Incompetent, Corrupt Or Both

 Craig Lord’s SwimVortex website has played an important role in exposing incompetence and corruption in international swimming administration. His most recent editorial is a stunning example. https://www.swimvortex.com/fina-provides-clear-moral-leadership-how-so-ask-all-who-ever-dipped-a-toe-in-water/ I had no idea things were that bad. From the Lauren Boyle record fiasco, to drug cheating, to fake awards and international rule violations – FINA have practiced them all. The way the UAE went about ignoring Israel’s participation in UAE hosted World Cup events was disgraceful. There should have been serious consequences. But this is FINA. Money was more important.

Bad behaviour at Swimming New Zealand (SNZ) does not have the international consequences of the stuff FINA practice. However, in its own way it is just as incompetent, corrupt or both. For example SNZ played a central role in the Lauren Boyle lie. They signed a form that said all FINA minimum standards had been met when, quite clearly, they had not. That was a lie. They could have told the truth and added a note explaining that the swimmer received no advantage. Their dishonesty was compounded when Layton, the Chairman, used his Annual Report to rubbish SwimVortex and Swimwatch for holding him to account.

The problem with an example like that is it shows the dishonesty the organization will practice when there is money involved. SNZ were well aware that Boyle’s record would find favour with High Performance Sport New Zealand; favour that would probably be reflected in the size of the SNZ’s funding. What did a lie matter when there was money at stake? And that is straight out of the FINA text book.

Recent events on the Australian Gold Coast have further highlighted the consequences of SNZ’s incompetence, corruption or both. Several of these were discussed in a recent Swimwatch post http://www.swimwatch.net/2018/04/complaint-swimming-new-zealand.html

The post highlighted the following failures.

Between 2011 and 2018 there is not a single measure of the organization’s performance that improved. Everything got worse. Income, membership and results were all in decline.

The performance of the 2018 New Zealand non-para swim team at the Commonwealth Games was the equal worst result since the Games began 88 years ago in 1930.

In announcing the AON NZ sponsorship Swimming New Zealand reported that “The announcement comes following the growth of participating swimmers entering both championships every year.” That was not true. Between 2011 and 2017 the number of entries in the Open Championships dropped by 230 from 997 to 767.

Swimming New Zealand’s single biggest failure is its policy of centralized elite training. Introducing the program was bad enough but the decisions, over ten years, to persevere was inexcusable. In the face of mounting evidence that the program was failing Swimming New Zealand marched on. The damage was terminal.

The selection of three of the Commonwealth Games’ support staff raises concerns about the fitness of Swimming New Zealand to govern.

Only two swimmers met the SNZ qualifying standards. But SNZ, desperate not to send a team of only two, picked an additional ten relay swimmers and entered them in about 30 individual events. In my opinion that is called fiddling the rules.

SNZ booked a camp on the Gold Coast but failed to take into account their last minute army of relay swimmers. The Gold Coast facility was not big enough. The New Zealand pre-Games bonding experience was divided in two.

Bizarre programing of events such as the National Open Championships and a high altitude camp before the 2017 World Championships would have affected the team’s performance.

SNZ has a problem. Poor management is costing the sport financially. The sport is bleeding members and its elite performance at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games has been terrible. But the real problem is those in power, those individuals responsible for the mess, are not held to account.

There can be no arguing with the facts. No one can make an 8% decline in competitive swimmers look good. A 25% drop in total membership is not a success. A 28% drop in government funding is directly related to poor performance and a 15% cut in total funding is hurting the sport. These are not the disgruntled complaints of a “trouble-making” website. These are the facts. They have a cause and they cause harm

But what they don’t have is consequences for those who caused the hurt. They get away with it; home scot free. Why is no one holding Cotterill and Johns to account? Why do those responsible for oversight ignore their duty? What is Keith Bone from Hawkes Bay thinking of? Why does Mark Berge seem to ignore the problem? Is Bronwyn Radford more interested in political status than doing her job? Is Willem Coetzee too interested in his son’s swimming to upset his bosses? By association these delegates are as guilty as the SNZ principals. The time for them to stand-up and take responsibility for addressing the sport’s sorry state of affairs is long overdue.

But of as much concern is what is Gary Francis doing? He was hired for the expressed purpose of bringing reform to SNZ. Instead it seems SNZ has corrupted Gary Francis. Months ago we were promised meetings to discuss his new job. In true SNZ style nothing has happened; no meetings, no newsletters and no change. But instead of reform, instead of Gary Francis bringing about change, my bet is SNZ will attach themselves like a limpet to their new golden boy, Lewis Clareburt. Like Boyle he will be seen as their source of future funding and excuse to avoid reform – just like FINA.

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