Wake Up and Blame the Coach
By David
Several years ago, the New Zealand Government decided to socialize elite sport. They did it through the power of the purse. They set up a government agency called the Hillary Commission (later re-mis-named SPARC). The government then funded the agency and immediately turned every Olympic sport in the nation into social welfare beneficiaries; adverse to risk, pen pushing bureaucrats who spent their time and the sport’s money preparing five year plans and mission statements.
Swimming took a lead from their SPARC masters and developed plans within the sport that increasingly centralized power. SPARC of course approved. They’d have done the same thing. The vehicle NZ Swimming used was the North Shore Swimming Club and their coach Jan Cameron, the ex-wife of Australia’s Don Talbot. Their model was an even more socialist version of the Australian Institute of Sport. And that’s what New Zealand has now. It is pretentiously called the Millennium Institute and absorbs the state’s funding at an alarming rate.
The reasons we don’t like it are;
It is counter to the prevailing free enterprise character of New Zealand society. It has nothing to offer the tough independence that made Hillary, Walker, Loader, Quax, Snell, Halberg albergHHand Dixon household names around the sporting world. Interestingly all those guys made their name before there was a SPARC.
The nation’s fortunes increasingly rely on the ability and success of one coach or, just as bad, one programme. Nothing that Cameron has ever done convinces us that she is a Talbot, Lydiard, Touretski or Schubert.
New Zealand’s results have been worse than when Loader, Simsic, Langrel, Moss, Kingsman and Hurring were breaking world records, winning Olympic medals and swimming in Olympic finals. Cameron’s had millions and she’s had time; too many millions and too much time.
If the state is going to fund the sport of swimming we believe the money should be applied to create a “free enterprise” environment in which any one of the nation’s coaches can become a “General Motors” of swimming. That is the function of government in a free enterprise society. Once a very close friend of Cameron’s, Arthur Lydiard, agreed with that view. It’s what he did in Finland and it worked.
This week we have had another chance to see the product of Cameron’s work. The New Zealand National Championships which also serve as the World Championship trials have been held at the Henderson Pool in Auckland. How did they get on?
Remember when you judge Cameron’s performance you cannot use the standard of a normal swim coach at a normal parent run pool. This person has directed the resources of a nation. This person convinced Swimming New Zealand and a fawning press that she would lead them to swimming’s promised land. In the best traditions of used car salesmen everywhere she sold New Zealand the dream of world class status. She’s been followed, applauded and funded. When you judge Cameron it is entirely appropriate to say, “You offered us the world. Our nation funded you. Did you deliver?”
At this point I want to jump ahead a week and tell you, “No, she didn’t, not by a long way.” I will explain the results shortly. What is important is to tell you about Cameron’s reaction. Was there an apology; any sign of remorse; any indication that millions had been spent on her direction and the results were only 39% of forecast? No there was none of that. Instead Cameron, faster than a rattlers strike, blamed the swimmers. Here is a slightly shortened version of the article; click through to read the entire piece.
Swimming took a lead from their SPARC masters and developed plans within the sport that increasingly centralized power. SPARC of course approved. They’d have done the same thing. The vehicle NZ Swimming used was the North Shore Swimming Club and their coach Jan Cameron, the ex-wife of Australia’s Don Talbot. Their model was an even more socialist version of the Australian Institute of Sport. And that’s what New Zealand has now. It is pretentiously called the Millennium Institute and absorbs the state’s funding at an alarming rate.
The reasons we don’t like it are;
It is counter to the prevailing free enterprise character of New Zealand society. It has nothing to offer the tough independence that made Hillary, Walker, Loader, Quax, Snell, Halberg albergHHand Dixon household names around the sporting world. Interestingly all those guys made their name before there was a SPARC.
The nation’s fortunes increasingly rely on the ability and success of one coach or, just as bad, one programme. Nothing that Cameron has ever done convinces us that she is a Talbot, Lydiard, Touretski or Schubert.
New Zealand’s results have been worse than when Loader, Simsic, Langrel, Moss, Kingsman and Hurring were breaking world records, winning Olympic medals and swimming in Olympic finals. Cameron’s had millions and she’s had time; too many millions and too much time.
If the state is going to fund the sport of swimming we believe the money should be applied to create a “free enterprise” environment in which any one of the nation’s coaches can become a “General Motors” of swimming. That is the function of government in a free enterprise society. Once a very close friend of Cameron’s, Arthur Lydiard, agreed with that view. It’s what he did in Finland and it worked.
This week we have had another chance to see the product of Cameron’s work. The New Zealand National Championships which also serve as the World Championship trials have been held at the Henderson Pool in Auckland. How did they get on?
Remember when you judge Cameron’s performance you cannot use the standard of a normal swim coach at a normal parent run pool. This person has directed the resources of a nation. This person convinced Swimming New Zealand and a fawning press that she would lead them to swimming’s promised land. In the best traditions of used car salesmen everywhere she sold New Zealand the dream of world class status. She’s been followed, applauded and funded. When you judge Cameron it is entirely appropriate to say, “You offered us the world. Our nation funded you. Did you deliver?”
