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Swimming Australia has announced that the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre (GCAC) will host next year’s Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Trials in advance of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018).

Scheduled to take place from 28th February to 3rd March - just five weeks before the Games - the event will see Australia’s swimmers competing for the chance to represent the host nation at GC2018.

Olympic gold medallists Mack Horton and Kyle Chalmers will be on show with Chalmers taking on hometown hero Cameron McEvoy in the sprint events, and Horton racing the clock in one of Australia’s favourite events, the men’s 1500 metre freestyle.

Paralympic stars Daniel Fox, Ellie Cole, Brendan Hall, Madi Scott, Timothy Disken and Matt Levy, will all be on show.

Swimming Australia Chief Executive Mark Anderson is enthusiastic about staging the trials GCAC , stating “the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre is a state of the art location and will no doubt be a fantastic backdrop for the athletes as they race at the biggest domestic event on the swimming calendar.”

The last night of competition will feature the announcement of the Commonwealth Games Swim Team and Anderson said the Trials were a great opportunity for those that missed out on Commonwealth Games tickets to still be a part of the action.

He added “we are fortunate in that swimming tickets at the Commonwealth Games were in high demand and so to have the swimming trials at the same venue as the Commonwealth Games, and just five weeks prior, will be a great opportunity for anyone that missed out on tickets to be a part of the experience.

“The 2018 Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Trials will provide our swimmers with an ideal opportunity to perform in the venue just five weeks prior to the Commonwealth Games in front of a home audience.”

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation Chairman, Peter Beattie said the event would provide key learnings for the organisation ahead of GC2018.

Beattie advised “these trials will provide a great lead-in to GC2018 for both Swimming Australia and GOLDOC and will set the scene for what will be the biggest sporting event in Australia this decade,” he said.

“The event will act as a key operational trial ahead of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, with major involvement from GOLDOC staff in the planning and operational delivery of the event.”

The 2018 Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Trials is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland as part of the It’s Live! in Queensland major events calendar.

Completed in July 2014, GCAC’s $41 million redevelopment of the centre for GC2018 was undertaken as part of the Games venue construction program.

The redeveloped centre has already hosted the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, the FINA Diving Grand Prix and the British National Diving Team training camp. 

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