FINA website

FINA is pleased to present the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) CoachTrue Programme. In order to meet the coaches’ learning needs and their demanding schedule, WADA has launched CoachTrue, a computer-based, self-teaching anti-doping tool.

CoachTrue’s elite-level module has the following features:

- Pre-Test: An evaluation of the coach’s current knowledge
- Tutorials: A series of presentations with voice-overs that provide essential information on the following topics:

1. Health consequences of doping
2. Coach’s accountability
3. Results management
4. Therapeutic use exemptions
5. Whereabouts
6. Decision-making

- Scenario-Based Activities: A practical application of acquired knowledge to likely real-life scenarios
- Who Wants to Play True: A fun way for coaches to test their knowledge on anti-doping issues
- Post-Test & Certification: Once coaches have completed all required learning steps, including a final assessment (post-test), they receive a certificate of participation.
Click on the link below to access the CoachTrue platform:

http://coachtrue.wada-ama.org/login/index.php

Or on this link to see extra info relating to athlete responsibility:

http://www.fina.org/H2O/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2102:wada-education&catid=295:antidoping&Itemid=914

From Yahoo Eurosport.com – Wed, 25 May 09:38:00 2011

Jemma Lowe admits she wouldn’t swap her Olympic experience in Beijing for all the tea in China – but as she returns to the Far East she’s determined to leave this time with something to declare.

The 21-year-old butterfly specialist finished an impressive sixth over 100m on her Olympic debut in 2008 and finally followed that up with an international medal last year – winning Commonwealth bronze over the same distance.

Following her Delhi exploits, Lowe upped sticks from her training base in Florida and returned to home shores as she cranks up her preparations for the London 2012 Olympics.

Lowe is the first to admit that waving the Sunshine State goodbye was a difficult decision but having sealed 200m silver at the British Gas Championships in March, Lowe has booked her place at the World Championships in Shanghai this summer and she’s enjoying her home comforts again.

She is not content with that however and after 100m bronze in March was not good enough to qualify for the World Championships over that distance, she’s determined to set that right at the second trials next month.

“Obviously I am happy to have qualified for the worlds in the 200m, I was happy with my time because I have been a bit off them over the past couple of years,” said Lowe, speaking from a British Swimming warm-weather training camp, powered by British Gas.

“I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t qualify for the 100m as well because that has always been one of my favourite events – it is the shorter one.

“Hopefully I will qualify for that at the second trials but we will have to wait and see. My coach isn’t allowing me to rest for it so I don’t know how it is going to go.

“Sometimes I can swim OK without rest but sometimes I don’t – but I have got my ticket to Shanghai so that is good and the main thing.

“My coach really believes in me and believes that I can make the final at the worlds in Shanghai and maybe medal and I would really like to get a medal at the worlds – everyone that goes does.”

Commonwealth Games bronze represented somewhat of a breakthrough for Lowe, who also boasts three European junior silver medals on an impressive CV.

But Lowe is adamant that her Beijing 2008 100m performance is her biggest achievement to date – and she’s already plotting her pathway to London 2012.

“I wouldn’t say the past six or seven months have been the best in my career so far, the Olympics in 2008 were definitely the best,” added Lowe.

“I think it is quite important to be successful at the worlds with London 2012 the next big event but at the same time it isn’t that important either.

“Some days I forget about 2012 and some days it is in my head and I am sat thinking about it and getting exciting.

“Beijing was amazing, the best time of my life, and thinking about having it in London with all the special treatment and support we are going to get from the home crowd is really exciting.”

Swimming Australia
Published: May 19, 2011

Fourteen emerging Australian swimmers are bound for Britain after gaining selection on the 2011 Commonwealth Games Youth Team that is set to compete in the Isle of Man from September 7-13.

Australian Swimmers, aged between 14 and 17 years, gained selection through standout performances at the recent Australian Championships in Sydney and Australian Age Championships that were held at the new SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Adelaide, in April.

The 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games will be contested by a record number of 71 nations, competing across seven different sports, with the Australian Commonwealth Games Association and Swimming Australia’s support ensuring swimming is set to factor in a number of medal moments.

One such medal hope is 16-year-old Victorian Kotuku Ngawati, who burst onto the international swimming scene last year when she won silver in the 100m IM at the FINA World Short Course Championships in Dubai.

Ngawati will spearhead an exuberant line up of swimming talent that also boasts Queensland star Leah Neale, who last month became the first Australian 15-year-old in history to break the two minute barrier in the 200m freestyle hitting the wall in 1:59.80.

On the boy’s side, Sydney based 16-year-old Te Haumi Maxwell will be looking to recapture the form that saw him claim the 15 year boy’s 50m freestyle Australian age record at the 2010 Junior Pan Pacs in Hawaii last year, while Victorian Alex Graham will be out to capitalize on the form that saw him win a brace of freestyle gold medals at last month’s Australian Age Championships.
Australian Team General Manger Petria Thomas, who like Ngawati made her national team debut as a 16-year-old at the 1993 Pan Pacs, endorses the Games and the valuable international competition it provides.

“I think it’s vital for emerging swimmers in their teenage years to be exposed to the rigors of such tough international competition, said Thomas.

“The 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games provides such a platform for some of Australia’s best young swimmers to gain valuable racing and travel experience during the developmental stages of their career.”

The 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games on the Isle of Man will be the fourth edition. They have previously been held in 2000 in Edinburgh, Scotland; 2004 in Bendigo, Australia; 2008 in Pune, India.

This summer’s World Championships in Shanghai are the last major swimming event before London 2012.

It’s a final chance for the likes of Rebecca Adlington, Liam Tancock and Keri-anne Payne to scout out the opposition before and lay down a marker before the Olympics roll into town next year.

