By David

The Auckland Open Championships were held this weekend. For our West Auckland Aquatics team it was our third meet this season and therefore was most certainly still in the category of training for more important things to come. Desperately interesting as it might be to me, I am sure you would find a blow by blow account of how our swimmers performed pretty dull fare. And so instead I will recount some of the events that pleased or surprised.

First and most important – I met Melissa Ingram for the first time. The CEO of Auckland Swimming, Brian Palmer, does something no other swimming official in the world has dared. He invites me to present medals at his championships. On this occasion the events he chose for me were the men’s and women’s 200 backstroke. Winner of the women’s event was Melissa Ingram. Regular readers of Swimwatch will know that I am a paid up member of the Melissa Gee Whiz Club. I saw her swim first at the World Cups in Moscow, Stockholm and Berlin. I even had a drink in a bar with her in Berlin but we have never spoken. But this weekend all that changed and I am delighted.

Second Rhi took another step on her personal swimming journey. I’m prepared to bet any money you like that twelve months ago most swimming observers looked at a 115 kilogram Rhi Jeffrey and said she would never swim well again. At the New South Wales Championships a year ago she tried to swim; couldn’t break 30 seconds for 50 meters freestyle, and after the race was accosted by an Australian official concerned about her health. Well twelve months later, this weekend, an 89 kilogram Rhi Jeffrey swam 55.76 for 100 meters freestyle and silenced those critics. The time ranks her 32 in the world this year – not a fake 32 based on two per country as practised by Swimming New Zealand but a real world ranking. Sure she has a long way to go. But very few could have achieved what she has done already. Even fewer will achieve what she will do in the next six months. It will be fun to watch.

Third Lauren Boyle got disqualified for a false start in the 400 freestyle. This was not news because of the false start. That sort of thing happens all the time. I actually think swimming officials need to distinguish between some movement on the blocks, which as I understand the rules is legal, and false starting, which is not allowed. Anyway, whatever happened in Lauren’s case, she was dismissed from the class. But that was not the news. The subsequent behaviour of her coach, Mark Regan, was what made the headlines. I happened to be at the control room when he angrily refused to sign the disqualification slip and demanded Lauren’s reinstatement. Two things about his performance caused me concern. First there is never any need to include a string of Australian profanities in a debate over the merits of a disqualification. That is just bad manners. If Regan is going to represent this country then he had better clean up his verbal act. Second I heard him use the expression that the Auckland officials “could not disqualify New Zealand’s best swimmer.” Isn’t that just typical of the arrogance that infects the Millennium swimming program? The laws of the sport do not apply to them. Well no one is above the rule of law. Hopefully the unfortunate disqualification of Lauren Boyle will have taught her coach that lesson. Hopefully it will have given Mark Regan and his Millennium program some much needed humility. Hopefully – but I do not think so.

Fourth, private enterprise is taking over. I was pleased Rhi convincingly won the 100 meters freestyle. For years I have argued, in Swimwatch, that a private enterprise, capitalist system of elite sport produces better swimmers than Jan Cameron’s state run dictatorship. Rhi took on the state’s best swimmers this weekend and won. That lesson is good for every swimmer in the country. They can stay in their home programs. They can swim in their local pools. To be a champion they do not need to pack their bags and shift to Auckland. Jan Cameron was wrong. The error of the past ten years was cruelly exposed by a talented American. Those administrators charged with reforming Swimming New Zealand would do well to look at the result of this weekend’s women’s 100 meters freestyle and ask why did their state run program loose again?

Fifth – the saga of Rhi’s goofy cap. Rhi is her own woman. That is one of her cardinal strengths. One of the things she enjoys just now is wearing a goofy swim cap. Her current favourite is pictured below. She swam all her races this weekend wearing the interesting pink number. Auckland’s technical officials were concerned. Did the cap’s two small fins violate the FINA rule that prohibits any appendage that provides additional endurance, speed or buoyancy? Meetings were held long into the night. I was told the Secretary General of world swimming was woken at two in the morning. (That’s a joke, by the way.) Were pink, shark caps included on the FINA list of approved swimwear? By day four of the meet a decision had been reached. Rhi’s cap could stay. New Zealand’s leading technical officials had examined the rules; had studied the photographic evidence and had gathered in force to watch Rhi perform and the Zogg cap was approved. The swimming world sighed in collective relief. You may think I am joking. But no, this actually happened. I was there.

Sixth – Lara is on her way to the New Zealand Olympic Trials. You may remember the story of Lara. She’s the swimmer who was kicked out of her Central Hawkes Bay club’s training program because she was too slow. Aiden, the Waipukarau coach, said she would have to swim in the “oldies” aquafit lane. The competition training lanes, he said, were not for the likes of Lara. Well all that was four months ago. Since then Lara has shifted to Auckland and has joined West Auckland Aquatics. Some Central Hawkes Bay Club parent, called Mrs. Reidy, warned her of the perils of that decision. This weekend Lara swam the 50 meters freestyle, first swimming 28.71 and then lowering her time once more to 28.65 and qualifying for the New Zealand Olympic Trials. I am delighted. I just love those stories where someone is written off by those who know nothing and with determination, talent and shear bloody minded hard work proves their critics wrong. The title of this story is dedicated to Lara’s journey. As Mohammed Ali once said, Lara, “You done splendid.”

