News from Swimming and more

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I've decided to drop the news column and provide you with a better way to learn swimming and other water sports related news. I've used paper.li to create a newspaper with fresh news from the aquatic world. Please follow this link and subscribe. The news will be published in a daily basis; feel free to make suggestions on what you would like to read on this newspaper or not.

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British Swimming planning to reduce ITC'S

After a £4,000,000 funding cut, British Swimming has again had to further reduce its Intensive Training Center program. After cutting the Stockport ITC altogether in the spring, and reducing funding to the other ITC’s, the BBC is reporting that Swansea and Stirling ITC’s are on the block next.

In February, the Loughborough and Bath ITC’s were given four year renewals on “more cost effective terms,” while Swansea and Stirling were contracted just through the end of 2013. The Intensive Training Centers are funded training opportunities for elite athletes.

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FINIS partners with Under Armour

A couple of weeks old news but really interesting and very good for swimming and swimming industry. FINIS partners with Under Armour, read the statement from the FINIS' blog.

FINIS, a world leader in technical swimming products announces a partnership with Under Armour Inc., an innovative performance brand specializing in apparel, footwear and accessories accross numerous sports. Moving forward, all FINIS teams will be able to utilize the full range of Under Armour's product offering for their team members, to keep them comfortable on the deck and for training out of the pool.

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Tim Jones is the new Head of Performance Pathway for British Swimming

Tim Jones has been appointed as the Head of Performance Pathway for Swimming. Jones, a former international swimmer, have been working within the sport for more than a decade, working as Director of the High Performance as Loughborough for UK Athletics and most recently at British Gymnastics. Under his tenure British Gymnastics had its most successful cycle and the 2012 Olympic Games were the most successful ever for the sport.

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AOC says no more punishment for relay team

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) will not impose any further sanctions on the Australian men's freestyle realy swim team for the use of the sleeping medicine Stilnox in the lead up to the 2012 London Olympics.  Swimming Australia issued six swimmers fines and a form of suspended sentence when they were accused of violation an AOC ban on Stilnox. The substance had been banned by the AOC weeks before the 2012 Games over dependency fears.

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Lyles takes charge as New Zealand national high performance coach

Swimming New Zealand has hired David Lyles, the head coach of the Shanghai Swimming Team, to be their new National High Performance coach. Lyles was the head coach of the University of Bath swim team from 1997-2005. After that role, China brought him in to lead the Shanghai Swimming Team, which also included duties with the Chinese National Team. Lyles swimmers had been selected for 5 of the 6 last Olympics Games and he has also put swimmers on the Chinese National Team for the 2010 and 2011 World Championships. He also trained two out of the four members of the bronze winning relay team (4x200 m free) at the 2012 Olympics Games.

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EnergyAustralia announces FINA and IPC teams

With the EnergyAustralia Swimming Championships just over, the Australian Swimming Federation announced the teams that will represent Australia at the 2013 FINA and IPC World Championships in Barcelona and Montreal respectively. Michael Scott, Swimming Australia Director of High Performance, said: “We’ve seen more than 20 athletes produce personal best times to gain selection for this year’s FINA and IPC world championships and that’s a really promising sign. We’ve got 86 days until we compete for Australia in Barcelona and the challenge now is to improve further on the standards that athletes and coaches have set themselves this week.  The next stage is about being professional in everything we do including enhancing the performance culture of the team.”

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Bowman consults Turkish swimming

Exciting news for fellow swimming fans from Turkey. The Turkish swimming federation has signed a three and a half year agreement with TSE consulting, and specifically Michael Phelps’ former coach Bob Bowman, to lead their National swimming federation from grassroots to elite level. TSE noted that Bob would be "assisted by a team of experts in the areas of biomechanics, physiology, coaching, and others that have worked with Bob in the past. This will be coupled with an important component of sports development that will see young people throughout Turkey getting more involved in swimming”.

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Swimming officials school in Port Moresby (PNG)

The 2013 edition of the FINA Swimming Officials schools in Oceania was successfully hosted by PNG Swimming Inc. at the Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby from April 6-7. The school had a total of 36 participants made up of past swimmers, school teachers, coaches and parents.

