Performance by depth and design in the AAGPS pool
A record number of Newington College swimmers are lane deep in preparation for the final AAGPS Swimming Championships to be held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre next week.
Led by Swim Captain, Banjo B, and vice captains, Michael S and Utsav P, Newington’s 2026 GPS Swim Team is looking to better its outstanding 2nd overall place at the 2025 Championship.
This year’s team consists of 40 swimmers and is drawn from the College’s 53 strong squad in the U12 to U18 age groups. The team has been selected from the race results of Newington’s Age Championships hosted during the first weeks of Term 1.
If swimmers have not been selected to swim in the team for the GPS Championship this year, they will be poolside cheering on their teammates. Head Swim Coach, Mr Byron Li, said many swimmers who also train in one of Newington’s morning or night squads, tried out for the Swim Team.
‘Everyone was very keen this year to showcase the results of their training, and many of the Year 7s that tried out were already involved in our NewSport program,’ says Mr Li.
‘Also, during our recent Newington Age Championships we had a record high of 104 individual swimmer entries and 354 event entries, so we are looking great overall in terms of the Newington team.’
Come Friday 27 February, several thousand spectator, including many from our Newington community, will fill the stands at Olympic Park to watch the 74 scheduled races.
‘We have great depth of talent in the pool across all ages within our swimming program,’ says Mr Li.
‘The seniors are looking especially strong this year, holding onto an early lead in terms of Senior point scored already this season, though we face fierce competition from all other GPS schools.’
Year 11 student Luke L, who broke three GPS Championship records in 2025 and went on to swim in the National Championships, will again be one to watch, says Aquatics Director, Mr Ryan Moar.
‘Luke also broke two College records at our own Age Championships in January and a swimming record at the first AAGPS meet of the season. Luke has an amazing feel for the water, and anyone who watches him swim always comments about how effortless it looks.
‘However, behind that appearance is years of hard work and attention to refine his technique. As with every year, however, we are competitive across every division and have high hopes for all our swimmers come Friday week.’
High-quality performances from the Newington swim team come as no surprise, given the dedication shown by both competitors and coaching staff on the pool deck. Newington senior and performance squads train five mornings and three afternoons each week, while the junior squads spend four afternoons and one morning training per week.
When students join the swimming program, participants are delegated into one of Newington’s five swim squads: Mini, Orange, Bronze, Silver and Gold according to age and ability. Typically, Mini welcomes the newer, younger swimmers, and Gold, the College’s championship swimmers, and winners.
‘Our program is structured towards teaching children to swim correctly from a young age and helping them progress to become safe in the water, confident of their abilities and competitive in racing if they choose to go down that path,’ says Mr Moar.
‘Experienced coaches through intermediate and advanced levels encourage swimmers to challenge themselves to become better, faster swimmers all the time.’
The AAGPS Swimming carnival is at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on Friday 27 February. Anyone from the Newington community is welcome to attend and support the College competitors.
Newington’s Swim team will also compete in the IPSHA Swimming and Diving Championships at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre 3 March and at the Combined Independent Schools (CIS) Championships on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 May.
To read more about Newington’s aquatic program and how to get involved, click here.