By David

Regular Swimwatch readers will be aware of the ease with which Swimming New Zealand ignore inconvenient rules.

Remember when they overturned a vote of the Directors and appointed Butler and Wrightson to the Board because Miskimmin and his hired help demanded obedience. It is hard to imagine the rules that were broken on that occasion. Rules of meeting procedure, rules of democracy and the organization’s constitution were put to one side; were treated with contempt.

I did hear that Swimming New Zealand think nothing of taking funds for an approved purpose to pay non-approved expenses. That is unconstitutional and in some circumstances may be illegal.

Changing the minutes of an Annual Meeting is hardly ethical behaviour. Any sporting code would class that as a red card offence. But not Swimming New Zealand. They just waited for the next Annual Meeting to correct the deception and moved on as though nothing unusual had occurred.

The decision to form a High Performance unit in Wellington slap bang in the middle of a full scale review of the sport is a certain breech of the rules of good corporate behaviour. In authorising the new venture, Butler, Byrne and Miskimmin approved corporate cheating. Does that make them cheats?

The regular reappointment of Ross Butler is a breach of Clause 10 of the Swimming New Zealand Constitution. Ross Butler has been reappointed for three, two year periods. Clause 10 only allows for one additional two year period. You would imagine that would disqualify Butler from membership. Not in Swimming New Zealand it doesn’t.

Swimming New Zealand has failed to file its annual accounts in 2005, 2008 and 2010? The law is clear. Here is what it says –   “Every society shall deliver annually to the Registrar, a statement containing the following particulars: (a) The income and expenditure of the society (b) The assets and liabilities of the society (c) All mortgages, charges, and securities. In three of the past five years Mike Byrne’s Swimming New Zealand has failed in its statutory duty to provide the Registrar with a set of accounts.

While it would be possible to list a further dozen examples of Swimming New Zealand’s dismissal of fair play rules, I’m sure you get the idea. Butler, Byrne and Miskimmin lead an organization that has treated the rule of law with contempt. That’s why I always felt it ironic that Mike Byrne used to claim the Swimming New Zealand Constitution prevented him doing his job. When you don’t give a damn about the rules, why should the Constitution hold you back?

With this history it will not surprise you to hear that I was stunned to hear a story today of Swimming New Zealand demanding absolute compliance with the rules of swimming. Was it possible that this organization could be both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when it came to enforcing the organization’s rules? Or perhaps the key to enforcement is convenience.

Here is what happened.

Sometime last year, I’m told it was in July, there was a swim meet at the Greerton Pool in the Bay of Plenty. The meet was well attended and provision was made for disabled swimmers to take part with able bodied participants. That’s called mainstreaming and is a policy that has my 100% support. Australia has encouraged mainstreaming in swimming for years. New Zealand arrived late but now, in Auckland at least, has many disabled competitors competing successfully in predominantly able bodied events. There is no doubt that every sports person should have an inherent right to participate in swimming in the most inclusive setting possible. And this I am told is what the Greerton Meet was trying to do.

Attending to the rules at the meet were two Swimming New Zealand national officials. The meet began with a men’s breaststroke event. Two disabled athletes were competing in the first heat. It was swum and, I am told, much to everyone’s surprise both the disabled competitors were disqualified. Swimming New Zealand’s officials were asked to explain.

The first disabled competitor was disqualified, they said, for breeching Rule SW 7.6. This says, “At each turn and at the finish of the race, the touch shall be made with both hands simultaneously at, above, or below the water level.” The disabled competitor had not touched with “both hands”. He had touched the wall with only one hand; a fact that is hardly surprising. The young man only had one arm.

The second disabled competitor was disqualified for violating Rule SW 7.4. This says, “All movements of the legs shall be simultaneous and on the same horizontal plane without alternating movement.” The disabled competitor was certainly guilty of violating rule 7.4. He was also an amputee. He only had one leg.

An appeal was made to Swimming New Zealand for leniency. Given the lack of an arm and a leg couldn’t some compassion be shown and the athletes reinstated. But Swimming New Zealand’s officials stood firm. Dispensation could only be considered if the meet organizers had printed on their programme a note that made it clear that disabled athletes were taking part and their performances were subject to modified FINA rules. Because this had not been done Swimming New Zealand expected the one armed swimmer to touch with both hands – and the swimmer with one leg to kick with both feet. The disqualifications could not be changed.

