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New Zealand swimmers face a key first step towards success at next year’s Beijing Olympics when the Absolute Insurance World Championship Trial starts in Auckland tomorrow.

The trial that runs until next Saturday at the West Wave Aquatic Centre in Waitakere City is the qualifying event for the world championships in Melbourne next March. The world championships will provide a key pathway for New Zealand swimmers if they are to produce results in Beijing.

All swimmers are tapered for the six-day championships with the qualifying mark set at fifth place in the world over the last 12 months plus three per cent.

“We’ve set a stiff standard for swimmers to make it to the world championships in March,” Swimming New Zealand High Performance Programmes Director Clive Rushton said.

“We are looking for quality performances from our leading swimmers. They should make the qualifying standards but they and we are looking for more than that. If swimmers want to succeed at Beijing in terms of making finals and seriously improving their world rankings then they will need to put their hands up this week. We could have some swimmers step up in the next 12 months and make the team for Beijing at next year’s trials. But if swimmers want to succeed in Beijing then they need to be performing at the world championships in March. At the top level of this sport you can only make small incremental improvements so this week is the first step in that process.”

All of New Zealand’s key swimmers will be competing with Zoe Baker and Cameron Gibson back from their training base in Bath, England.

Most attention will centre on the core group of swimmers who performed at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

There are some changes in emphasis as swimmers eye next year’s world championships.

Helen Norfolk (North Shore) will concentrate on the 200m and 400m freestyle rather than the individual medley after her national record in the 400m free this year.

Her team-mate Liz Coster will compete in the unusual combination of both backstroke and butterfly events while Atlanta Olympian Alison Fitch will concentrate on leading the team to qualify in the freestyle relays.

Dean Kent has returned from 10 weeks training with the English team on the Gold Coast in fine form while Melissa Ingram, who has gained a world championship medal in backstroke, will also focus on the 400m freestyle. As this event clashes with her preferred 200m backstroke, she will attempt to qualify over the first half of the 800m freestyle on the first day of competition tomorrow.

Commonwealth Games backstroke record holder Hannah McLean (pictured), who had a long break after Melbourne, has been in sparkling form in training, while Melbourne gold medalist Moss Burmester has his sights set on the 200m freestyle as well as his butterfly events.

Canterbury’s Georgina Toomey has been training strongly for her butterfly events, breaststrokers Annabelle Carey (Christchurch) and Kelly Bentley (Wellington) have also trained well.

West Auckland Aquatics teenager Lauren Boyle, one of the most improved swimmers at the Commonwealth Games, will have a home pool advantage for her preferred freestyle events.

Rushton is also looking to some of the young stars from the inaugural FINA world youth championships to step up this week, with the likes of youth world champion Natalie Wiegersma (Southland) capable of qualifying for the world championships as an individual.

Heats start each morning at 9am and finals at 6pm at the West Wave Aquatic Centre.