Australian Swimming Championships

The Australian Swimming Championships is the national Swimming championships for Australia. They are organised by Swimming Australia and separate championships are held annually in both long course (50m) and short course (25m) pools. The two meets are the country's top domestic meet for their respective course.

The meet usually also double as a selection event for international competitions such as the: Olympics, Paralympics, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships. Some consider the meet the second-toughest domestic competition in the world, behind the USA's national championships.

The first edition of the championships was held in Sydney in January 1896 with events at the Natatorium, Sutherland Dock (Cockatoo Island) and on the Hawkesbury River.

The state that wins the most points at the championships is awarded the Kieran Shield, named in memory of Barney B. Kieran, a swimmer from New South Wales, who was a world record holder, and who died, aged 18, in 1905. ^[1]

The 1990 Australian Swimming Championships saw events for para athletes added for the first time. ^[2]

Editions

Long course

Year	Dates	Pool	City	State	Selection trials for
1896	15–17 January [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]	Natatorium, Sutherland Dock (Cockatoo Island) and on the Hawkesbury River	Sydney	New South Wales
1930	25 January–1 February	City Baths, Footscray Baths, Brunswick Baths	Melbourne
	8–15 February	Sandy Bay Baths	Hobart
1931	10–17 January	Municipal (Domain) Baths, Drummoyne Baths, Coogee Aquarium	Sydney
	21–28 January	Valley Baths, Booroodabin Baths, City Baths (Toowoomba)	Brisbane
1932	Not held
1933	25 January – 4 February	Claremont Baths	Perth
	9–14 February	Crystal Swimming Pool	Adelaide
1934	24–30 January	Valley Baths	Brisbane
	3–10 February	Coogee Aquarium, Municipal (Domain) Baths	Sydney
1935	19–26 January	Melbourne Olympic Pool	Melbourne
	2–9 February	Sandy Bay Baths	Hobart
1936	8–17 February	Crawley Baths	Perth	Western Australia
1937	9–13 January	North Sydney Olympic Pool	Sydney	New South Wales
	25–30 January	Valley Baths	Brisbane	Queensland
1939	31 January–2 February	Melbourne Olympic Pool	Melbourne	Victoria
	6–11 February	Sandy Bay Baths	Hobart	Tasmania
1946	2–9 February	Richmond Baths; Brunswick Baths	Melbourne	Victoria
1947	1–8 February	Adelaide Olympic Pool	Adelaide	South Australia
1948	8–14 February	North Sydney Olympic Pool; Granville Olympic Pool	Sydney	New South Wales	1948 Olympic Games
1949	19–26 February	Valley Baths	Brisbane	Queensland
1950	9–17 December (1949)	North Sydney Olympic Pool	Sydney	New South Wales	1950 Commonwealth Games
1951	17–24 February	Melbourne Olympic Pool; Brunswick Baths	Melbourne	Victoria
1952	16–23 February	Melbourne Olympic Pool	Melbourne	Victoria	1952 Olympic Games
1953	21–28 February	North Sydney Olympic Pool; Enfield Olympic Swimming Pool	Sydney	New South Wales
1954	20–27 February	Melbourne Olympic Pool	Melbourne	Victoria	1954 Commonwealth Games
1955	19–26 February	Adelaide Olympic Pool	Adelaide	South Australia
1956	16–23 February	North Sydney Olympic Pool; Enfield Olympic Swimming Pool	Sydney	New South Wales	The selection trials for the 1956 Olympic Games were held in Melbourne in October.
1957	15–23 February	Canberra Olympic Pool	Canberra	Australian Capital Territory
1958	15–22 February	Olympic Swimming Stadium	Melbourne	Victoria	1958 Commonwealth Games
1959	13–21 February	Hobart Olympic Pool	Hobart	Tasmania
1960	23–27 February	North Sydney Olympic Pool	Sydney	New South Wales	1960 Olympic Games
1961	17–25 February	Valley Pool	Brisbane	Queensland
1962	17–24 February	Olympic Swimming Stadium	Melbourne	Victoria	The selection trials for the 1962 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne in October.
1963	16–23 February	Beatty Park Aquatic Centre	Perth	Western Australia
1964	28 February–1 March	North Sydney Olympic Pool	Sydney	New South Wales	1964 Olympic Games
1965	27 February–1 March	Hobart Olympic Pool	Hobart	Tasmania
1966	25–27 February	Valley Pool	Brisbane	Queensland	1966 Commonwealth Games
1967	23–25 February	Adelaide Olympic Pool	Adelaide	South Australia
1968	23–25 February	Olympic Swimming Stadium	Melbourne	Victoria	1968 Olympic Games
1969	21–23 February	Beatty Park Aquatic Centre	Perth	Western Australia
1970	27 February–1 March	Drummoyne Olympic Pool	Sydney	New South Wales	1970 Commonwealth Games
1971	5–7 February	Hobart Olympic Pool	Hobart	Tasmania
1972	11–13 February	Valley Pool	Brisbane	Queensland	1972 Olympic Games
1973	9–11 February	Adelaide Swimming Centre	Adelaide	South Australia	The selection trials for the 1973 FINA World Championships were held in Brisbane in August. The selection trials for the 1974 Commonwealth Games were held in Sydney in December.
1974	1–3 March	Olympic Swimming Stadium	Melbourne	Victoria
1975	21– 23 February	Beatty Park Aquatic Centre	Perth	Western Australia	The selection trials for the 1975 FINA World Championships were held in Brisbane in June.
1976	27–29 February	North Sydney Olympic Pool	Sydney	New South Wales	1976 Olympic Games
1977	25–27 February	Clarence Memorial Olympic Pool	Hobart	Tasmania
1978	23–26 February	Valley Pool	Brisbane	Queensland	The selection trials for the 1978 Commonwealth Games and 1978 FINA World Championships were held in Sydney in June.
1979	22–25 February	Beatty Park Aquatic Centre	Perth	Western Australia
1980	20–23 March	Olympic Swimming Stadium	Melbourne	Victoria	1980 Olympic Games
1981	26 February–1 March	Adelaide Swimming Centre	Adelaide	South Australia
1982	18–21 March	Warringah Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	1982 FINA World Championships. The selection trials for the 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Sydney in August.
