As we enter a new Olympic cycle and head towards Tokyo 2020, Swimming Australia is finding and preparing our next generation of swimmers.
Straight off the back of the 2016 State Teams Short Course competition, the National Training Centre will play host to the annual Swimming Australia Kaizen Talent ID Camp, from Sunday September 25 to Friday September 30.
The group of 31 promising swimmers were selected by a coaching and leadership panel that took into consideration performance at the Australian Age and Open national championships as well as their potential to make a senior Australian team in the future.
The camp’s name is derived from the Japanese philosophy meaning ‘continual improvement’ and as we head towards Tokyo 2020 and beyond, Swimming Australia’s Performance Manager, Jamie Salter said this is key.
“The focus of the Pathway programs is to identify and monitor athletes’ progression and support those swimmers and coaches who possess the attributes to successfully represent us at major events at a senior level,” Salter said.
“Constantly searching for peak performance and ways to improve is vital. At the camp we’ll work with the coaches and staff to ensure the swimmers are exposed to developing optimal techniques and provide Coach education on key principles of instruction, practice and feedback.”
The Talent Camp is one of the first steps on the swimmers’ journey to becoming elite athletes and the rising stars will undertake educational sessions both in and out of the pool to help them progress to the next level.
The Pathway Program is proving its potential at unearthing future swimming stars and since its inception in 2014 a total of 20 swimmers and 4 coaches have progressed from the Talent Program to the Swimming Australia Youth Team.
At the last two major international youth competitions (World Junior Championships 2015 and Junior Pan Pacs 2016), Swimming Australia has delivered over 42 medals with 15 of them Gold.
2016 Talent ID Camp Athlete List
| First Name | Last Name | Swim Club | State |
| Male Athletes | |||
| Zachary | Attard | Cherrybrook | NSW |
| Myles | Bailey | Woy Woy | NSW |
| Ryland | Brian | MLC | VIC |
| Ethan | Dorrian | Dapto | NSW |
| Samuel | Durrant | MLC | VIC |
| Nathan | Foote | South Gippsland Bass | VIC |
| Jake | Goldsworthy | Acacia | QLD |
| Liam | Hunter | Chandler | QLD |
| Jake | Kersten | TSS | QLD |
| Heath | MacLeod | MLC | VIC |
| Aaron | Mansfield | Cotton Tree | QLD |
| Ethan | McAleese | Rockingham | WA |
| Oliver | Nash | Melbourne Vicentre | VIC |
| Zac | Stubblety-Cook | East Brisbane | QLD |
| Nathan | Zhu | Trinity Grammar | NSW |
| Female Athletes | |||
| Rosemary | Addison | Nunawading | VIC |
| Sophie | Caldwell | Nunawading | VIC |
| Brittany | Castelluzzo | Tea Tree Gully | SA |
| Kayla | Costa | Nunawading | VIC |
| Claire | Coten | Perth City | WA |
| Bec | Cross | Ginninderra | ACT |
| Abby | Duncan | Norwood | SA |
| Jacinta | Essam | Tuggeranong | ACT |
| Ashleigh | Glover | UWA West Coast | WA |
| Abbey | Harkin | St Peters Western | QLD |
| Meg | Harris | Commercial | QLD |
| Emily | Liu | Marion | SA |
| Charlotte | Mitchell | TSS | QLD |
| Ela | Noble | Commercial | QLD |
| Natasha | Ramsden | Abbotsleigh | NSW |
| Laticia | Transom | Brisbane Grammar | QLD |
2016 Talent ID Camp Staff List |
|||
| Team Leader | |||
| Jamie | Salter | Swimming Australia | QLD |
| Head Coach | |||
| Glenn | Beringen | Swimming Australia | QLD |
| Coach Mentors | |||
| Leigh | Nugent | VIS | VIC |
| Stephan | Widmer | Swimming QLD | QLD |
| Drew | McGregor | Swimming QLD | QLD |
| Coaches | |||
| Rachel | Brennemo (Rickards) | Hutchins College | TAS |
| Michael | Bromley | Commercial | QLD |
| Dean | Bryant | Nunawading | VIC |
| Clinton | Camilleri | The Hills | NSW |
| Shaun | Curtis | Norwood | SA |
| Garth | Kates | West Coast | WA |
| Matt | King | Melbourne Vicentre | VIC |
| Misha | Payne | Cherrybrook | NSW |
| Kyle | Samuelson | Bond | QLD |
| William | Scott | Rockingham | WA |
| Michael | Shaw | UWA West Coast | WA |
| Joshua | Smith | River City | QLD |
| Ben | Tuxford | Trinity Grammar | NSW |
| Nicholas | Veliades | MLC | VIC |
| John | Wallace | Pelican Waters Caloundra | QLD |
| Staff | |||
| Amy | Griffith | Swimming NT | NT |
| Josie | Roche | Swimming Australia | QLD |
| Sport Science Support | |||
| Elise | Bereza | Swimming Australia | QLD |
| Jess | Corones | Swimming Australia | QLD |
| Russell | Smallwood | Swimming Australia | QLD |
| Job | Vandujnhoven | NSWIS | NSW |
| Elaine | Tor | VIS | VIC |
| Derek | Panchuk | AIS | ACT |
Courtesy of Swimming Australia.