Swimming Canada, at their annual General Meeting (the equivalent of the USA Swimming Convention), announced the acceptance by CEO Pierre Lafontaine to remain as CEO of the swimming organization (the organizational equivalent of Chuck Wielgus) into the next quadrennial, which was news well-received across the Canadian swimming community.
Prior to joining Swimming Canada in 2005 as CEO, Lafontaine had served as the head coach of the Dynamo Swim Club in Atlanta, the Phoenix Swim Club, and the Australian Institute of Sport: the latter of which is one of the most elite swim programs in the world. When he first came to Canada, the program was reeling. They had just completed the Athens Olympics, where the country went medal-less, and there was not much to be excited about in the pools of the Great White North.
Now, however, Canadian swimming is on fire. Internationally, the 4 medals they earned at this summer’s World Championships (including three in Olympic events) are a huge hallmark of their success; additionally, the number of high-level recruits being signed by major Division 1 universities in the United States demonstrates the increasing breadth of the program at the youth levels.
Vision 2020
Lafontaine, by continuing his role as CEO, will be in charge of implementing Canada’s Vision 2020 program in September of 2012.
The Vision Statement:“We inspire Canadians through world leading performances to embrace a lifestyle of swimming, sport, fitness and health.”The Mission:We create and develop an environment that allows people to achieve sustained success and leadership;We ensure a welcoming and safe environment;We promote our brand so that Canadians view swimming as a premier sport and activity in Canada;We drive growth through innovation, quality programming and partnerships;
We lead and govern with organizational excellence and business performance.The Core Values are Excellence and Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Commitment, and Accountability.
The two strategic focuses of the plan, a wet side and a dry side, each have two priorities. On the wet side the two priorities are World Leading Performance and Athlete Development. On the dry side the two priorities are Organizational Excellence and Financial Capacity.
The program’s ultimate goal is World Class Performance where Canada is recognized as a world-leading swimming nation by finishing in the top 6 at both the 2020 Olympic Games and the 2020 Paralympic Games as measured by total medal count and Swimming Canada have the depth to realize sustainable world-leading performance at the international level.
If you compare those desired rankings to the 2008 and 2004 Olympic medal tables, that equates to somewhere between 2 gold medals, or 1 gold medal and at least 5-or-6 supplementary medals, at the 2020 Olympics. Though many of the 2020 Olympic medalists aren’t even on the radar yet, that goal seems well within reach (with the gold being the biggest challenge).
As of now, Lafontaine serves a dual role as the CEO of Swimming Canada and the head of the World Class Performance Team. Beginning in 2012, after the Olympic Games, Swimming Canada will split the World Class Performance role into a separate position. There haven’t been any hints as to who might take over this position, but it is expected to be a high-profile hire. Randy Bennett, the head coach at Island Swimming in Vancouver who has been named the Olympic Team head coach, will surely be on the short-list.
This is a logical move as the program continues to grow and pushes to increase membership. With increased success comes increased challenges, and this second leadership role will be needed to make Vision 2020 feasible.