Club and Community | 23 October 2026
Swim GP for Dummies
One 25m pool, four lanes, four teams, 80 athletes, no times – pure points.
It will be fast and it will be furious as the F1’s of Australian swimming put on a show under LED lights in Melbourne on Friday 13 & Sat 14 Nov at MSAC.
Team Kraken, Wahoo, KingTide and Tsunami will race for points – and the inaugural Swim GP winner bragging rights – over two high-energy nights designed for fans-first engagement, maximum excitement and nail-biting finishes.
Built on the back of last year’s successful Australia vs The World, the Swim GP program combines traditional races, staggered-start events, elimination skins, and relays with fan voting, bonus points, and coaches calls all influencing the outcomes.
The four teams feature a mix of the Dolphins biggest stars and rising talent from across the Olympic and Paralympic program.
Each team is comprised of 20 athletes, including two Platinum athletes, who were pre-selected and exempt from the draft, and four Para athletes.
ELIMINATION SKINS
The pressure is on in this back-to-back elimination sprint battle.
Held over 50m in each of the four form strokes – freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke – it’s a fast-finishing fight to stay in.
The slowest to touch the wall in each heat/round is eliminated, until only two athletes remain for the third and final round.
How it works:
- Heats: Eight athletes are split across two heats of four. The two slowest in each heat are eliminated, claim 1 point for last and 2 points for second last. The two fastest from each heat advance to Round 1.
- Round 1: Four athletes race. The slowest is eliminated and claims 5 points. The other three advance.
- Round 2: Three athletes race. The slowest is eliminated and claims 6 points. The final two advance.
- Round 3: The final two athletes race for the win. The winner wins 10 points and second place claims 7 points.
The pressure doesn’t stop at the wall because a two-minute clock is ticking.
The faster you swim, the more time you have to recover, reset and get ready to race again.
The winner of each stroke’s skins will face the other three skins winners on Saturday night in the Skins Champions’ Race. With one lane for each stroke and staggered starts, it’s the ultimate final showdown.
RELAYS
One lane per team. Time to go all in.
The points on the line for relay events are: 1st = 10pts, 2nd = 7pts, 3rd = 5pts, 4th = 3pts
Fans Choice: Mixed 4x50m Mystery Relay GF
Versatility is key in this one. With the relay teams already locked in, the fans have the power to choose if they will be racing a freestyle or medley 4x50m relay. The winning vote is revealed as the athletes get ready behind the blocks.
Fans Choice: Mixed 4x25m Freestyle Relay
Bring a poncho for this ultimate splash and dash. Fans will vote if a male or female athlete will dive in first for the mixed 4x25m freestyle relay.
Fans Choice: Para & Able-Bod Mixed 4x50m Freestyle Relay
A unique combo of para and able-bod action. Fans will vote on who the two able-bod swimmers (one male, one female) for each team will be in this event. The race order kicks off with a male para swimmer.
BESPOKE EVENT BREAKDOWNS
Points awarded for individual events, including Champions’ Race, the 25m freestyle sprint and mixed 100m multi-class events, will be: 1st = 5pts, 2nd = 3pts, 3rd = 2pts, 4th = 1pt
200m Mystery Medley
A 200m individual medley but the order of strokes is decided right then and there at the blocks from a live roulette wheel. Don’t look away as each lane will have a different “medley” order.
400m Speed Challenge
In the men’s and women’s 400m freestyle, it’s not just about the final touch – every lap counts! The leader at each 100m checkpoint will claim bonus points.
POWER PLAYS
Each team has one Power Play per night in their arsenal. They can activate a Power Play just prior to the event and whoever wins the event claims the double points.
Also to note:
- Fan voting is open to spectators attending only with instructions on how to vote – thus deciding relay compositions – provided on the night.
- The TOs will be watching closely with DQ decisions to be made on the spot. Decisions are final – no ability to challenge or review the replay.
- No official results or records can be made at this event as it is not a World Aquatics approved meet.
Meet your Swim GP teams!
KingTide – powered by Carlile
- Head Coach: Mel Marshall
- Assistant Coach: Chris Nesbit
- Platinum athlete: Flynn Southam
- Platinum athlete: Lani Pallister
- Lizzy Dekkers
- Olivia Wunsch
- Kai Taylor
- Harrison Turner
- Alex Tuckfield
- Declan Budd
- Keira Stephens
- Victoria Belando Nicholson
- Bailey Lello
- Claudia Fydler
- Hannah Fredericks
- Gideon Burnes
- Isabella Boyd
- Jesse Coleman
- Lukas Dunn
- Maya Zunker
- Mia O’Leary
- Tristen Waugh
Kraken – powered by GOswim
- Head Coach: Craig Jackson
- Assistant Coach: Bobby Jovanovich
- Platinum athlete: Kyle Chalmers
- Platinum athlete: Mollie O’Callaghan
- Brittany Castelluzzo
- Alex Perkins
- Brendon Smith
- Sam Williamson
- Col Pearse
- Tim Hodge
- Jasmin Fullgrabe
- Madeleine McTernan
- Amelia Weber
- Amelie Smith
- Chloe Rowe-Hagans
- David Schlicht
- Enoch Robb
- Joshua Anderson
- Lilla Ribot-de-Bresac
- Lily Koch
- Mark Nikolaev
- Tex Cross
Wahoo – powered by Rackley
- Head Coach: Damien Jones
- Assistant Coach: Michael Sage
- Platinum athlete: Meg Harris
- Platinum athlete: Sam Short
- Ben Armbruster
- Iona Anderson
- Zac Stubblety-Cook
- Jenna Forrester
- Ella Ramsay
- Ben Hance
- Callum Simpson
- Emily Beecroft
- Jenna Jones
- Charlie Hawke
- Jaimie de Lutiis
- Joshua Collett
- Lily Price
- Mackenzie Burns
- Marcus da Silva
- Sienna Harben
- Stuart Swinburn
- Se-Bom Lee
Tsunami
- Head Coach: Ian Hulme
- Assistant Coach: Jol Finck
- Platinum athlete: Kaylee McKeown
- Platinum athlete: William Petric
- Jamie Jack
- Tara Kinder
- Matt Temple
- Milla Jansen
- Tom Gallagher
- Jasmine Greenwood
- Lakeisha ‘Lucky’ Patterson
- Rowan Crothers
- Alex Quach
- Alyssa Burgess
- Ben Goedemans
- Edward Sommerville
- Hannah Casey
- Joshua Yong
- Ollie Moclair
- Poppy Stephen
- Sienna Toohey
- Tiana Kritzinger
