Transtasman meet results likely to be decided in Masterton

Everything is in place for what will be one of the highest profile swimming meets ever to be held in the local region, Swim Wairarapa says.
The third of the three transtasman trophy competitions, featuring two teams of the top age group swimmers from Australia and one from New Zealand, is to be staged at the Genesis Recreation Centre pool in Masterton on Friday, July 9, and Saturday, July 10, and a large band of well-qualified officials drawn from Wairarapa, Manawatu and Wellington will be on hand to supervise proceedings.
''It's a huge undertaking but we are ready for it,'' Swim Wairarapa general secretary Maryann Corrigan said yesterday. ''We are as confident as we can be that there will be no hiccups, that everything will go according to plan.''
With several of the swimmers representing both countries likely to be serious contenders for Olympic Games or Commonwealth Games selection in the not-too-distant future, Corrigan is confident of strong support from the Wairarapa sporting fraternity. The Friday night session will run from 5-7pm and the Saturday morning session which will run from 8-10am.
''You just don't expect to see talent like this competing in the Wairarapa, not only in swimming but in any sport,'' Corrigan said.
''It will be amazing to watch.'' Adding to the excitement of the occasion will be the fact that after earlier meets at Mount Maunganui and Taupo, results in Masterton will very probably decide the winner of the transtasman trophy.
''There's every chance it will go right down to the wire, that we won't know until the end of racing on the Saturday morning who takes the spoils,'' Corrigan said.
While Australia had been dominant in this particular competition, the current New Zealand squad were capable of pushing them hard, she said.
''Obviously, we would like hundreds of people to come along and cheer the Kiwis on. It just might make all the difference to the end result.''
Meanwhile, a survey undertaken by Swim Wairarapa asking whether swimmers from Wairarapa competing at national championships should wear the official Wairarapa uniform has come out resoundingly in favour of the uniform being worn at all national meets.
As many as 73 per cent of the respondents voted that way, which means, in effect, they are supportive of current Swim Wairarapa rules and regulations on this matter.
Further discussion on the uniform issue, which was raised when members of the Masterton club contested national championship events in their own club uniform, is likely to take place at Swim Wairarapa's annual meeting on July 27.