World champions head field for National Para-swimming Championships

World champions Alice Tai, Maisie Summers-Newton and Reece Dunn are among more than 230 competitors taking part in the 2019 National Para-swimming Championships.

The event, which will see spots on British team for the 2020 World Para-swimming Open European Championships up for grabs, takes place at the Manchester Aquatics Centre on Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December.

Many of the swimmers competing at the championships, which have been organised by the Activity Alliance in partnership with British Swimming, will also have their sights set on the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

For Tai, who won seven gold medals at the World Para-swimming Championships in London, the championships are the perfect opportunity to hone her performances ahead of a hectic 2020.

Tai, British Swimming’s Athlete of the Year, said: “I’m hoping my performances will be good, especially for where I’m at in the season right now.

“The event will also give me things to work on going into 2020.

“My performances at the worlds in September has given us an idea of where I’m ranked right now.

“There are a few girls who I know will step up going into Tokyo. I’m actually pretty scared – a few of the races will end up being quite close!

“I’d love to go to Tokyo and just swim times which I’m happy with. How everyone else swims is out of my control.

Vital part of competition pathway

“I know if I come away with performances that were well executed, then I couldn’t have done better for myself.”

There are three types of classification at the National Para-swimming Championships – physical (S1-S10), visual (S11-S13) and intellectual (S14) – and races will be heat declared wins.

Multi-class (MC) events have swimmers with a range of impairments, from multiple classifications, competing in the same race.

They are grouped for heats on their fastest entry time and swimmers are awarded points within their class once the heats are over.

The winner of the race is not always who touches the wall first but the swimmer who posts the fastest time for their classification.

Chris Furber, National Performance Director for British Para-Swimming, said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at Activity Alliance for their ongoing commitment to this event and disability swimming.

“This meet continues to be a vital part of the para-swimming competition pathway and this year provides the athletes with an exciting long course racing opportunity with less than 300 days to go to the Paralympic Games.”

Spectators wishing to attend the National Para-swimming Championships can purchase tickets at the venue on the day.

Picture: British Swimming