates: 10 - 15 August
2026 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Dates: 17 - 20 August
2026 World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships
Location: Argentina
Dates: 3 - 6 September
2026 Tri Series
Location: Western Australia
Dates: July (exact dates to be confirmed)
2026 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup
Locations: Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan & Kazakhstan
Dates: October
Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games
Location: Dakar, Senegal
Dates: 31 October - 13 November
2026 World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m)
Location: Beijing, China
Dates: 1 - 6 December
2026 NZ Para Swimming Team
Location: Various
Dates: Various
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