British Swimming has announced its strong squad to take on some of the globe's best athletes at the Visa Paralympic World Cup in Manchester this May.
The team, 16 of them medallists at the IPC World Championships in Durban last year, will compete at the day-long championships at the Manchester Aquatics Centre (MAC) on Saturday 12 May.
Top ten in the world-ranked athletes in each of the 17 events have been invited to attend which means some of the country's best-known swimmers will be in action at the MAC, in a team that also comprises a group of the country's most promising junior athletes.
In 2006 Britain was the most successful nation in the pool with five gold, two silver and two bronze medals, but a change in the programme means none of the GB swimmers will be defending their titles.
However, 10 swimmers from last year's competition are back this year, including World Champions Dave Roberts, Sascha Kindred and Natalie Jones. And newcomers Emma Cattle, Jonathan Fox and Matt Whorwood will also be looking to impress on their first World Cup outing.
The Visa Paralympic World Cup comes during an intensive phase of racing for the British athletes that will see the country's best competing at ASA Regional Championships, the British International Disability Swimming Championships (formerly the DSE Championships) and the German Open Championships.
British Disability Swimming Performance Director Tim Reddish is looking forward to strong performances from the team.
"The Visa Paralympic World Cup gives our athletes the opportunity to improve on their performances at the World Championships or reaffirm their position as World number one," he said.
"It's good to see the young guys competing in the top ten on the world stage and its credit to them and their coaches that they're up there at this age. They'll be hoping to improve on their rankings going into the competition."
Now in its third year, the Visa Paralympic World Cup is an annual multi-sport competition featuring swimming, athletics, wheelchair basketball and track cycling. In 2006 more than 350 athletes from 45 countries were involved and this year's event is set to be better than ever.
Female Swimmers selected for the squad are as follows:
Claire Cashmore (Kelly College)
Emma Cattle (Luton)
Liz Johnson (Swim Swansea)
Natalie Jones (Colchester Phoenix)
Rachel Latham (Bolton Metro)
Nyree Lewis (Leominster Kingfisher)
Louise Watkin (Kelly College)
The following events have been confirmed:
Female;
50m and 100m MD Freestyle.
SM6 200m Individual Medley
S6 100m Backstroke
S10 100m Backstroke
S3 50m Backstroke
S9 100m Freestyle
S8 100m Butterfly