At this point I want to jump ahead a week and tell you, “No, she didn’t, not by a long way.” I will explain the results shortly. What is important is to tell you about Cameron’s reaction. Was there an apology; any sign of remorse; any indication that millions had been spent on her direction and the results were only 39% of forecast? No there was none of that. Instead Cameron, faster than a rattlers strike, blamed the swimmers. Here is a slightly shortened version of the article; click through to read the entire piece.
HARD WORD FOR TOP SWIMMERS
High Performance coach Jan Cameron believes some individuals are not doing as well as they should be. Corney Swanepoel and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Moss Burmester have been told to harden up. Cameron says it is probably the nerves and stress of a trial situation taking hold; she wants Swanepoel to step up as he has not delivered what he can, and as a young man simply needs to overcome some nerves.
New Zealand needs to ask itself is this the sort of leadership it wants? Is this what Hillary and Lydiard would have done? New Zealand is a fine little country with a proud sporting tradition, created by leaders who accepted responsibility when something went wrong. Cameron has sought to shovel blame on to those whose only mistake was to follow her over the Auckland Harbor Bridge.
Always be suspicious of coaches who use the excuses, “It’s the swimmers fault,” or “We didn’t do too well but the future is looking good.” The last four years have seen Swimming New Zealand perfect a thousand variations of both.
And so to the swimming; here’s what happened.
Prior to the trials Swimming New Zealand confidently predicted they had 18 swimmers ready for the World championship duty – in the event seven swimmers qualified. Of the seven, one was the British, ex-world record holder, Zoe Baker, who hardly owes any of her success to the Cameron plan. Another, Annabelle Carey lives half way down the South Island which in New Zealand is about as far as you can get from Cameron’s Millennium Institute.
Oh, Swimming New Zealand will still send 18 swimmers. They’ll make the numbers up with relays and sick notes. Don’t let that disguise the fact that only five products of the Cameron plan actually made the grade.
Of the seven who did qualify only Dean Kent and Moss Burmester would have made the Australian team. Kent would have been second in the 400 IM and Burmester first in the 200 butterfly. Kent has spent the last three months training with the British squad in Australia.
Of the seven who did qualify none would have won the US trial. Moss Burmester would have been second in the 200 butterfly and would be in the US team.
Eventually, the future is now. Only one New Zealander would have won an individual event in either the United States or Australian trials. Only two would have been fast enough to make the team in either of those countries. Is that a good enough return for the millions of tax dollars and years of unfettered trust placed in the Cameron plan? Swimwatch do not think so. The world class sport we were promised means you win things. Walker, Loader, Snell, Quax and Dixon went off to foreign lands and won races. Of course that was in the days before SPARC and Cameron. Perhaps that’s where we should go again.
And in case you don’t think New Zealand should do something about it, look deep inside and ask your self this. Will New Zealand win a race in Melbourne? If the answer is no or even I don’t think so, it’s time to change.
Always be suspicious of coaches who use the excuses, “It’s the swimmers fault,” or “We didn’t do too well but the future is looking good.” The last four years have seen Swimming New Zealand perfect a thousand variations of both.
And so to the swimming; here’s what happened.
Prior to the trials Swimming New Zealand confidently predicted they had 18 swimmers ready for the World championship duty – in the event seven swimmers qualified. Of the seven, one was the British, ex-world record holder, Zoe Baker, who hardly owes any of her success to the Cameron plan. Another, Annabelle Carey lives half way down the South Island which in New Zealand is about as far as you can get from Cameron’s Millennium Institute.
Oh, Swimming New Zealand will still send 18 swimmers. They’ll make the numbers up with relays and sick notes. Don’t let that disguise the fact that only five products of the Cameron plan actually made the grade.
Of the seven who did qualify only Dean Kent and Moss Burmester would have made the Australian team. Kent would have been second in the 400 IM and Burmester first in the 200 butterfly. Kent has spent the last three months training with the British squad in Australia.
Of the seven who did qualify none would have won the US trial. Moss Burmester would have been second in the 200 butterfly and would be in the US team.
Eventually, the future is now. Only one New Zealander would have won an individual event in either the United States or Australian trials. Only two would have been fast enough to make the team in either of those countries. Is that a good enough return for the millions of tax dollars and years of unfettered trust placed in the Cameron plan? Swimwatch do not think so. The world class sport we were promised means you win things. Walker, Loader, Snell, Quax and Dixon went off to foreign lands and won races. Of course that was in the days before SPARC and Cameron. Perhaps that’s where we should go again.
And in case you don’t think New Zealand should do something about it, look deep inside and ask your self this. Will New Zealand win a race in Melbourne? If the answer is no or even I don’t think so, it’s time to change.
posted by Swimwatch at 12:25 PM
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