Saint John is gearing up to host its first long course swim meet of the season this weekend.

Swimmers from across the Maritimes will descend on the Canada Games Aquatic Centre.

The two-day invitational swim meet is being organized by the Saint John Fundy Tide Swim Club.

“Saint John has the only long course pool in New Brunswick, so that means we end up hosting most of these meets,” president Angie McKinley said in an interview.

About 200 swimmers between the ages of 11 and 18, including a number of para-athletes, will be competing in this weekend’s competition.

The event will include three sessions of time finals, taking place Saturday morning, Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

“Each swimmer will get into the water and have their race and their time stands as to where they are in the standings,” said McKinley.

Swimmers will need to meet a certain qualifying time to advance to higher events, such as the Eastern Canadians in March and the nationals in August, she said.

“We are excited to kick off the Long Course season at our facility and hoping for some personal bests out of all the swimmers,” said aquatics manager Ben Tremblay in a news release.

Saint John’s Canada Games Aquatic Centre will host a second long course invitational in mid-March.

Paulette Hicks, CEO of Envision Saint John, said they are thrilled to welcome visitors to the city for these two events.

“Events like this help to fill our restaurants, hotels, and shops “ driving economic impact for the Saint John region. A huge congratulations to Angie and her team for their hard work in organizing these events,” Hicks said in the release.