By David

I have no idea who writes the news items on swimming published on the Radio Sport website. There is every possibility they could be Swimming New Zealand PR spin regurgitated without examination or assessment. Take the most recent offering. The first two lines don’t even make sense.

SPARC is playing down the spat brewing between New Zealand’s leading swimmers and the sport’s governing body.

SPARC is unaware of any disenchantment by New Zealand’s leading swimmers towards their national body.

It is beyond me how even SPARC can play down something that they don’t know exists. If it doesn’t exist then there’s nothing to play down. Something can only be played down if it exists. Well, I’m sure you understand the point. There is nothing worse or more contradictory than organizations playing the “ignore-it-and-it-will-go-away” game. It’s called playing politics. Unfortunately, it’s not politics. It is actually the lives of New Zealand’s best swimmers. As Swimming New Zealand manipulates the truth they put at risk the future of a whole sport.

The conclusion of the same report is another example of organizational negligence.

Sparc CEO Peter Miskimmin is playing down the issue.

He says there’s a lot of speculation flying around.

Miskimmin says he’s also unaware of any issues surrounding Jan Cameron’s role at Swimming NZ.

How the hell does Miskimmin know there’s all this speculation flying around if he’s unaware of any Cameron issues. He’s either aware of the issues or he’s not. The report is just political clap trap.

But, if there is the slightest chance Peter Miskimmin reads Swimwatch and to avoid him ever being able to truthfully say that “he’s unaware of any issues surrounding Cameron’s role at Swimming New Zealand” here is a list. It is probably incomplete but it is certainly enough to avoid the tag of being “unaware”.

Mr. Miskimmin:

1. Are you aware that the sport of swimming has never earned an Olympic medal during the Cameron era?
2. Are you aware that the sport of swimming has never broken a world record during the Cameron era?
3. Are you aware that in a list of the past ten Commonwealth Games the Cameron led New Delhi result ranks seventh?
4. Are you aware that Cameron accepted a media role in New Delhi when she is paid to be the senior member of New Zealand’s high performance program?
5. Are you aware of the repetitive discipline problems that have characterized Cameron led New Zealand swimming teams?
6. Are you aware of the open conflict that characterizes the relationship between Cameron and the National Swimming Coach?
7. Are you aware of the reports that the National Coach and Cameron were barely on speaking terms through the New Delhi Commonwealth Games?
8. Are you aware of the concern in the New Zealand swimming community that family relationships may be influencing national swimming decisions?
9. Are you aware of the reports that swimmers have not been paid their PEG money for several months?
10. Are you aware of reports that Cameron refuses to discuss the payment of PEG money with concerned swimmers?
11. Are you aware that Cameron regularly approaches swimmers from other teams to discuss them moving to the Millennium Institute? In most jurisdictions this is called poaching.
12. Are you aware of reports that the team spirit at the Millennium Institute is at rock bottom?
13. Are you aware that New Zealand swimmer, Moss Burmister has recently retired and has expressed strong reservations about the health of the Cameron led program?
14. Are you aware that leading New Zealand coach, Jon Winter has told the Martin Devlin radio program that he had received more coaching support from Triathlon New Zealand in the last month than in ten years of working inside Swimming New Zealand and coaching several of its best athletes?
15. Are you aware of the concern that Cameron has paid insufficient attention to coaching development in New Zealand?
16. Are you aware that one coach of several national champions has never even met Cameron?
17. Are you aware of the widely held view that New Zealand swimming is operating in a climate of fear and is that the best way to win Olympic medals in two years from now?
18. Are you aware that Swimming New Zealand is wandering around New Zealand promoting the idea that you and SPARC are actively pushing a specific constitutional change on the organization?
19. Are you aware that many knowledgeable people inside swimming believe that a Cameron led program will not be successful at the London Olympic Games.
20. Do you really believe that a Cameron led program will be successful at the London Olympic Games?

If Miskimmin and SPARC don’t do anything and the sport of swimming does fail to win a medal in London then responsibility for that performance will be shared equally by Miskimmin, SPARC and Cameron. Because you see, thanks to Swimwatch they are all now fully aware of “issues surrounding Jan Cameron’s role at Swimming NZ.”