- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Australian swimming bosses have a huge decision to make next week when they decide where the 2012 Olympic trials will be held. The choice is simple: stick with the status quo or try a new venue.
Swimming Australia has received bids from Adelaide’s new Aquatic Centre and the ever reliable Sydney International Aquatic Centre, with a decision expected next week.
The bid process has become bitchy with the Adelaide bid team describing the Sydney Aquatic Centre as “old”. It has tried to present Adelaide’s recently completed venue as a modern facility that deserves the right to host a big event.
It has already hosted the 2011 Australian Age Championships to great fanfare and will host this year’s Australian Shortcourse Championships.
Sydney has presented itself as Mister Reliable; it has hosted the championships for the past four years and claims it is the place that can draw the big swimming crowds.
Both centres are very good, however there can only be one winner, so which one should it be?
In my very humble opinion, Swimming Australia must pick Adelaide for next year’s Olympic trials.
Australian swimmers are suffering their lowest public appeal in well over two decades. The television deal with the digital-only OneHD channel has robbed them and swimming of exposure to the public between Olympics.
With the Sydney-centric feel of swimming over the last few years (the nationals plus FINA World Cup meets, short-course championships), swimming does not cross the country as it used to.
Outside of Sydney, there are very few chances anymore for the public to see the best swimmers in action and this is a negative as it turn people away from watching swimming.
Adelaide for years had an out-dated back water Aquatic Centre but now it has a modern FINA standard swimming pool that will make a fantastic host for the championships.
While Sydney claims it is the place to be, it no longer has the aura as swimming’s HQ.
Despite claiming to bring in big crowds, I have noticed that crowds have dropped off dramatically at Sydney International Aquatic Centre in the last few years.
Adelaide’s new pool has a capacity of 4500, which I feel is an adequate capacity in the current climate. No longer does the championship need 10,000 seats to cope with demand (a major argument of Sydney’s bid team to host the trials).
I can understand if Swimming Australia keeps the trials in Sydney as it will bank on Sydney people flocking through to see the stars.
However, if Swimming Australia wants to be active in getting national interest back to swimming, a venue change is needed and Adelaide has the venue to use.