EURO MEET MARKS INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE OF SWIMMING
Coaches and their swimmers are under the limelight next week
as the biggest British Swimming squad to leave its shores
prepares for the European Swimming Championships in Budapest.
A group of more than 80 staff and swimmers have made the
journey to the Hungarian capital and will gain vital experience
as British Swimming exposes new athletes and staff to major
international competition to increase the UK knowledge base.
Critical to this major investment in the meet is the 17 coaches
selected to the team. An open invitation was made to the 22
coaches that placed each of the 45 swimmers on the squad and
those able to attend have had the unique opportunity to coach
their athlete from pre-selection through to the end of the
competition itself.
National Performance Director Bill Sweetenham, whose focus
now is on developing coaches in order to leave British Swimming
with a legacy of world-class leaders, believes practical experience
at top level meets will greatly increase the capability of
the country's coaches.
"We have taken the attitude that we need to significantly
increase the depth of coaching in Britain for the future and
by involving so many coaches in this meet we have made a positive
step towards that," he explained.
"We have brought every available coach with a swimmer
on the team, which has been logistically difficult and represents
a great investment from British Swimming, but is important
for the future success of the sport.
"Each swimmer's coach has been involved in preparing
for this meet from the outset. Since getting their athlete
selected, the coach has been able to prepare them as they
want, which has provided a great chance for coaches to see
the whole process through from start to finish and gives them
the opportunity to evaluate their own skills.
"For coaches and swimmers to feel the sensation of being
part of a big strong team is a real investment in their future."
The bulky size of the British squad is due to new LEN rules
which have doubled the number of athletes from each country
allowed to compete in a race - four athletes can now enter
an event, with a maximum of two able to progress from the
heats.
Sweetenham, who has championed this approach and lobbied
LEN (the European governing body of swimming) to include it
in their competitions, believes it will allow more British
swimmers to experience top level meets and will increase their
competitiveness as they work harder to progress from the heats.
"To have four swimmer per nation per event is a great
opportunity and will greatly change the profile of the meet
- we can expect it to be very different to before," he
said. "It worked at the European Short Course last year
and made it the most competitive yet.
"The swimmers learn to become more aggressive as they
have to swim fast heats in the morning. At this meet British
swimmers will also be swimming for places on the World Championship
squad so will need to perform to progress to the finals and
post a qualification time."
Sweetenham warns the increased number entries will make this
year's European Championships the hardest yet.
"Next week is going to be much tougher than the Commonwealth
Games," he said. "Europe is very strong at the moment
and the introduction of four per nation competitions will
make it a powerhouse in world swimming.
"On the British team we have real strength in our more
experienced athletes and there are also the newcomers who
will challenge the top swimmers and look to make their mark.
"We have some realistic hopes with the relay teams,
and success there will mean we increase the number of athletes
that medal. At the Commonwealth Games 85% of the squad were
medallists because of good relay results and we could realistically
win medals here, as we gather momentum to 2012 and beyond.
"At the moment, I see the British team bubbling under
the surface, ready to break through. We have strength in depth
here and we're ready to make an impact."
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