By David

Or at least that’s what Wikipedia tells me. It says spin is achieved through providing an interpretation of an event to persuade public opinion in favor of a certain organization. Spin, Wikipedia concludes, often implies disingenuous, deceptive and/or highly manipulative tactics.

The old Swimming New Zealand was a master of spin. Remember how the performance of every New Zealand swim team was our best ever. That certainly met the definition of trying to persuade public opinion. But Christian Reford’s Swimming New Zealand is proving to be just as skilled. The stuff Swimming New Zealand told good national sport’s journalists like the Sports Editor of The Dominion Post, Jonathan Millmow was as remarkable as it was shameful. It seems that the public picture of success is important even if it’s not true.

On that occasion Swimming New Zealand told the nation this:

 But the full team statistics were five finals appearances and 12 personal bests. Personal bests were set by Boyle (1500m twice, 800m twice), Snyders (50m breaststroke three times), Sophia Batchelor (50m butterfly) and the Wellington pair of Samantha Lucie-Smith (400 individual medley, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle) and Samantha Lee (200m butterfly).

Three or four months ago we reported the truth of New Zealand’s performance. This is what we said.

“Glenn Snyders 50 Breaststroke

Barcelona Heat 27.27, Semi 27.22, Final 27.21. Snyders’ personal best and NZ National Record is 27.06 set in the 2012 Open Championships. In four lines of text, that’s Swimming New Zealand’s first three lies.

Sophia Batchelor 50 Butterfly

Barcelona Semi 26.34. Batchelor’s personal best and NZ National Record is 26.30 set in the 2013 Open Championships. In four lines Swimming New Zealand are now scoring one lie a line.

Samantha Lucie-Smith 200 Freestyle

Barcelona Heat 1.58.87. Lucie-Smith’s personal best is 1.58.62 set in the 2013 Mare Nostrum in Canet (scroll to page 14 of the PDF) competition prior to the World Championships. That’s five lies in four lines.

Even by Swimming New Zealand’s impressive standards, five lies in four lines, most certainly is a personal best.”

Today’s announcement on the Swimming New Zealand website is not as blatant as their effort at reporting the World Championship results. However it is arguable that the current report satisfies Wikipedia’s description of spin. This is what it says.

An increase in funding is a recognition that Swimming New Zealand is progressing in the right direction, the organisation said today. Swimming New Zealand will receive an additional $100,000 this year as it rebuilds following the whole-of-sport review by Sport New Zealand and High Performance Sport NZ.  “Our major stakeholders are supportive of the rebuilding plan and the first steps we have taken,” said Swimming New Zealand CEO, Christian Renford. “In the pool our top swimmers, led by Lauren Boyle with her three medals at the world championships, are moving in the right direction as they begin their campaign through to the Commonwealth Games. “We remain as a campaign sport for the next year which we completely understand as we will have much planned and documented work today. This will ensure we remain vigilant and on track.”

It’s a personal view of course, but any additional funding, whether its $1.50, $100,000 or $1.0 million, has nothing to do with “progressing in the right direction.” The Moller Report ceded control of Swimming New Zealand to Miskimmin at Sport New Zealand and Baumann at High Performance Sport New Zealand. Miskimmin’s public admiration for the centralized control of elite sport could be practiced free of regional checks and balances. In the sport of swimming, Sport New Zealand had free reign.

However, along with their victory, it became vitally important for swimming to succeed. If the Miskimmin centralized philosophy was to win new converts; if Miskimmin’s empire was to grow; if Miskimmin was to survive, the success of swimming was critical. If that view is true, through to the Rio Games, money will never be a problem. Whatever swimming needs it will get. In my view the extra $100,000 simply reflects the extent to which Miskimmin is vested in the result of a swimming race. I also think Swimming has sold itself cheap. They should have asked for $500,000. Miskimmin has to pay. The cost of failure in the sport of swimming is impossible for him to even contemplate.

And then we read this, “Our major stakeholders are supportive of the rebuilding plan and the first steps we have taken,” said Swimming New Zealand CEO, Christian Renford. That’s a joke worthy of any British comedy pantomime. Of course Miskimmin and Baumann are supportive of the plan for swimming; it’s their plan. I doubt that Renford can order a paper clip without getting the approval of Sport New Zealand. As we have said Sport New Zealand has too much personal capital invested to allow Renford to run around making independent plans for swimming’s future. The pantomime in swimming is a “Punch and Judy” puppet show and Sport New Zealand is pulling the strings. It is less than surprising that Renford can report this as Miskimmin’s approval.

My final point is trivial but has anyone else noted Renford’s habit of using important sounding words that mean nothing. His last sentence in this report is an example, “We will have much planned and documented work today. This will ensure we remain vigilant and on track.” Does this mean that Swimming New Zealand’s plans are in writing somewhere? Wow that’s good. Perhaps we could see them one day. And as for being “vigilant” and “on track” that’s just words designed to convince the simple reader that Swimming New Zealand is up with the play, on top of their game, as they look to the future, going forward. See, I can do it too.

But I’m afraid the words of “vigilant” and “on track” mean little. You see I was told Renford was invited to visit the Auckland Age Group Championships a couple of weekends ago. It was a huge meet of massive importance to the future of swimming. It was also a chance to say goodbye to swimming’s best administrator, Brian Palmer. But it meant driving across the Harbour Bridge. Evidentally Renford’s right track does not include one of the lanes across to West Auckland. Evidentally Renford’s vigilance doesn’t include making an appearance at New Zealand’s largest provincial age group meet or saying farewell to the guy whose decisions earned Renford his job.

Spin is achieved through providing an interpretation of an event to persuade public opinion in favor of a certain organization. Spin, Wikipedia concludes, often implies disingenuous, deceptive and/or highly manipulative tactics. My hope is that this report presents an alternative view.