1983	24–27 February	Clarence Memorial Olympic Pool	Hobart	Tasmania
1984	23–26 February	Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Chandler	Brisbane	Queensland	1984 Olympic Games
1985	21–24 February	State Swimming Centre	Melbourne	Victoria
1986	27 February–2 March	Adelaide Aquatic Centre	Adelaide	South Australia	1986 Commonwealth Games, 1986 FINA World Championships
1987	26 February–1 March	Beatty Park Aquatic Centre	Perth	Western Australia	The selection trials for the 1987 Pan Pacs were conducted in Brisbane from 22 to 25 July. [14]
1988	25–28 February [15]	Warringah Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	The selection trials for the 1988 Olympic Games were conducted in Sydney from 11 to 14 May. [16]
1989	23–26 February	State Swimming Centre	Melbourne	Victoria	The selection trials for the 1989 Pan Pacs were conducted in Perth in August. [17] The selection trials for the 1990 Commonwealth Games were held in Adelaide in December.
1990	10–14 October [18]	Brisbane Aquatic Centre	Brisbane	Queensland	1991 FINA World Championships
1991	25–29 April	State Swimming Centre	Melbourne	Victoria	1991 Pan Pacs
1992	1–5 April [19]	Australian Institute of Sport	Canberra	Australian Capital Territory	1992 Olympic Games
1993	24–28 March [20]	Perth Superdrome	Perth	Western Australia	1993 Pan Pacs
1994	15–20 March	Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Chandler	Brisbane	Queensland	1994 Commonwealth Games. 1994 FINA World Championships
1995	30 March –2 April	Perth Superdrome	Perth	Western Australia	1995 Pan Pacs
1996	21–27 April	Sydney International Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	1996 Olympic Games
1997	5–11 October	Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Chandler	Brisbane	Queensland	1998 FINA World Championships. The selection trials for the 1997 Pan Pacs were held in Adelaide in March.
1998	27 April–2 May	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	Melbourne	Victoria	1998 Commonwealth Games
1999	20–27 March	Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Chandler	Brisbane	Queensland	1999 Pan Pacs
2000	13–20 May	Sydney International Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	2000 Olympic Games
2001	24–31 March	Hobart Aquatic Centre	Hobart	Tasmania	2001 FINA World Championships
2002	18–23 March	Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Chandler	Brisbane	Queensland	2002 Commonwealth Games, 2002 Pan Pacs
2003	22–29 March	Sydney International Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	2003 FINA World Championships
2004	27 March – 3 April	Sydney International Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	2004 Olympic Games
2005	12–19 March	Sydney International Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	2005 FINA World Championships
2006	30 January–4 February	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	Melbourne	Victoria	2006 Commonwealth Games, 2006 Pan Pacs
2007	3–10 December (2006)	Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Chandler	Brisbane	Queensland	2007 FINA World Championships
2008	22–29 March	Sydney International Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	2008 Olympic Games
2009	17–22 March	Sydney International Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	2009 FINA World Championships
2010	16–21 March	Sydney International Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	2010 Commonwealth Games, Pan Pacs 2010
2011	1–8 April	Sydney International Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	2011 FINA World Championships
2012	15–22 March	South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre	Adelaide	South Australia	2012 Olympic Games
2013	26 April–3 May	South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre	Adelaide	South Australia	2013 FINA World Championships
2014	1–6 April	Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Chandler	Brisbane	Queensland	2014 Commonwealth Games, Pan Pacs 2014
2015	3–10 April	Sydney International Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	2015 FINA World Championships
2016	7–14 April	South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre	Adelaide	South Australia	2016 Olympic Games
2017	9–13 April	Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Chandler	Brisbane	Queensland	2017 FINA World Championships
2018	28 February–3 March [21]	Gold Coast Aquatic Centre	Gold Coast	Queensland	2018 Commonwealth Games. The selection trials for Pan Pacs 2018 were held in Adelaide in June–July.
2019	7–12 April	South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre	Adelaide	South Australia	The Australian selection trials for the 2019 FINA World Championships were held in Brisbane in June.
2020	17–21 April	Perth Superdrome	Perth	Western Australia	Cancelled due to COVID-19. The selection trials for the 2020 Olympic Games in June in Adelaide were also cancelled.
2021	14–18 April	Gold Coast Aquatic Centre	Gold Coast	Queensland	The Australian swimming selection trials for the 2020 Olympic Games were held in Adelaide in June.
2022	18–22 May [22]	South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre	Adelaide	South Australia	2022 FINA World Championships, 2022 Commonwealth Games
2023	17–20 April [23]	Gold Coast Aquatic Centre	Gold Coast	Queensland	The Australian selection trials for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships were held in Melbourne from 13–18 June.
2024	17–20 April [24]	Gold Coast Aquatic Centre	Gold Coast	Queensland	The trials for the 2024 Olympic Games were held in Brisbane from 10–15 June.
2025	21–24April [25]	Brisbane Aquatic Centre	Brisbane	Queensland	The Australian selection trials for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships were held in Melbourne from 9–14 June.

