I’ve been fortunate enough to travel with swimmers to several swim meet series. For years the FINA World Cups were the best known. I attended close to 100 World Cup meets in Sydney, Hobart, Hong Kong, Moscow, Malmo, Glasgow, Paris, Majorca, Gelsenkirchen, Berlin, Imperia, Stockholm, and New York. There were some special moments.

Michael Klim swimming out to an island built in the Sydney Olympic Pool to claim his new Toyota car after breaking the 100m butterfly world record. Swimming in an outdoor pool surrounded by deep snow in Malmo. The spectacular light shows also in Malmo. The history of the Paris pool. Many years ago, they heated the water with open fires under the 50m pool. 13-year-old Jane making the final of the women’s 50m breaststroke and being handed a bouquet of flowers by Alexander Popov for her efforts. Toni winning a bronze medal in the World Cup finals 50m freestyle in Majorca. The new underground pool, below a Berlin Park, in what had been East Germany. The awesome communist grandeur of the Moscow Olympic Pool.

The American’s have their own tour. The Pro Swim Series was formally known as the Speedo Grand Prix. It is usually 7 meets. Like American restaurants the meets tend to be a bit pre-packaged. All the same, all very formal and not much in the way of glitz and glamour. But also like their restaurants you can trust the quality of their produce. I’ve seen several world records. Michael Phelps 200m fly world record, in his training suit and unshaven in Missouri was memorable. That was also the meet where the cashier in the café across the road from our hotel thought Michael was paying for my breakfast as well as his own. I ran after him to explain that he had paid for me by mistake. He laughed and said, “Don’t worry. You’re Rhi’s (Jeffrey) coach. I’m happy to help out.” A story typical of the man. I should add that Rhi and Michael were best of mates.

But the top tour by far is Mare Nostrum. Mare Nostrum is an annual series of three swim meets around the Mediterranean. The meets are always held in Barcelona Spain, Canet France and Monaco. Until 2005 a meet in Rome was also included. I’ve “done” the tour seven times with swimmers from New Zealand, the US Virgin Islands and the United States.

For being looked after and for the genuine warmth of their welcome Mare Nostrum is without peer. I’ve done the tour, by bus, train, airplane and hired car. I’ve stayed in camping grounds and five-star Monaco hotels. Not once have I been disappointed. The camping ground was fantastic – drinking French beer, watching the French Open Tennis Final with the locals, and testing my school-boy French to the limit. The Monaco hotels were what you would expect. Believe me the breakfasts were to die for. Where else in the world can you eat crayfish and caviar for breakfast, before a swim meet. And for the coach a small glass of champagne to begin a hard day at the pool. Not to mention sharing a table with Jenson Button, the Great Britain Grand Prix driver. Mind you, talking about breakfasts, nothing beats a small French café on the waterfront in Canet. Croissants, jam, cream, cooked meats, eggs and dark black coffee watching the sunrise far over the Mediterranean as elderly French tourists wander across the beach for their morning swim. It is a hard life – this swim coaching.

But perhaps there is one story that explains best the difference between Mare Nostrum swimming and New Zealand. As each team arrives at the Canet Pool the Manager is required to go upstairs to the office where Stéphanie Bonnet provides the meet documentation. But in Canet, meet documentation, includes a carved wooden box with four bottles of fine local wine. Tell me another swim meet anywhere in the world where wine accompanies your meet entries? Civilised is what that is. Perhaps SNZ could consider a box of Waiheke Island produce for each team at this years Short Course Nationals. 2023 entries would be through the roof. The standard of swimming at the Canet meet has always been high. Perhaps the benefits of wine are greater than we know.

Anyway, this year Eyad is on his way to Mare Nostrum. I hope he swims well. I know he will have a good time. And who knows as the sole refugee team swimmer he may have four bottles of French wine all to himself. If he has trouble with his French present, there will be a very grateful coach in New Zealand waiting to help him out.