By David

Sixty percent of Swimwatch readers live outside New Zealand. I would imagine most of them are sick of reading about New Zealand’s Project Vanguard. Come to think of it most of the forty percent that live in New Zealand have probably had enough as well. Our next Swimwatch story will be on another subject. However, and at the risk of alienating everyone, I was at a meeting in Auckland today that was relevant to swimming and added an important insight into the Project Vanguard debate.

The meeting was hosted by Peter Miskimmin, the Chief Executive of the New Zealand government’s sport funding agency, SPARC. Miskimmin spoke for about an hour and for another hour answered a range of questions. I was impressed. First of all the Chief Executive of SPARC was out there talking to his constituents. He hadn’t just sent one of his underlings on a public relations mission. Second he fielded a wide range of questions confidently and sincerely. He is either a bloody good actor or the real deal. Certainly he converted this natural skeptic into a believer. I suspect SPARC are fortunate to have a man of his caliber leading their organization.

In his opening address Miskimmin made a remark that was relevant to swimming. He put up a slide that showed the “normal” organization structure for a sport in New Zealand; national headquarters, regional administration and clubs. He explained this was the traditional structure but a sport like Surf Life Saving (that’s Beach Life Guarding in the USA) had decided to by-pass the regional administration level and had created a new constitutional structure that involved a national headquarters linked directly to individual clubs.

Then he said, and this is a direct quote that I hurried to write down, “Swimming New Zealand” he said, “is actively considering the same thing.” That quote is hugely significant. Miskimmin has clearly been told by Swimming New Zealand that they are promoting a structure similar to Surf Life Saving; a structure that abolishes the sport’s regions in favor of a two tier Club/Head Office organization.

The problem with that is that Swimming New Zealand’s Project Vanguard ambassador, Cathy Hemsworth, is going around the country telling everyone that nothing has been decided, all the options are open and the ideal structure is merely a point on a continuum that has still to be decided. Well, that’s not what Miskimmin thinks. His opinion is that Swimming New Zealand is set on the Surf Life Saving model. Both people cannot be right and I know who I found to be more believable. I think Swimming New Zealand is misleading its constituents – again.

During the meeting’s question time Miskimmin was interrogated further about the structure of the sport’s organization. Did SPARC, he was asked, have a preferred structure? Were they promoting a structure that included a regional level or did they favor the club/national office model? Miskimmin’s reply was unequivocal. SPARC, he said, had no preference. It was up to individual sports to decide what structure best delivered services to their members.

The problem with that is that Swimming New Zealand’s Project Vanguard ambassador, Cathy Hemsworth, is going around the country telling everyone that it is SPARC that is pushing Swimming New Zealand to change its organizational structure. In Auckland Hemsworth came close to suggesting funding from SPARC could be at risk if the organization did not change its current structure. SPARC, she said, was calling for change. Both people cannot be right and I know who I found to be more believable. I think Swimming New Zealand is misleading its constituents – again.

It is appropriate for those who believe in a product to sell it to the best of their ability. Promoting its good points and stressing its advantages are entirely proper. However the Office of Fair Trading tells me that a presentation is misleading if it is likely to deceive its audience; “if it contains false statements of fact; if it conceals or leaves out important facts; if it promises to do something but there is no intention of carrying it out or if it creates a false impression, even if everything stated in it may be literally true.”

I was impressed with Peter Miskimmin. I am confident he was open and honest. I am sure his comments on organizational reform were accurate and reflected his understanding of the discussion going on inside the sport of swimming. Although he did not mention Project Vanguard I had the strong sense that he knew what it was all about.

If my opinion of Miskimmin is accurate, then the Swimming New Zealand’s Project Vanguard road show and SNZ CEO Mike Byrne should expect a call from the Office of Fair Trading any day soon.