Swimming: North Shore swimmers have Melbourne in mind

New Zealand Swimming's push for medals at next year's Melbourne Commonwealth Games begins with the national championships starting in Wellington tomorrow.

The North Shore squad, comprising most of New Zealand's medal prospects for Melbourne, are focusing on top performances at the open and youth championships at the Kilbirnie Aquatic Centre.

Coach Jan Cameron said her squad were primed for world class performances at the five-day meet, with qualification for this year's world championships in Canada a key focus.

"Our push for medals at the Commonwealth Games starts with this meet," Cameron said.

"It is the qualification for the world championships in Montreal and that is a very important stepping stone through to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

The meet is also a selection trial for the World Student Games.

North Shore's world class backstrokers, Melissa Ingram and Hannah McLean are leading the way.

McLean was ranked 10th in the world at the 2004 Athens Olympics and Ingram was a bronze medallist at last year's world short course championships.

"They are both gaining ground internationally and are really maturing," Cameron said.

"The two of them have really developed out of the pool with some rigorous dry land training and they are in fabulous shape.

"We've been watching what the leading Australians did at their championships last week and so the goal is to see if we can finish ahead of them and the UK swimmers on times."

The competition inside the North Shore squad is an important part to their progress, Cameron believes.

McLean and Ingram work together in backstroke as does Scott Talbot-Cameron and Cameron Gibson, Dean Kent and Helen Norfolk in medley, and Liz Coster, Corney Swanepoel and Moss Burmester in butterfly.

"It's the old story that two people can work together better than one," Cameron said.

Those targeting qualification for the World Student Games from the North Shore squad are likely to include Athens Olympians Coster and Talbot-Cameron and the much improved Te Rina Taite.

Cameron has expanded her team approach to the squad development, along with co-coach Thomas Ansong.

They have incorporated a fulltime dry land trainer in Brad Conza and also utilise specialist sports science and medical staff in Peter Mellow, John Lythe and Patrick Keating.

"It's all part of developing the squad and getting the right support people in place."

- NZPA