By David

Swimming New Zealand is in the middle of an in-depth Review of its structure, its management and its sphere of operation. Everything about the organization is open to analysis; is the subject of critical examination. The CEO of SPARC, Peter Miskimmin pushed the Coalition of Regions into accepting the Review because he saw it as the only way left to inflict his socialist management model on yet another New Zealand sport. He’d already imposed centralized management structures on rowing, gymnastics and surf live-saving. All three are currently in various stages of being broke and broken. But Miskimmin does not care. The management of swimming was weak. The sport was completely dependent on Miskimmin for its financial survival. It was an ideal subject for the next SPARC invasion.

Swimwatch warned the Coalition of Regions not to trust SPARC. On a dark, wet night, lost on the top of Mount Whakapunaki, Miskimmin, Collins, Butler, Byrne and McDonald are not the first guys you’d chose as mates. In fact as far as captains of industry go they remind me of Captain Francesco Schettino. He was the Captain of that Italian cruise ship that sank close to the Italian coast a couple of weeks ago. Captain Schettino has been accused of leaving the sinking ship while hundreds of his passengers were fighting for their lives. You’d be excused for thinking that he may have learned that trick from Miskimmin and his friends. My warning to the Coalition of Regions was to never shake hands with those guys without carefully counting your fingers afterwards.

Well, the Coalition of Regions ignored that advice. They were conned by the smooth talking Miskimmin. They trusted SPARC. And now the Coalition of Regions and the sport of swimming will pay for that trust. The Mediation Agreement that set up the Review silenced the opposition. In the hiatus of silence; with their rivals gagged, the Board of Swimming New Zealand and SPARC have run riot.

During a period of management Review, good business practice demands that structural and management changes are put on hold. A time of Review is a time to call a holiday on even normal business initiatives. But that hasn’t happened here; not by a country mile. In a series of schemes, that must have been preplanned, Swimming New Zealand has embarked on a raft of conspiracies. While the rest of us have slept, Swimming New Zealand has been very busy indeed.

They have altered their rules to ban people like me from their National Championships. Because I dare to exercise the right to question the motives of the crooks that run this organization, Swimming New Zealand introduced a measure that denied me the right to coach my swimmers at the New Zealand Olympic Trials. My swimmers are not political pawns in my debate with Swimming New Zealand. It is none of their business. However there is a part of me that wants to see one or two of my swimmers swim really well so that main stream reporters in New Zealand can appreciate the hurt I feel at being denied the right to wish my swimmers well or congratulate them on a job well done. We have worked very hard for that moment and I do take it hard when Miskimmin and Butler and their friends deny me the right to enjoy it.

They have established a High Performance Unit in Wellington. The current Review needs to consider whether Swimming New Zealand has any right to be involved in the preparation of competitive swimmers. Certainly the evidence of sixteen years and sixteen million dollars suggests that they are very poor at the job. Recognizing that the dismal performance of the North Shore High Performance Unit might lead thinking members of the Review to the conclusion that private enterprise can prepare elite athletes better Miskimmin initiated two master strokes of deception. He appointed Gary Hurring to the Review Committee and then paid him to Head the Wellington High Performance Unit. Miskimmin just bought off a New Zealand Sportsman of the Year and his vote. There is no way Gary can vote to end his own source of income. And second, Miskimmin’s Wellington High Performance Unit has created a structure so expensive, so complex that any Review would be excused for reaching the conclusion that it was all too difficult to unravel. Game, set and match to the bad buggers.

And now Swimming New Zealand has circulated a document called, “Proposed changes to the SNZ Regulations and Events Information”. This masterpiece contains the next three moves in Swimming New Zealand’s campaign of dishonesty. The proposed changes are not good. However the method of their introduction during a period of Review positively stinks. The reputation of Miskimmin and Butler is in tatters – or it should be.

The first change proposes that, “After the successful staging of a combined open and age group short course championship in August last year it is proposed to maintain a combined event using a 5 day format going forward.” I believe that’s not a bad idea. However Swimming New Zealand has no right to make the change in the middle of a period of Review.

The second change proposes that, “the format that we currently have for the State 2012 New Zealand Open Championships makes it impossible to select relay team members for the London Olympics, as in a couple of cases the relay event occurs prior to the individual event. This will therefore require a change to the sessions that relays are held in.” Here again, not a bad suggestion but made at a most suspect moment in absolute violation of the agreement made between Swimming New Zealand, the Coalition of Regions and Peter Miskimmin.

The third change proposes that, “It is Swimming New Zealand’s goal to ensure that all events used to achieve qualifying times for New Zealand Championships and for use overseas are of an appropriate standard and swimmers are given the best possible opportunity to achieve their goal times. In an effort to ensure this we are proposing that an event ratification process is established.” The first two innocuous changes are simply to disguise the danger inherent in this classic piece of Swimming New Zealand treachery; to lull the reader into a sense that all this is boring house-keeping before sliding through a measure of seismic magnitude. It is a classic Swimming New Zealand ploy. It’s the way Miskimmin and his friends do just about everything. As we have said before the buggers would not know how to lie straight in bed. This move simply proposes that every swim meet should be subject to a Swimming New Zealand registration process. Recognize the deception? Within a year Comet and Aqua Hawks and West Auckland Aquatics and Wharanui and every other club in the country will be paying Swimming New Zealand a fortune to register meets those clubs have been staging for thirty years for free. This is simply another Miskimmin led, Swimming New Zealand rip off.