By David
It is worthwhile reminding ourselves of the amount of government money that has gone into Swimming New Zealand. Last year, through Peter Miskimmin, we paid Renford and Layton $2,495,292. Over five year $11,120,748 has been poured into the bottomless pit called 17 Antares Place; and for what? Day by day the answer is increasingly obvious. As I have no doubt, Barry Crump, Sir Colin Meads, Sir Edmund Hillary and Arthur Lydiard would have put it – “bugger all”.
We need little in the way of further evidence that our money is being wasted. Every week the New Zealand national body provides another example of mismanagement and corporate waste. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving. SNZ, it seems, is incapable of stemming the flow of bad news. That truth was highlighted by an announcement today that New Zealand’s best swimmers, Lauren Boyle and Matthew Stanley, were going to “bypass” the December World Short Course Championships. The New Zealand’s team of four has been cut in half. Glen Snyders, training in the USA, and Nathan Capp will be New Zealand’s only representatives.
Two and a half million dollars has been spent in the past twelve months on the Swimming New Zealand Millennium swim school. The result is a one swimmer, Capp, going to the World Championships. Remember, Snyders fled from 17 Antares Place a long time ago. Two and a half million dollars for one swimmer – does that seems right to you?
But it is more than numbers that highlight the folly of the Millennium Institute. The reasons given for Boyle and Stanley walking out of the World Championship team accentuate the shambles of the Swimming New Zealand Millennium swim school.
The press release tells us that “Stanley has had his recent focus on study and university examinations. Matt has had other priorities that have compromised his preparations and therefore he is better to focus on the longer term goals and preparations for next year’s World Championships in Russia.”
That really is a pile of garbage. The whole world knows swimmers can train and study at the same time. Twelve of the swimmers selected to represent the United States at this World Short Course Championship are involved in university study. It is hard to imagine that the demands of Stanley’s academic program prevent him representing the country. It is easy to imagine that the mismanagement of the Millennium Institute has cost Stanley this opportunity.
I suspect what the announcement really means is that Matthew Stanley’s training is a mess because the Miskimmin swim school in Auckland is a shambles. I hope I’m wrong but this sort of excuse usually signals the end of a promising career.
And Boyle, the press release says, “has been engaged on determining her personal coaching plans for next year.” What the hell does that mean you may be asking? Well what I suspect it means is that Boyle knows the Millennium training program is rubbish and has not prepared her properly to swim in a world championship. In all probability she is desperately trying to negotiate her way out of Auckland to another training program, probably in Spain but I know of others with their money on the Brisbane Miami swim team. The problem is how to get her out of town without making the SNZ program look completely ridiculous. We need to remember Boyle spent four years at Cal. She knows the difference between good and bad preparation. My bet is that every fibre of her athletic frame is screaming at her, “Lauren, get out of this shambles.”
Of course the Swimming New Zealand press release does not use my words. But, I think you will admit, their announcement is not far away from my translation. Here is what it says:
“This year Boyle had a stint with Fred Vergnoux, the former head coach of Spain. Lauren is looking to achieve something special as an Olympic distance swimmer at the pinnacle of her sporting career to finish on the podium at Rio. This will require quite specific and individual coaching and we are working with her find solutions while still maintaining New Zealand as her main base with some blocks of training overseas when required.
“The challenges of establishing a personal coach has meant that Lauren feels this has compromised some of her build-up.
“As the world champion therefore if she is not in the best shape to win the gold medal again in the 800m freestyle at the upcoming championships in Doha, like Matt, she is wiser to focus on next year which is the very important stepping stone to the 2016 Olympics.”
Just look at this rubbish. It says Boyle’s training “will require quite specific and individual coaching.” I thought our little country spent two and a half million dollars last year so Lauren Boyle could receive “specific and individual coaching”. I understand Mazda SUVs cost a bit, but surely coaching Boyle had some priority. It seems not. Clearly Boyle is not satisfied her preparation is “specific or individual” enough.
And next this gem, “while still maintaining New Zealand as her main base with some blocks of training overseas when required.” This is the cover up. This is the beginning of the SNZ spin. Layton, Renford and Villanueva want to avoid their program looking stupid. Their spin will say, everything at the Millennium Institute is wonderful. Lauren Boyle loves being there. But simply to add some fine tuning, some cream on the cake, Boyle is going to Spain or Australia. But her visits will be infrequent and for very short periods. Unbelievably, Swimming New Zealand is about to spin a “Clayton story” of how Boyle is training at the Millennium Institute without actually being there.
And finally, the most telling comment of all. “The challenges of establishing a personal coach have meant that Lauren feels this has compromised some of her build-up.” I’m certain that’s right. I suspect Boyle’s preparation has been savagely compromised. But really, when you and I spend two and a half million dollars on a swim school we have every right to expect that the nation’s best swimmer will not be found wandering about looking for “a personal coach”. I thought we employed David Lyles to look after Lauren Boyle. Clearly that hasn’t worked. This post is not a personal criticism of David Lyles. The best coach in the world would fail at the Millennium Institute. Miskimmin’s policy is wrong. It does not work. Lyles’ primary failing is participating in the fiction that the Millennium swim school can succeed. Professionally, in NZ, he could well die because of that error.
It has taken Boyle far too long but I do think she has realized her swimming career is in peril and is extracting herself from the Millennium Institute as painlessly as she can. Good on her. I think she cares way too much about many of those who have just used her career to purchase a better Mazda. But, for Boyle, it’s better late than never. For what it is worth we are certain Boyle should walk her own path. There is no one better equipped than her to determine what that should be. God speed.
But we need to be clear on one point. The current turmoil with Stanley and Boyle just makes them the latest victims of SNZ’s commitment to a centralized policy of delivering swimming results. Other talented swimmers who committed themselves to the Miskimmin plan and failed to realize their potential include Burmester, Norfolk, Thomas, Palmer, Kean, Ingram, McLean, Fitch, Kent, Coster and Bell. That’s a lot of talent and a huge commitment with nothing much to show. Usually, like Stanley, the swimmers get blamed. Can you imagine Villanueva saying, “Sorry, this one’s down to me”? But it’s not the swimmers fault. SNZ’s record of failure is solely the responsibility of Miskimmin’s barren ideology.
And as for Layton, Renford and SNZ, their organization is coming apart at the seams. It’s a mess. They get two and a half million dollars to prepare a swim team and one week out from the central event their two best swimmers “do-a-runner” because their training hasn’t prepared them properly. Imagine if that happened at any private club in the country. One week before the National Championships the clubs two best swimmers pulled out because they hadn’t been trained properly. Good athletes refusing to swim for fear of embarrassing themselves. A club coach wouldn’t last five minutes. But at SNZ no one owns up to the chaos of the Commonwealth Games or the failure that was Pan Pacs or the disaster of Doha. Well, Layton and Renford the centralized preparation of NZ swimmers is your baby. You own it and, in twelve months, you have failed, three times. Three failures and no wins; I think it’s time you both moved on.
