Swimming Australia is the peak governing body for competitive swimming in Australia. The body has approximately 100,000 registered members nationally in 1100 clubs across the country, which includes swimmers, coaches, officials, administrators and volunteers. The body oversees the management and development of the sport from the national team at the elite level, the conduct of national and international events, through to grass roots participation. The organisation's vision is to become Australia's leading sport through increased participation, continual outstanding performance and commercial excellence. In 1985, the organisation had approximately 90,000 registered members.

History

Competitive national swimming championships were first held in 1894. Australia had swimmers at most major international swimming events since the

1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...

. This interest led to the creation of the Amateur Swimming Union of Australia, the precursor to Swimming Australia, which was founded in 1909 at a meeting of state swimming representatives at the Sports Club on Hunter Street in Sydney's CBD. There they established a charter which included the key features of the promotion of uniformity of rules and regulations across Australia; the adjudication all matters of disputes between affiliated associations; the control and management of swimmers visiting Australia; the control and management of Australian representatives in any contest of international nature; and control the recognition of all "best on record" performances. Within a short time the Amateur Swimming Union of Australia had extended its charter to include negotiation with the recently formed

International Swimming Federation FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

(Fédération Internationale de Natation, FINA).

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

was the foundation president and served for the first 35 years of the body's existence from 1909 to 1944. During 1985, under a new corporate structure, the Amateur Swimming Union of Australia was incorporated in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

and became Australian Swimming Inc. On 1 October 2004, Australian Swimming became a

company limited by guarantee In British, Australian, Bermudian, Hong Kong and Irish company law (and previously New Zealand), a company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of corporation used primarily (but not exclusively) for non-profit organisations that require legal pe ...

and changed its name to Swimming Australia Ltd.

Glenn Tasker Glenn Robert Tasker (10 November 1951 – 15 August 2019) was a leading Australian sport administrator particularly in swimming, tennis and the Paralympic movement. He was President of the Australian Paralympic Committee from 2013 to 2018. Sp ...

served as the chief executive officer until June 2008, and the organisation's headquarters is located at Unit 12, 7 Beissel Street,

Belconnen The District of Belconnen () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), used in land administration. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. The district of Belconne ...

, ACT. In 2013, Mark Anderson was appointed CEO. The

Australian Swim Team The Australian Swim Team known as ''The Dolphins'', has performed successfully at major international championships. The Australian Swim Team was first referred to as The Dolphins in 1989. Australian Swim Team's historical rival is the United S ...

underwent a rebranding in 2014 and was renamed the Australian Dolphins Swimming Team. In 2022, it established the

Swimming Australia Hall of Fame The Swimming Australia Hall of Fame was established in 2022 by Swimming Australia "to both recognise and celebrate those athletes and coaches who have left an indelible mark on the sport at the international level." Inaugural inductees - Freddy L ...

. Swimming Australia supports and runs the Swimming Australia National Training Centre at the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

in Canberra.

Australian Swimmers of the Year

Swimming Australia announces a number of awards annually, most notably the Australian Swimmer of the Year Award.

Stakeholders and affiliations

Swimming Australia's key stakeholders includes: *Swimming New South Wales *Swimming Victoria *Swimming Queensland *Swimming South Australia *Swimming Western Australia *Swimming Tasmania *Swimming Northern Territory *Swimming ACT *Australian Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association (ASCTA) *Australian Swimmers Association Swimming Australia is affiliated to the following bodies: *The

Fédération Internationale de Natation FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

(FINA) *The

Australian Olympic Committee Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

(AOC) *The

Australian Commonwealth Games Association Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) is the Commonwealth Games Association for Australia, and is responsible for representing and promoting the Commonwealth Sport movement in the country, and organises the participation of athletes at the Commonwea ...

(ACGA) *The

Australian Paralympic Committee Paralympics Australia (PA) previously called the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) (1998–2019) is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the preparation and management of Australian tea ...

(APC) *

Oceania Swimming Association The Oceania Swimming Association is the continental governing body recognised by FINA, for the national governing bodies of swimming, open water swimming, diving, water polo, synchronised swimming and masters swimming in Oceania. The body was estab ...

* Australian Water Safety Council Whilst the following organisations are affiliated with Swimming Australia: *Australian Waterpolo Association Inc *Australian Diving Association Inc *Australian Synchronised Swimming *AUSSI Masters Swimming in Australia Swimming Australia is also a foundation member of AUSTSWIM and is involved in the development of an Australian Water Safety Organisation.

Sexual abuse allegations

In July 2014 the

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Government of Australia, Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 t ...

, a Royal Commission of inquiry initiated in 2013 by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

and supported by all of its state governments, began an investigation into the responses of the Offices of the Directors of Public Prosecutions in Queensland and New South Wales to determine whether to prosecute allegations of child sexual assault; the response of Scone Swimming Club to the convictions of Stephen John Roser for indecent assault and for committing acts of indecency against a child; and related matters. Six former students, a number of swimming executives, government officials,

Margaret Cunneen Margaret Mary Cunneen (born 15 January 1959 in Sydney) is an Australian barrister, prosecutor and commissioner of a government inquiry. Background and early career Cunneen was born at St. Margaret's Hospital in Darlinghurst, the daughter of Joh ...

, Anthony Moynihan ,

Nicholas Cowdery Nicholas Richard Cowdery (born 19 March 1946), is a barrister who served as the Director of Public Prosecutions for the Australian state of New South Wales from 1994 to 2011. Cowdery also served as president of the International Association o ...

Lloyd Babb Lloyd Babb , (born 1966) is an Australian barrister and was the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions from his appointment on the 18th July 2011 through to 17th July 2021. In making his announcement about the appointment of Babb, A ...

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Leanne Clare Leanne Clare (born 23 July 1962) is a Judge of the District Court of Queensland and a former Queensland Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). On 2 April 2008 she was appointed to the District Court after eight years as DPP. Between 1999 and 2 ...

and Paul Rutledge gave evidence or made statements before the Royal Commission. The Royal Commission heard from women who alleged they had been abused as children and that despite informing officials, the alleged perpetrators did not face criminal trial on the basis of recommendations provided by government prosecutors in both New South Wales and Queensland. In April 2015 Swimming Australia president John Bertrand issued an apology to former swim students who were victims of sexual abuse. Allegations against various swimming coaches were reported as first aired in the media up to ten years earlier; and new cases were alleged following the Royal Commission hearings.

References

External links

Official website
*
Swimming Australia Team interviewed by students

Australian Olympic swimmers admit using sedative
{{Sports governing bodies in Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...