The Board of Swimming New Zealand (SNZ) tells me their vision is, “Inspirational Swimmers, Exciting the Nation through Exceptional Results.” Their mission, they go on to say, is to “Create a sustainable high performance environment that systematically produces world class performances.” To do all this, their website tells me, they need, “To achieve podium results at the Olympic Games and other identified pinnacle events.”

It is way off the subject of this post but the same section of their website says SNZ “will aspire to operate with integrity and transparency and be accountable for our actions.” Well we know that’s a lie. Just look at the deceit and secrecy of their efforts to hide the report investigating my coaching. I doubt the occupants of Antares Place have any idea of the meaning of integrity and transparency.

SNZ’s Whole of Sport Plan sets the guidelines against which High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) measures the performance of SNZ. How SNZ performs determines how big or small the government’s beneficiary payment will be. Here is how SNZ say they should be measured.

I’m sure we agree – all that sounds pretty good. Cotterill, Johns and Francis are good with words. Problem is, they don’t mean much. With the exception of USA-trained Lauren Boyle, their words have never delivered results. But perhaps, after ten years, things are about to change. Let’s see how SNZ performed at this week’s World Short Course Championships. Was this the beginning of inspirational swimmers, exciting the nation through exceptional results?

The table below summarises how New Zealand swimmers performed in the 2018 World SC Championships.

So what does the table tell us?

1. No Bronze, no Silver, no Gold, no medals
2. One final swim for Bradlee Ashby who qualified for the final when Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov scratched.
3. One semi-final swim for Bradlee Ashby in the 100IM. He placed 15^th and failed to progress to the final
4. 10 of 44 swims were PBs; a PB ratio of 22%.
5. Two NZ Open records, one to Bradlee Ashby in the 200IM and the other to the 4×200 Men’s Freestyle Relay.
6. Average place of each New Zealand swim 22^nd

What does the New Zealand performance mean?

1. It means that SNZ has taken New Zealand teams to three “world” events in 2018 (Commonwealth Games, Pan Pacific Games and World SC Championships) for a yield of one Bronze medal. That is pathetic.
2. SNZ has achieved a PB ratio of 27% at the Commonwealth Games, 31% at the Pan Pacific Games and 22% (10 PBs from 44 swims) at the World SC Championships. That is a seriously poor result. When is Cotterill going to take responsibility for this chaos?
3. Two open New Zealand records were set at the World SC Championships. One to Ashby in the 200IM and the other to the New Zealand men’s 4×200 relay team. The sorry state of New Zealand swimming was highlighted by the 4×200 relay result. The team set a New Zealand record and still finished 16.98 seconds behind the Russian heat winners. That is incredible. The best SNZ result ever is 16.98 seconds or about 33 meters – that’s pretty much a length and a quarter of the pool – behind the heat winner. Well done Gary Francis. Looks like your fully-paid junket to China really achieved a lot.
4. The average place of New Zealand swimmers at the World SC Championships was 22^nd. New Zealand swimmers were a massive average of 9.79 seconds or 18 meters behind the heat winners. New Zealand’s best are just beginning the last length when the best in the world are finishing. That gap is not going to be closed by Cotterill, Johns and Francis. Those three will qualify for the pension before a New Zealand swimmer qualifies for an Olympic Gold medal. The gap is too big and Cotterill, Johns and Francis do not have the necessary skills to do anything about it.

Surely SNZ is ashamed. Do they have any remorse? Do they feel uncomfortable about spending millions of dollars to watch New Zealanders swim in the heats at international events and seldom have anything Kiwi to watch in the evening finals? Internationally New Zealand has been turned into a Wairoa Club taking on a combined team from North Shore, Capital and United. Cry the beloved country. Sob in misery. Weep in embarrassment.

Post Script: It needs to be emphasised that swimmers, coaches and local administrators are not to blame for this World Championship swimming disaster. They are victims of decisions made by Cotterill, Johns and Francis. For years SNZ has been a predator, taking the money and causing harm. Nothing has changed.