Click here to enter the competition!
You may have followed the first trials at the British Gas Swimming Championships in Manchester. You may even be planning to attend the second trials at the British Gas ASA National Championships in June.

But how would you like to be watching the main event in Shanghai?

Well thanks to Speedo – you can!

They’re offering two people a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Championships including flights, accommodation and tickets

And the best thing is it’s completely FREE to enter.

You’ve got until 31 May 2011 to enter – go to www.speedo.co.uk now and click on competitions for more information.

From British Swimming website

24 May 2011

A group of 28 swimmers from the British Swimming Development Programme, powered by British Gas, will travel to Serbia this summer for what will be the high priority of the year – the European Junior Championships.
And the event will also be the first major competition with Mark Perry at the helm following his appointment as British Swimming Development Coach which will run alongside his role as British Swimming Open Water Coach.

The European Junior Championships is still the priority event on the British Swimming development calendar, Perry said: “It is highly regarded within the international swimming community and we are judged by performances at this event.”

Perry is hoping to utilise his previous experience as a coach on deck to put his mark on the future of British Swimming at the Serbian event and beyond to 2016.

“Our primary aim is to facilitate the best possible development of talented young athletes while providing strong racing opportunities to give the perfect grounding for our next generation of elite athletes.

“The team is smaller than previous years but is brimming with quality and potential. We have a strong tradition at the event and we’ll be prepared as best we can. We can dictate our own form but we can’t control what the other nations are going to go.”

In advance of the competition there will be an orientation camp that will involve all coaches on the development programme.

The national camps will provide an opportunity, away from major events for all involved in the programme to gather and share best practice, ideas and background.

Many of them will be hosted here in Great Britain so more athletes and more coaches can be involved and developed.

“The camps will be based on a race–train-race philosophy”, explained Perry. “We’ll race on shore and analyse performances to identify areas for improvement. These will be addressed during a training camp before we then race again to see that improvements have been adopted.

“There will be sport science support at the camps and will work with the coaches to see how findings can be practically used. Together they will work as a team to ensure continuity of the development of our athletes.

“A great deal of work is being done on starts and turns with our elite athletes and British Swimming is also introducing this at an earlier stage within athlete development.

“The world has moved on so much in these areas and we’ll be talking to coaches about extra resources they may require.”

Perry sees the biggest gains coming from the development of coaches within Britain.

“I’m a firm believer in coach education as being a key to delivering best possible long term results and this will be a focus of the programme. It is something I feel passionately about,” said Perry.

“In Britain we have some of the best coaches in the world and we need to make sure their knowledge and expertise is passed on to others as we continue to grow as a swimming nation.

“At the recent British Gas Swimming Championships we saw a marked improvement in this area and we’ll be asking some of the prominent coaches responsible to share tactics and training methods.
“You can educate one athlete and they will do a good job. But if you educate a coach they can educate a hundred athletes and the results speak for themselves.”

There will also be a focus on parent education – something Perry says is an important part of the development triangle of athletes, coaches and parents.

“Parents are an integral part of the process”, he said. “We’ll be informing them regularly of programme developments as well as key components such as nutrition, and sports medicine.

“Our primary aim is to facilitate the best possible development of talented athletes whilst providing strong racing opportunities to give the perfect grounding for our next generation of elite athletes.”

Perry understands the importance of his programme for the future of British Swimming.

“We have to maximise the potential for athletes to travel along the British Swimming World Class Pathway and at the heart of the development role will be three components: to build strong relationships with coaches of athletes within Britain; to ensure the development progamme channels athletes into the World Class Pathway through the home nations and British swimming; and to ensure all elements, athlete, coach, parents, are involved in a complete approach to athlete development.

Clubs that flourish within the development of young, British athletes will be recognized and supported to continue the good work.

“The Athlete Pathway Club Recognition award has been designed to help bridge the gap between the junior and senior teams by recognising clubs that offer real development opportunities for athletes and place them within the pathway system.

“This came about after consultation with coaches and clubs, illustrating our commitment to the philosophy of listening to coaches to shape the future of British Swimming.”

Development of any athletes is about not only understanding them but also what the rest of the world are doing and where they are moving to.

“We are now looking at a lot of new ideas, exploring radical thinking and the targeting specific events within Britain as we look to the future of the programme.

“Whilst we are looking at developments in the UK, we are also analysing what is taking place across the globe so we can position ourselves at forefront of swimmer development.

“What we instill today, the work we undertake and the messages we provide out athletes will stay with them throughout their careers.”

The British Swimming Development team, powered by British Gas is:

Craig Benson Warrender
Myles Crouch-Anderson Northampton
Grant Halsall Plymouth Leander
Ieuan Lloyd City of Cardiff
Gareth Mills City of Leeds
Thomas Moss Stockport Metro
Joseph Patching Plymouth Leander
Joseph Parker Plymouth Leander
Matthew Parks City of Manchester
Adam Rowe Royal Wolverhampton
Felix Samuels Ealing
Sam Van De Schootbrugge Nova Centurian
Dan Wallace Warrender
Georgia Barton Gallica
Fiona Donnelly Nova Centurian
Jessica Fullalove City of Manchester
Jodie Hawksworth Derventio
Emily Jones Garioch
Phoebe Lenderyou City of Newcastle
Jessica Lloyd City of Manchester
Danielle Lowe Liverpool Penguins
Amelia Maughan MIllfield/British Gas ITC Bath
Siobhan-Marie O’Connor British Gas ITC Bath
Lauren Quigley City of Manchester
Molly Renshaw Derventio
Elena Sheridan Romford Town
Chloe Tutton City of Cardiff
Rachael Williamson Kingston upon Hull