Short course

Year	Dates	Pool	City	State	Selection trials for
1979	August	Mowbray Pool	Launceston	Tasmania	FINA Cup, Tokyo
1980	29–31 August	University of NSW pool	Sydney	New South Wales
1981	Not held
1982	Not held
1983	Not held
1984	24–26 August	State Swimming Centre	Melbourne	Victoria
1985	30 August – 1 September	Warringah Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales
1986	5–7 September	Mowbray Pool	Launceston	Tasmania
1987	25–27 September [15]	State Swimming Centre	Melbourne	Victoria
1988	Not held
1989	Not held
1990	2-4 March	Adelaide Aquatic Centre	Adelaide	South Australia
1991	27–29 September [19]	Adelaide Aquatic Centre	Adelaide	South Australia
1992	25–27 September [20]	Casuarina Pool	Darwin	Northern Territory	Oceania championships
1993			Melbourne
1994	29 September–2 October	Warringah Aquatic Centre	Sydney
1995	31 August – 3 September		Adelaide		SC Worlds 1995
1996	19–22 December	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	Melbourne	Victoria
1997	17–20 July	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	Melbourne	Victoria
1998	24–27 September	Perth Superdrome	Perth	Western Australia
1999	2–5 September	AIS pool	Canberra	Australian Capital Territory
2000	12–15 October	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	Melbourne
2001	3–7 August	Perth Superdrome	Perth	Western Australia
2002	2–5 September	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	Melbourne	Victoria
2003	2–5 August	Hobart Aquatic Centre	Hobart	Tasmania
2004	25–29 September	Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Chandler	Brisbane	Queensland
2005	7–11 August	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	Melbourne	Victoria
2006	25–28 August	Hobart Aquatic Centre	Hobart	Tasmania
2007	29 August – 2 September	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	Melbourne	Victoria
2008	20–24 September	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	Melbourne	Victoria
2009	8–12 August	Hobart Aquatic Centre	Hobart	Tasmania
2010	14–18 July	Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Chandler	Brisbane	Queensland	SC Worlds 2010
2011	1–3 July	SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre	Adelaide	South Australia
2012	12-16 September	Perth Superdrome	Perth	Western Australia	SC Worlds 2012
2013	22–31 August	Sydney International Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales
2014	5–9 November	SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre	Adelaide	South Australia	2014 SC Worlds
2015	26–28 November	Sydney International Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales
2016	1–5 November	Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Chandler	Brisbane	Queensland	Short Course World Championships 2016
2017	26–28 October	South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre	Adelaide	South Australia
2018	25–27 October	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	Melbourne	Victoria	Short Course World Championships 2018
2019	24–26 October	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	Melbourne	Victoria
2020	27–29 November	various locations			Virtual Championship held in various locations replaced the originally planned Championships in Melbourne.
2021	23–26 September	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	Melbourne	Victoria	Cancelled due to COVID-19.
2022	24–27 August	Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales	Short Course World Championships 2022
2023	13–16 September	Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre	Sydney	New South Wales
2024	26–29 September	SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre	Adelaide	South Australia