The school was opened by PNG Swimming Inc. patron Bart Philemon, who welcomed the participants and course experts Don Blew, FINA TSC Vice Chairman and Soren Korbo, FINA TSC Honorary Secretary and then introduced the PNG Government Minister for Sports and Pacific Games, Justin Tkatchenko to open the FINA Officials school and speak on the preparations of the XV Pacific Games 2015.

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Bohl and Taylor named new National Team Coaches for EnergyAustralia Swim Team

Swimming Australia has named Michael Bohl and Rohan Taylor as National Team Coaches that they will lead EnergyAustralia Swim Team through to the 2013 FINA World Chamnpionships in Barcelona this July and August. They will both be working with Michael Scott, the new Director of High Performance, and Bohl will lead the women while Taylor will lead the men.

Michael Bohl

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2nd Meeting International de la Mediterranee

The 2^nd Meeting International de la Mediterranee in Marseille was completed yesterday after three days of great swimming action. Mireia Belmonte from Spain, who won two Olympics medals at London 2012 put on an excellent performance and won two gold medals (800 m FR & 200 m FL) during the first day of the meeting. She also took the 4^th place in the 200 m FR (2:02.18) finishing after Melanie Costa (1:58.70), Patricia Ortega (2:00.42) and Beatrice Gomez (2:01.88). We also had a small surprise at men’s 50 m BK where Camille Lacourt (24.94) beat world record holder, Liam Tancock, who finished second (25.46).

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Jones ready to fight for a place in 2016 squad

Cullen Jones, who turns 29 today, decides that he’ll try to make his third U.S. Olympic team in 2016. He started training under coach David Marsh for SwimMAC Carolina’s elite team and he is almost sure that’ll he live and train there through at least the Olympic Games in Rio.

Although, Jones has never been a great practice athlete, Marsh always pushes him to do more as he feels his primary competitors have been training harder than Jones. At least, as the swimmer says, he hasn’t gained 20 pounds he put after the 2008 Olympics.

Cullen Jones

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FINA thinking of changing breaststroke rule

FINA, in a move believed by some as a way around introducing underwater cameras in disputes and appeals, may relax the rules on breaststroke to allow multiple dolphin kicks at the start of races, according to former 1500m great Vladimir Salnikov.

Now the president of the Russian swim federation, Salnikov today tells the Russian swim community that breaststroke swimmers would be allowed to take multiple dolphin kicks during the first 15m of races. Currently, rules allow one kick, with many using more but getting away with it because officials on the deck cannot see through the splash generated by the dive at the start of races. The one-kick rule will remain in place at turns, when there is no splash to block the view of judges on the poolside.

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FINA changes policy on FINA World Cup series

Two European rounds of the FINA World Cup, one set for Eindhoven and another in Berlin, are due to be staged immediately after the World Championships in Barcelona this summer to catch the wave of fit athletes in peak race form before they depart for summer breaks.

The World Cup series has longed suffered from poor attendance when it comes to attracting quality fields. Many rounds of the cup are largely domestic events with a sprinkling of world-class swimmers from leading nations either dipping in to selected rounds to test themselves at a time of training or taking on the series in pursuit of the $100,000 prize available to best man and best woman on a points score.

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Pereira Quits Pro2016; New Coach For Cielo

Brazil's top two swimmers, Olympic medalists Cesar Cielo and Thiago Pereira, are heading in different directions amid denials that the Pro 2016 squad formed by the world sprint champion is about to fold.

Cesar Cielo

Thiago, Olympic silver medalist behind Ryan Lochte (USA) over 400m medley at London 2012, has left Pro 2016, the team formed by Cielo to prepare Brazilians for the Rio 2016 Games at home, and is being coached by Felipe Dominguez at the Academia Reebok. 

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Belmonte building back to best

Double Olympic silver medalist Mireia Belmonte (ESP) is getting back on track after a period of disruption following her post-London 2012 expulsion from Sabadell. Now back in the fold in Barcelona with coach Fred Vergnoux, Belmonte took four wins at her club's first long-course meet of the year.

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New brand for British Swimming

British Swimming has today launched its new logo and visual identity.

The organisation began the process of refreshing its visual identity at the start of 2012 with the aim of continuing its reputation as a modern and leading National Governing Body of Sport.

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