Event Wrap of the 2023 Tri Series
The 2023 Tri Series was held in Hawke’s Bay last week. This concept has been developed as part of the athlete development programme to provide the opportunity for swimmers to race on consecutive days for their team, scoring valuable points for their place and skills execution. Swimmers were required to participate in three individual races in each match, with many called upon to swim events they mightn’t normally for the betterment of their team.
It was great to have international teams compete for the first time, with a state team from Victoria and Western Australia joining the two New Zealand teams for the five match races held across three days. We also welcomed back Para swimmers to the Tri Series for 2023, after a clash of schedules in 2022.
The week begun with a preparation camp before racing got underway on Wednesday. By the end of Match 1, Victoria had established a slender lead over the two New Zealand teams which continued for the next few matches. Heading into the final match, Victoria was 316 points clear NZ Black, with daylight to NZ White and Western Australia.
The final match was purely Skins and Relays, which brought about some incredible support from the side of the pool as teammates urged on their team to finish strong, with plenty of important points on the line.
The performances during the week were impressive, with multiple meet records broken across the five matches. Given that swimming skills were a major focus with points on the line, it was encouraging to see these also on display. It’s no surprise that the winning team for the Tri Series was the team who executed the best skills, and this made most of the difference in the points battle.
Victoria (3780 points) took home the chocolates as the winning team at the end of the week after extending their lead on the final day ahead of NZ Black (3390 points). NZ White (2484 points) had a close tussle with Western Australia (2312 points) to claim the bronze medal.
In recognition of their efforts for their respective teams across the week, the team coaches awarded an MVP for the team. Congratulations to Larn Hamblyn-Ough (NZ Black), Anna McGowan (NZ White), Evan Chee (Victoria) and Xavier Collins (Western Australia) for being crowned their most valuable.
Presentations were also made to the top points scorer (male and female) from each state/country. Congratulations to Amelia Bray and Ryan Peck (NZ), Xavier Collins and Lucy Porter (Western Australia), and Evan Chee and Allannah Torrance (Victoria), and Hamish Keenan (Victoria) took out the top points scorer for Para swimmers.
Thank you to our technical officials for helping to create a great atmosphere for the matches, and to our officials who joined us from across the ditch, we loved sharing the event with you.
Until next year, Victoria reigns supreme as the Tri Series champions. Thanks to everyone who took part in the event in Hawke’s Bay, and thanks to Western Australia and Victoria making the trip across the ditch.
Check out the running team points results following each match below:
Match One
Victoria = 802
NZ Black = 740
NZ White = 500
Western Australia = 388
Match Two
Victoria = 1,619
NZ Black = 1,430
NZ White = 1,008
Western Australia = 913
Match Three
Victoria = 2,334
NZ Black = 2,175
NZ White = 1,617
Western Australia = 1,312
Match Four
Victoria = 3,158
NZ Black = 2,842
NZ White = 2,101
Western Australia = 1,805
Match Five (Total Points)
Victoria = 3780
NZ Black = 3390
NZ White = 2484
Western Australia = 2312