Championships records

See List of Australian Championships records in swimming

References

1. Fletcher, Russell. "1904-1905 - Membership 86" (PDF). Melbourne Collegians Water Polo Club Inc. - A History - 1894-1994 - The Beginning. Melbourne Collegians Water Polo Club Inc. Archived from the original (pdf) on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
2. "Catherine Huggett". Gold Coast Sporting Hall of Fame. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
3. "Swimming – The Biennial Championship Carnival". The Daily Telegraph . No. 5171. 16 January 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 10 August 2025– via Trove.
4. "Swimming – The Biennial Championship Carnival". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5172. 17 January 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 10 August 2025– via Trove.
5. "Swimming – The Balmain Carnival". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5173. 18 January 1896. p. 11. Retrieved 10 August 2025– via Trove.
6. "Swimming – The Police Club Carnival". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5176. 22 January 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 10 August 2025– via Trove.
7. "Swimming – Percy Cavill, Half-mile and One Mile Champion of Australasia". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5177. 23 January 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 10 August 2025– via Trove.
8. "Swimming – The Police Club Carnival". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5176. 22 January 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 10 August 2025– via Trove.
9. "Swimming – Departure of New Zealanders". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5178. 24 January 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 10 August 2025– via Trove.
10. "Swimming – Walter J. Gormly – Quarter-mile Champion of Australasia". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5179. 25 January 1896. p. 11. Retrieved 10 August 2025– via Trove.
11. "The Newcastle Swimming Carnival". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5179. 25 January 1896. p. 11. Retrieved 10 August 2025– via Trove.
12. "Swimming". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5180. 27 January 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 10 August 2025– via Trove.
13. "Swimming". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5182. 29 January 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 10 August 2025– via Trove.
14. Sweetenham, Bill (1988). "Australian Institute of Sport Report" (pdf). Australian Swimming Inc. Annual Report 1987-88. Australian Swimming: 45 . Retrieved 11 May 2013.
15. Sweetenham, Bill (1988). "Australian Institute of Sport Report" (pdf). Australian Swimming Inc. Annual Report 1987-88. Australian Swimming: 46 . Retrieved 11 May 2013.
16. Sweetenham, Bill (1988). "Australian Institute of Sport Report" (pdf). Australian Swimming Inc. Annual Report 1987-88. Australian Swimming: 47 . Retrieved 11 May 2013.
17. "National Team Report" (pdf). Australian Swimming Inc. Annual Report 1989-90. Australian Swimming: 28. 1990. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
18. "Honorary Secretary's Report" (pdf). Australian Swimming Inc. Annual Report 1990-91. Australian Swimming: 7. 1991. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
19. "The Year in Detail" (pdf). Australian Swimming Inc. Annual Report 1991-92. Australian Swimming: 7. 1992. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
20. "The Year in Detail" (PDF). Australian Swimming Inc. Annual Report 1992-93. Australian Swimming: 3. 1993. Archived from the original (pdf) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
21. "2018 Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Trials". Swimming Australia. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
22. Hanson, Ian (10 February 2022). "Swimming Australia to stage a 2022 blockbuster swim trials with a major move from April to May 17-22". Swimming World. Retrieved on 11 February 2022
23. "2023 Australian Swimming Championships". Swimming Australia. 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
24. "2024 Australian Swimming Championships". Swimming Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
25. "2025 Australian Swimming Championships Results" (PDF). Swimming Australia. Retrieved 28 April 2025.

External links

• Swimming Australia