Swimming Australia has today announced 15 Podium Centres for 2014 to provide a world’s best training environment and support for our elite swimmers and coaches, as they push for international podium success in Glasgow, Rio, Tokyo 2020 and beyond.
Working in partnership with State Institutes of Sport, Swimming Clubs, Schools, Universities and Facilities, Swimming Australia will establish 12 Podium Performance Centres and three Podium Potential Centres, to deliver strategic initiatives linked to the Australian Sports Commission’s Winning Edge plan and targets.
Queensland will be home to six centres, with four in Brisbane and two on the Gold Coast, while NSW and Victoria will host three each. Western Australia and South Australia will host one centre and one will be based at our National Training Centre in Canberra, replacing the previous AIS swimming program.
The Podium Performance Centre in Canberra will form part of the overall National Training Centre which will also see the state-of-the art AIS facility used for national camps, testing, sports science and medicine, and residential training programs for both Paralympic and Olympic swimming.
A central pillar of the Swimming Australia High Performance strategy, the Podium Centre Programs aim to focus investment and resources in high performing coaching environments with a proven track record, or the capacity to achieve podium performances in the future.
Swimming Australia CEO Mark Anderson said the Podium Centre Program is another step towards the vision of Australia being the world’s best in and out of the pool by 2020.
“We have a vision of wanting to be the best in the world by 2020 and the establishment of high quality daily training environments is pivotal to achieving this objective,” said Anderson.
“The high standard of submissions was evident to the selection panel. To have more than 30 centres express interest in being involved in Australian swimming as a Podium Centre is a credit to the Clubs, State Institutes of Sports, Schools, Universities, and Facilities that are contributing to high performance swimming in Australia.”
“There is no doubt that it is a collective and combined effort to produce world’s best coaches and athletes and that’s where this program will excel, forming clear partnerships with swimming clubs, and high performance coaches to achieve our vision.”
The Program will see partners combine to provide targeted investment to support specific areas of improved coach remuneration and well-being, better integration of sport science and sport medicine into the Daily Performance Environment and access to camps and competitions that will have demonstrable performance impact.
It will also provide a perfect vehicle for Director of High Performance Michael Scott and new National Head Coach Jacco Verhaeren to provide regular contact and feedback to our elite coaches and swimmers.
Swimming Australia Director of High Performance Michael Scott said the Podium Centre Program is designed to capitalise on our existing strengths of producing world class athletes through a strong club system.
“Working in partnership with each centre, Swimming Australia will make investments into key areas that underpin international high performance success aiming to enhance the environment that the coach and swimmer work in on a daily basis,” said Scott.
“In establishing the network of Podium Performance Centres and Podium Potential Centres, we also acknowledge that the traditional strength of clubs and coaches has meant that there will always be swimmers, not based within the formally identified network, who achieve world-class outcomes. These athlete and coach units will continue to be well supported through our Individual Podium Program.”
The Podium Centre Programs will be rolled out from January 1 2014.
Swimming Australia Podium Performance Program
Podium Performance Centres
Challenge Stadium High Performance Training Centre (Perth, WA)
Chandler Swim Club (Brisbane, QLD)
Commercial Swim Club (Brisbane, QLD)
Melbourne Vicentre Swimming Club (Melbourne, VIC)
Miami Swim Club (Gold Coast, QLD)
Swimming Australia National Training Centre (Canberra, ACT)
Nudgee Brothers Swim Club (Brisbane, QLD)
Nunawading Swimming Club (Melbourne, VIC)
SOPAC Swim Club (Sydney, NSW)
Southport Swim Club (Gold Coast, QLD)
St Peters Western Swim Club (Brisbane, QLD)
Sydney University Swim Club (Sydney, NSW)
Podium Potential Centres
TigerSharks Swim Club (Melbourne, VIC)
Marion Swim Club (Adelaide, SA)
Carlile Swim Club (Narrabeen, NSW)
This release was provide to SwimSwam courtesy of Swimming Australia.