Poolside chat- continues here 😁

[Glittertwins]

Did I get this done right??

Yes I'm not sure if other individual sports are the same as mine have only done team sports apart from swimming. Most people assume children playing football or rugby or cricket are doing so for fun whilst most people (a lot of coaches and parents included)n assume a swimmer is swimming in order to go to Nationals and beyond that Commonwealth Games and Olympics.

My son has recently left the swimming world and is running, no one is asking him if he is going to the Olympics or where he ranks in the county/region/country it's very refreshing.

I’ve watched it.

I’m glad that’s not been our experience.

But very true about people
not seeing swimming as a fun sport sometimes.

Only something like 1% of swimmers make nationals and even less make the British team. It’s absolutely fine to train many hours because you enjoy it.

It’s not been our experience either but maybe it’s different for boys? I’d like to have seen an investigation into whether boys were also targeted like the girls

This is exactly it, it’s really really odd.

That’s interesting too - you’re right it’s always girls that these programmes centre on.

I doubt it’s that much different for boys.

My DS’s coach pulled me aside to say he was overweight and I needed to do something about it when DS was about 13. I told him where to go, which probably didn’t help DS at the time (I was meet entry secretary at the time and the coach refused to speak to me, not very helpful for trying to do national’s entries).

This was a coach that encouraged hazing, to the point where the child in question had bruising that he lied to his parents about. A formal complaint from the parents to the NGB went nowhere. This coach also encouraged risk taking from older swimmers that could have resulted in life changing injuries.

It was frightening.

That is frightening.

I think like everywhere you have some real issues with people in power.

It seems the greater issue has stemmed from it being ignored from above from what’s been said? I don’t really know as haven’t experienced it and ds has only been swimming for 10 years.

I’d have been interested in a more in depth and broader investigation rather than the focus mainly being on one coach. But I have a feeling this is just the beginning and more will surface as time goes on.

Good question about girls vs boys.

I think you’re right about the Panorama programme just scratching the surface. Athletes have obviously been unwilling to speak up (to parents or to NGBs) because of the impact on their swimming careers.

We have quite a few former older coaches/referees etc still involved with our long-established club. The journalist ought to have taken them to a pub and bought them a few beers!

Sadly competitive sport will always attract some “win at all costs” coaches.

It seems to be particularly bad where kids do need to be training 15+ hours/week, primarily under the direction of just one or two people. Remember the gymnastics scandals?

whilst most people (a lot of coaches and parents included)n assume a swimmer is swimming in order to go to Nationals and beyond that Commonwealth Games and Olympics.

Ugh, yes. I'm currently seeing this view in one of our senior coaches combined with an attitude of if the swimmer isn't continually dropping time, it's down to a lack of effort from the swimmer. He can't see it is possible to be happy with your level of achievement and not always be pushing and reaching for the next step. He doesn't sit with his swimmers and goal set together either, so they never naturally get the opportunity to talk about what they are hoping to achieve. I challenge it each time a comment is made of this sort, and thankfully the other senior coaches are of my mindset, but the whole 'promoting a lifelong participation in aquatic sports' part of our role seems to have completely passed him by.

I haven't watched the programme yet as was at the pool all evening, but will at some point this week. Even if the issues are all historic, it's still important to keep them fresh in our minds to avoid a repeat.
It's interesting the OADF continues to list 'physically suitable' as an attribute, however. I know what they're getting at in terms of certain physical features give a competitive edge, but it is also open to abuse as reasoning for weighing and the like.

I missed Panorama and can't use Iplayer from Ireland. I'd have liked to have seen it, as all the Clubs in Ireland got pre show statement from Swin Ireland last night. One of the coaches involved was our head of preformace, but is now with the Saudis.
Safeguarding here is robust right now because of huge scandals in the 90 and early 2000s. Which was lovely after what I saw at the clubs DD swam with in England, kids being dropped for focusing on exams, kids being bullied into swimming with broken limbs where what made me leave. I hope Swim England has a bit of a shake up and improves.

90% of the show focussed on him and an ex male swimmer of his, a little on SE failures to act and some on Royal Wolverhampton school ex head coach.

I might go over the border and have a coffee in Newry and watch it. There was gossip about his approach not going down well with parents, particularly over covid. Swimming is a very small world here, and it's hard to keep anything quiet, which has its pluses.

Swim Ireland let an Irish club employ an English coach who actually had been banned by SE and this was more recently than the Jon Rudd problems.

Really? Who?

I’m not going to divulge that one on here. I don’t know which club it was or rather I can’t remember now. I did some digging at the time.

You probably didn’t get the opportunity to the BBC podcast Where is George Gibney?

It’s a very difficult listen.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0k383l7

George Gibney was part of the reasons our safeguarding rules were rebuild from scratch and Irish Swimming as an organisation was disbanded and reformed. Only one of the reasons though, he wasn't alone. And it never ends as there is a coach which went through the courts here recently for making indecent images of his swimmers.
I'd never want to put DC off swimming as a sport, but as swim parents we need to be very alive for the need for robust safeguarding.

I came across that one day when searching bbc sounds for a podcast.

It’s very uncomfortable listening.

Pool of the day 😀 ☀️

You win!!

Beautiful 🤩 Are you on holiday there or competing?

DD competing at the Mare Nostrum.

Weather has been great if a bit windy and swimming outdoors is always a bit challenging for our backstroke swimmers who are used to having a roof!

How is she doing ? Is she doing all of them? The Monaco one isn’t in the outdoor pool by the harbour which is a shame, it looks quite poky indoors.

Oohhh lovely!!! Good luck to your DD