As each day goes by the Mike Byrne, Peter Miskimmin and Ross Butler led organization becomes increasingly irrelevant. They ban me from their National Championships because I dare to suggest that disqualifying amputees is the behaviour of sick minds. They ride rough shod over rule after rule in their own corporate lives while they beat up on members of the disabled community who want to take part in the sport of swimming. On the evidence of this story it is these men who are a danger to competitors in swimming and should be banned from the Olympic Trials.

Swimming New Zealand is a world of inequality; the haves and the have nots; the privileged and the deprived; the rich and the poor; Robin Hood and the Sherriff of Nottingham. The Wellington office of Swimming New Zealand spends thousands of dollars spreading “One Team” propaganda and millions on promoting avarice and division. There should be no misunderstanding; the New Zealand Olympic Trials are about far more than 34 swimming races. There is more at stake than selection for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Swimming New Zealand has never been “One Team”. Swimming New Zealand is two teams; their team and the rest of us. The gulf between the two is as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon; certainly as stark as anything that will separate national teams at the Olympic Games.

The New Zealand Olympic Trial meet is a competition of ideologies. Good will compete against bad. Private enterprise coached athletes will contest each event with the fat cats from the state funded socialist empire at Auckland’s Millennium Institute. Those of us who have done it ourselves, who have paid our own bills, will contest the championships against those who have had government welfare checks pay for their swimming training, their gym membership, their massage, their medical bills and their lives. Swimmers who have bought their own uniforms and paid for their entry fees into the championship will pit their skills with those who have had the New Zealand taxpayer meet those costs.

I was disappointed to learn that Gary Hurring had sold out and joined the empire. The men who taught Gary to swim and employed him in his early coaching career would never have made that decision. They valued character, independence and strength. However, Gary has made his choice. So now there will be three “socialist” state coaches preparing swimmers for the New Zealand Olympic Trials, Hurring, Talbot-Cameron and Regan. Hell bent on beating them should be every other coach in the country.

The only way to bring about change is to beat the socialist swimmers in a swimming pool. Perhaps then Byrne and Butler will wake up to the reality that private enterprise competition does it best. Perhaps then the fortune being spent on the cosseted and secluded Millennium few will be distributed across the country according to ability and performance. Perhaps then a good swimmer can be financially rewarded for elite performance wherever they live. Perhaps then the blatant poaching of good New Zealand swimmers will stop. Perhaps then the system will be fair.

Byrne and Butler will fight reform all the way. The last thing they want is the rewards for effort being distributed to private enterprise coaches. They want to be in control of an empire. They want to “own” New Zealand’s best swimmers and three average swim coaches and call them their Aqua Blacks team. The opium of ownership is their drug of choice. They have no idea what’s involved in winning a swimming race. They know plenty about accumulating power and status. They have spent a life time doing just that.

Beating the state funded elite will not be easy. For ten years the best talent in the country has been pillaged by the national organisation. Using our money Swimming New Zealand has cherry picked the most talented. Very, very few of our country’s most talented were allowed to flourish in their natural environments, but were instead taken under the state’s wing and made to conform. Using our money Swimming New Zealand has laid waste to our sport. Using our money Swimming New Zealand has killed internal competition. Thank God for those determined few, especially those from Invercargill, who have stood firm against Mike Byrne’s socialism. Any economist or good business person will tell you that a strong industry is best founded on a strong, competitive domestic market. Swimming New Zealand has never understood the importance of domestic competition. Instead they sought and they bought a state funded monopoly. And it hasn’t worked. Their monopoly has never won anything in a decent international swim meet.

Swimming New Zealand has however made it difficult for us to beat them in a domestic competition. Swimming New Zealand’s team has so many financial advantages. There they will be at the Trials, dressed in their silver fern uniforms that we paid for, sitting in their privileged seats beside the New Zealand selectors, swimming with entry fees paid for by my parent’s registration fees, training in lanes bought with my taxes. But if money made you fast, no Kenyan would ever have won an Olympic track race. Swimming New Zealand’s swimmers have had access to all the resources of this sport. But the rest of us operate in a private enterprise environment best suited to winning. The way we do it is harder and more difficult. But it is better. Nine times out of ten, in this clash of ideologies, private enterprise independence prevails.

I am not aware of how many Swimwatch readers will be at the New Zealand trials. However, if you are in Auckland in the last week of March and if you do call in to watch the trials the swimmers you support will matter more than normal. If a swimmer from New Plymouth or West Auckland takes down a Millennium swimmer in the women’s 800, that’s a victory for all of us. When the women’s 200 and 400 medleys are won by a swimmer from Invercargill, New Zealand swimming will be that little bit stronger.  And every time a Millennium swimmer wins a race, the fabric of the sport in New Zealand will be damaged.

The management of elite swimming in New Zealand needs to be changed. The best way to do that is to beat the socialists in the swimming pool. Show them that their ideology is wrong. Show them that there is a better way. Every Swimming New Zealand defeat is a victory for swimming in New Zealand.