Courtesy: Swimming Australia
As part of the green and gold runway to Brisbane 2032, Swimming Australia has resurrected the blueprint that launched the likes of Dolphin legends Cate and Bronte Campbell, and Emily Seebohm.
The Trans-Tasman Series, a feature of the early 2000s, has been revised as the Next Wave Invitational Competition Camp and will be held in Canberra from July 6-12.
Selected following the recent Australian Age Championships, 64 promising age athletes – males and females born 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and females born 2012 – will compete at Next Wave and gain team and racing experiences at the Australian Institute of Sport.
Swimmers selected for the recently announced Australian Junior Team were deemed ineligible for selection, with Next Wave concentrating on developing the next tier of emerging athletes.
The invited athletes will compete as two teams, the Kangaroos and Emus, and 14 coaches, five managers and performance staff will also be selected as part of Swimming Australia’s strategic development towards 2032.
Former Australian head coach and National Team Support Coach Leigh Nugent said: “Next Wave will provide meaningful experiences to our athletes and coaches prior to international exposure. It’s something that’s been missing for the past 10 years or so and it’s great to have it back on the national roster.”
“Similar to the Trans-Tasman series, Next Wave is set up to help prepare emerging athletes as well as developing coaches (and those within the high performance system) for when they make their benchmark Australian team by facilitating intensive competition environment.
“With consistent back-to-back racing, athletes will race multiple times to learn how to handle fatigue, maintain consistency in their performance and quickly improve on their learnings from one meet to the next.”
In all, 15 national records were set at the Australian Age Championships, including three by Toowoomba’s 14-year-old backstroke prodigy Bryce Krause and two by Somerset’s Koa Stotz, also 14.
Their efforts at Nationals reflect the calibre of athletes invited to Next Wave and the next wave of potential future Dolphins ahead of Brisbane 2032.
Nugent said: “I’m most excited for the future of Australian swimming. It’s rare to see so many national age records broken at the one meet so that’s telling us that we’ve got peak performers across a number of ages, clubs and events.”
“To get several standouts at nationals, like Lincoln Wearing (pictured) who broke Mack’s (Horton) 800m freestyle record and his twin brother Isaac who was consistently right there beside him, is most encouraging.”
Darwin’s Macey Sheridan cleaned up at nationals with three golds and one bronze to earn her invitation. Sheridan, 15, was named the Northern Territory’s Junior Sportsperson of the Year in 2024 and made history in 2025 by becoming the youngest recipient of the NT Sportsperson of the Year Award.
“It’s those athletes in the mid-teenage years that perform exceptionally well at nationals who tend to be, as our history shows, the ones to become our podium placers,” said Nugent.
“Next Wave will provide the tools that these future Dolphins need to stand on those Olympic, Commonwealth and World Championships podiums.”
Coaches for the Next Wave Invitational Competition Camp are yet to be announced.
*Below table reflects current clubs
Next Wave Athlete
Club
State
Coach
Aleisha Clark
Nunawading
VIC
Nick Veliades
Alexandra Sharp
Wenona
NSW
Allegra Crean
Marion
SA
Shaun Curtis
Angus Cran
Nudgee College Swimming
QLD
Stewart Melton
Annika Silvester
Rackley
QLD
Dan Busch
Arabella Tomlinson
Caulfield
VIC
Kenrick Monk
Archer Mellifont
MCA SC Inc (QLD)
QLD
James Boyce
Archie Kreutzberger
North Albury Swimming Club
NSW
Mitch Brown
Ava Gaske
Chandler
QLD
Tsuyoshi Kimura
Ava Hogan
Woogaroo
QLD
Bryce Krause
Fairholme ASC
QLD
Michael Wise
Cael Eley
St Peters Western ASC Inc
QLD
Cashy Luo
Rackley
QLD
Dan Busch
Charlie Austin
Brisbane Jets SC Inc
QLD
Alberto Lantieri
Clara Carrocci
Norwood
SA
Luke Curtis
Cosette Cooke
Rackley
QLD
Tim Dilger
Delta Cross
Highlanders
WA
Dylan Zhou
Knox Pymble SC
NSW
Steve Goodier
Eloise Mclellan
Brisbane Grammar
QLD
Ethan Haegebaert
Knox Pymble SC
NSW
Steve Goodier
Eva Potts
Charlestown
NSW
Finn Morton
Somerville House Aquatics
QLD
Hannah Huisman
Warringah
NSW
Harrison Tancred
Carlile Swimming Team Ltd
NSW
Harry Heath
Nunawading Swimming Club Inc
VIC
Daniel Gill
Hayden Cahill
Brisbane Grammar SC
QLD
Isaac Wearing
Chandler SC Inc
QLD
Tsuyoshi Kimura
Isabelle Rae
Albury
NSW
Wayne Gould
Isobel Mulcahy
Carlile
NSW
Izabella Demasi-Chapman
Marion
SA
Shaun Curtis
Jack Mitchell
Knox Pymble SC
NSW
Steve Goodier
Jake Tysoe
Rackley
QLD
Josh Smith
Jessica Conrad
Miami
QLD
Paul Crosswell
Koa Stotz
Somerset SC (Gold Coast)
QLD
Chris Urqhart
Leny Grigor
Somerset SC (Gold Coast)
QLD
Chris Urqhart
Liam Brown
Darwin Swimming Club
NT
Tim Few
Lilla Riot-de-bresac
Newmarket Racers
QLD
Steve Miller
Lillie Mcpherson
Manly
NSW
Justin Rothwell
Lily Koch
Nunawading
VIC
Nick Veliades
Lincoln Wearing
Chandler SC Inc
QLD
Tsuyoshi Kimura
Logan Rieck
Norwood
SA
Luke Curtis
Lucy Porter
Westside Christ Church
WA
Jon Harrison
Lukas Dunn
Knox Pymble SC
NSW
Steve Goodier
Luke Higgs
Warringah Aquatic SC Inc
NSW
Angelo Basalo
Luke Lee
Carlile Swimming Team
NSW
Macey Sheridan
Darwin
NT
Tim Few
Madison McKenna
St Andrews
QLD
Brad Hiller
Maximus Smyth
Corrimal Swim Club Inc
NSW
Tracey Waters
Maxwell Cunningham
Brisbane Grammar SC
QLD
Maya Bearman
Iona
QLD
Zane King
Molly Bawden
Kawana Waters
QLD
Damian Bawden
Noah Magoffin
MCA SC Inc (QLD)
QLD
James Boyce
Olympia Pope
Miami
QLD
Paul Crosswell
Phoenix Woods
Manly Swimming Club Inc
NSW
Justin Rothwell
Riley Meares
St Peters Western ASC Inc
QLD
Ruby Boxall
Somerville House
QLD
Tim Lane
Ruby Crowther
Rackley
QLD
Tim Dilger
Sam Welsh
Camberwell Grammar Aquatic
VIC
Matt Belgiovane
Siena Gibson
Moreton Bay
QLD
Kevin Calmettes
Sydney Kito
Cairns Stingrays SC Inc
QLD
Thomas Garbanzo
Brisbane Grammar SC
QLD
Tilly Fikkers
West Illawarra
NSW
Pat Stellino
Tribeca Liu
Griffith Uni
QLD
Zahlie Snijder
Geelong
VIC
Rob Steinman