The Victorian Country Short Course Swimming Championships will be held at the Wangaratta Indoor Sports and Aquatic Centre on August 18 and 19, 2018. The meet will be hosted by the Ovens & Murray District Swimming Association who hosted the meet previously at this facility in 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2017. The Wangaratta Indoor Sports and Aquatic Centre is located on Schilling Drive in Wangaratta.

The indoor pool facility in Wangaratta has been ideally suited to holding this meet since opening in 2002.  The 190 grandstand seats which the district supplements with temporary grandstands and rental seating to allow us to achieve the required pool seating capacity of at least 800.  The recent carpark upgrade by Council has further enhanced the attractivness of this facility.

Further Details on the facility can be found by clicking on the logo to access their webpage:

For available Accomodation please click on the Wangaratta Accomodation link in the Menu bar.

Event Logistics & Timing:

This year the event will see over 490 swimmers with their families, coaches and swimming officials descend on the city.  As well as allowing locals to watch some of the best state swimmers in action, the flow on benefits for the community are also great with most families staying in town for the weekend to enjoy Wangaratta's hospitality through local restaurants and services.

Included in the 37 Swimming Clubs competing are large contingents from Geelong, Traralgon and Warrnambool.

The Ovens & Murray District will be well represented with 99 local swimmers competing.  Twenty six athletes from the Albury Swimming Club will be swimming whilst the two Wangaratta clubs combined now have 29 swimmers.

Charles Sturt University is the major sponsor for this Championship and will have a course information desk manned in the foyer on the mornings of both days if any swimmers or spectators considering further study need advice.

Spectator entry is free although seating in the pool hall will be tight despite the addition of grand stands.  Come on down if you want to see the best swimmers in Country Victoria on show.

This 2 day event was held in Wangaratta last year as part of a 2 year hosting agreement between the Swimming district and Swimming Victoria. The competition last year resulted in a Down Syndrome Swimming World record being set at this local pool.

The Swimming Championships start at 9:45am with welcomes from our Ovens & Murray District President, the President of Swimming Victoria and the Mayor of the Rural City of Wangaratta.

The Session Times for the Country Short Course Championships at the Wangaratta Indoor Sports and Aquatic Centre are as follows:

Session 1:  10:00am Saturday 18 August 2018

Session 2:   2:00pm Saturday 18 August 2018

Session 3:   9:00am Sunday 19 August 2018

Session 4:  1:00pm  Sunday 19 August 2018

A souvenir programs will be available for purchase at the venue for $15. 

Sponsors: The following Companies have signed up as sponsors of this event.

Charles Sturt University has signed up as our Major Sponsor for this Event. Charles Sturt University has a Regional Study Centre in Wangaratta co-located with Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE (GOTAFE) at 218 Tone Road.  This study Centre currently offers a Bachelor of Veterinary Technology Degree by distance education. Charles Sturt University also has Campuses at Albury, Wagga Wagga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, Canberra, Goulburn and Port Macquarie. Click on the Logo to access the CSU webpage:

Charles Sturt will have an information desk manned in the Saturday and Sunday morning sessions.

Link Cold Storage: Has signed up as a Silver Sponsor. They are a Wangaratta based business specialising in the transport and storage of goods requiring temperature control in their supply chain. Click on the Logo to access the Link Cold Storage webpage:

Hume Bank: Has signed up as a Silver Sponsor. Hume Bank has branches in Albury, Wodonga, Wagga Wagga & Wangaratta. Click on the Logo to access the Hume webpage:

Goulburn Valley Imaging Group (GVIG): Has signed up as a Silver Sponsor. GVIG is an Australian, independently-owned, leading radiology practice located in northern Victoria and in areas of New South. Click on the Logo to access the GVIG webpage:

Ovens & Murray District Summary

The Wangaratta Indoor Sports and Aquatic Centre was abuzz on the weekend of 18/19 August as close to 500 swimmers and 30 Swimming Technical Officials descended to compete in the annual Victorian Country Short Course Swimming Championships. The weekend was a huge success with the overall Meet won by Traralgon Swimming Club followed by Geelong and Warrnambool. The meet was hosted by the Ovens and Murray District Swimming Association in conjunction with Swimming Victoria. There were 98 swimmers from 8 Ovens & Murray District clubs with a number of these athletes medalling in their events. The most successful was Zoe Deacon from Wodonga Swimming Club who swam in 12 events and brought home 5 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals. She set new Country Victorian records in both the Girls Open 200m Breaststroke and Girls 18 & over 100m Individual Medal. Maggie Skewes representing Wangaratta Amateur Swimming Club took home 4 gold and 1 silver medal in the Girls 14-15 year old events with Wodonga City Swimming Club’s Sarah-Jane Male winning 3 bronze medals in that same age-group. Wangaratta Amateur teammates 15 year old Henry Lee and 16 year old Gabe Watson also had success with Lee winning 2 bronze medals and Watson 1 silver and 3 bronze medals. In the 11 & under events Albury Swimming Club’s Chelsea Isaac won 1 gold and 3 bronze medals and Oscar Kreutzberger won 2 silver and 3 bronze medals. Natalie Gibbons from Albury took home 2 bronze medals while individual silver medals also went to Maxwell Neave (Albury), Cooper Hall (Albury), Patrick Duggan (Wodonga), Claire Hernan (Wangaratta Amateur) and Nic Evans (Wodonga City). Patrick Richardson from Wodonga City also scored a bronze medal.

The District’s top performing swimmers will now be focusing on the 2018 Victorian Age Short Course Swimming Championships in Melbourne 31 August to 2 September where the Country and Metropolitan Swimmers compete.

Ovens & Murray President Brendon Shiels said that the organising committee which included members of the Ovens & Murray Board and the 2 local Wangaratta swimming clubs did a fantastic job organising the logistics. Temporary grandstands and a presentation platform were installed in the pool hall and a marshalling marquee was erected outside.  Sponsors were organised, programs printed, food services arranged as well as liaising with the YMCA (pool manager) and the Rural City of Wangaratta.

After hosting the championships in Wangaratta for the last 2 years, Swimming Victoria has announced that the 2019 & 2020 Victorian Country Short Course Championships will be hosted by the Midlands and District Amateur Swimming Association at the Ballarat Aquatic and Lifestyle Centre.