A trio of swimmers representing Chandler Swimming Club have earned spots at Swimming Australia’s Next Wave Invitational Camp in Canberra, part of their progression toward potential Olympic pathways.
Resurrecting a Proven Pathway
Swimming Australia has reinstated a major talent identification and development initiative, known as the Next Wave Invitational Competition Camp, as part of its long-term preparations for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. The program echoes the early 2000s Trans-Tasman Series and aims to bridge the gap between club-level competition and national team benchmarks.
Held at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from 6 to 12 July, the camp will involve 64 athletes born between 2008 and 2012 who were selected following their performances at the 2025 Australian Age Championships.
Athletes already named in the Australian Junior Team were excluded, allowing the focus to shift to a broader pool of emerging talent not yet exposed to international-level racing environments.
Chandler Athletes Recognised
Three swimmers from Chandler Swimming Club—Ava Gaske, Lincoln Wearing, and Isaac Wearing—have been selected for Swimming Australia’s 2025 Next Wave Invitational Competition Camp, to be held in Canberra from 6 to 12 July. All three are coached by Tsuyoshi Kimura and earned their invitations based on their performances at the 2025 Australian Age Championships.
Ava Gaske continues to gain national and international experience. In 2023, she was one of 16 Queensland athletes selected to represent Australia at the Japan Olympic Cup, where she swam the 200m, 400m, and 800m freestyle events, placing sixth in the 800m 15–18 years category.
In 2024, she was selected to the Australian Junior Dolphins team for that year’s Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Canberra. This selection did not affect her 2025 eligibility for the Next Wave Camp, which excludes only those named to the current Australian Junior Team.
At the 2024 Australian Age Championships, Gaske claimed four gold medals. She followed this up at the 2025 Australian Age Championships, earning four silver medals and one top-eight placing across multiple events:
- 2nd in 800m Freestyle
- 2nd in 400m Individual Medley
- 2nd in 200m Butterfly
- 2nd in 400m Freestyle
- 8th in 200m Freestyle
Lincoln Wearing, 15, delivered one of the most dominant performances at the 2025 Australian Age Championships. He collected six gold medals and one silver, including:
- 1st in 800m Freestyle (set a new Australian and Australian Allcomers record)
- 1st in 200m Backstroke
- 1st in 400m Freestyle
- 1st in 200m Freestyle
- 1st in 1500m Freestyle
- 4th in 200m Butterfly
- 2nd in 4x50m Freestyle Relay
He also gained recognition at the 2024 Hancock Prospecting Queensland Championships, breaking Grant Hackett’s 28-year-old Queensland 15 Years Age Record in the 1500m freestyle with a time of 15:28.90.
Isaac Wearing, Lincoln’s twin, also delivered strong results at the 2025 Australian Age Championships:
- 2nd in 200m Freestyle
- 2nd in 400m Freestyle
- 2nd in 1500m Freestyle
- 3rd in 800m Freestyle
- 7th in 400m Individual Medley
- 7th in 200m Butterfly
- 12th in 100m Freestyle
In 2024, he finished second behind Lincoln in the 1500m freestyle at the Queensland Championships, completing a podium finish for Chandler in that event.
Together, Gaske and the Wearing twins contributed to Chandler’s overall campaign at the 2025 Australian Age Championships, where the club’s 19 swimmers reached 27 finals, collected 15 medals, and secured 16th place on the national point score.
Looking to Brisbane 2032
The Next Wave camp aims to prepare athletes for the demands of international racing through repeat competition, team immersion, and exposure to elite training environments. Participants will compete as either ‘Kangaroos’ or ‘Emus’, gaining racing experience under simulated pressure across multiple events.
Former Australian head coach Leigh Nugent described the program as a crucial missing step in recent years. The camp is designed to condition athletes to race under fatigue, develop consistency, and fast-track learning across consecutive events.
While coaches for the camp are yet to be formally announced, the selection of athletes like Gaske and the Wearing twins signals the potential strength of future Dolphins teams on the path to Brisbane 2032.
Published 6-May-2025