I am sick to death of hearing about how it is all the swimmers’ fault that the culture of swimming in Australia is at rock bottom.
It is easy to make swimmers the scapegoats. It is easy to point to the members of the Mens 4×100 freestyle team.
These are fully grown adults that must take responsibility for their actions, actions that have been well documented in the media since the Olympic Games last year. And, there were probably other cases of bad behaviour committed by other swim team members.
No doubt these swimmers will be held accountable for their actions. But the guilty go far beyond the pawns that are being lined up and publicly executed.
Many have written that this type of behaviour would never have occurred under previous head coaches Don Talbot or Alan Thompson. Well there probably was a very good reason for that.
There were appropriate governance structures in place at that time.
Opportunities for bad behaviour were almost non existent and consequences for breaches were no doubt well understood.
So before Swimming Australia Limited (SAL) parade swimmers in absolution like Pontius Pilate, they need to reflect on what was their share of the blame for the swimmers’ poor behaviour was.
Under the previous CEO of SAL Kevin Neil, effective governance collapsed. Information was no longer shared and decisions made by a man who confessed at knowing nothing about swimming when he was appointed to the role of CEO.
How he was ever appointed and how much it cost to get rid of him is the topic of another story.
Transparency disappeared, communication with the Swimmers Association (ASA) and the Pals of our Swimmers (POOS) ceased. The best act that Kevin Neil performed was to accept responsibility for the debacle that SAL faces and fall on his sword.
So how many others need to follow that example to give SAL a chance at a clean sweep.
Swimmers poor behaviour is not the problem. Not many are listening so it is worth repeating, Swimmers’ poor behaviour is not the problem.
It is a manifestation of the environment created by poor governance. Yet we seem to focus more on swimmers’ poor behaviour than the root cause of the problem.
A cursory glance at recommendations of the two reviews released this week will attest to the identity of the problem – Governance
The media have an insatiable appetite for the sensational. They all search relentlessly for the “scoop” of the bad behaviour story.
Every interviewer I have listened to on TV and radio asks “that” question of the swimmer hoping they will oblige or trip up. And it mostly focuses on alleged banned prescription drug taking, bullying, alcohol and poor team behaviour etc.
So the public are fed a complete diet of negativism that the casual observer could be forgiven for thinking that swimming in Australia is completely out of control.
The reality is far less sensational. Of the over 40 swimmers on the Australian Olympic Team, only a handful of swimmers misbehaved and there were many displays of good sportsmanship and camaraderie within the team.
The main story is that SAL needs to get its house in order and now have a clear road map in the form of recommendations of two reports to assist them. There are many people watching how SAL will conduct itself in the future.
Felicity
Guest
I strongly disagree with you that Magnussen was the only gold medal chance. He was well marketed and put himself out there and that's why everyone knew he he was. There were defiantly others like Christian Sprenger, Alicia Coutts, Emily Seebohm and Melanie Schlanger. Can you actually name many of the other team members of the Aussie swim team. Apart from Magnusson, who knew the other swimmers in the men's 4x100 raly until this was all exposed.
Neil
Guest
I agree it is a governance issue. Also let's take a poke at the media. I remember when Stephen Holland got beaten in the 1500 F/S in Montreal after leading the rankings and holding the world record in the lead up to the games. He was our only hope for gold. As it turned out, he won bronze (all swimmers swam under the world record in this race) and the Australian media crucified him. They set the expectation, they put the weight on his shoulders and .nothing short of gold would have sufficed and with a higher profile for the sport and it has only got worse. In my opinion, this is a new era of Australian swimming similar to the peaks and troughs between 1956 -1972 -1992-2008 and now we are on the rebuild. New and better management and transparency and co-operation between all stakeholders in Australian Swimming would be a good start. High expectations are also built by hype, PR. and social visibility and commercial drivers. We need to remember that this is the Gen Y era and these kids are different and need to be managed and nurtured.accordingly..Scapegoating and shaming them publicly does not help anyone in the long run...only the media who make the headlines.
Mango Jack
Guest
Because the incidents did occur during a period of intense focus on swimming, and therefore reflect poorly on Australia. In any case, we should be concerned about misbehavior of any athlete representing his/her country, whatever the event.
Mango Jack
Guest
You're absolutely correct, jameswm. Without strong role models amongst the senior ranks, like O'Neil and Thorpe, discipline has clearly deteriorated. Part of the governance is to develop these role models. Sadly, most of them seem to be selfish brats.
Tigranes
Guest
People only pay attention to swimmining in Australia every four years - who really cares about this incident?
Sentosa
Guest
I do not want incompetent officials or immature competitors representing Australia in ANY sport. Maturity has little to do with chronological age. It has more to do with accepting responsibility.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Leadership. No preferential treatment. Clear guidelines. The swimmers that played up were allowed to do so. I agree, Don Talbot wouldn't have stood for it, even if your name was Ian Thorpe or Susie O'Neill. Having said that, look again at those two names. With those two as the figureheads of the team, the right sort of example was set. Responsible, mature competitors. Of course hasn't anyone else noticed the surname of the author of this article? Can't be a coincidence, surely.
jamesb
Guest
It's easier selling papers when you talk about swimmers misbehaving, rather then the actual governance of the sport. Heading into London, Magnussen was the only real Gold Medal chance for Australia. Why? In the past, Australia would have 4 or 5 swimmers that were a strong chance of a Gold medal. That to me is the real issue here. If Australia were producing quality swimmers with real gold medal chances, then I'm sure other issues like discipline would take care of itself. Also lets not forget, the mens side of the team haven't won a Gold medal since Grant Hackett back in Athens 2004.