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. 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 (), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad () and commonly known as Athens 1896 (), were the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), wh ...

. 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 (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. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

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 (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

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

company limited by guarantee A company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of company where the liability of members in the event the company is wound up is limited to a (typically very small) amount listed in the company's articles or constitution. Most have no share ca ...

and changed its name to Swimming Australia Ltd. Glenn Tasker served as the chief executive officer until June 2008, and the organisation's headquarters is located at Unit 12, 7 Beissel Street,

Belconnen Belconnen () is a Lands administrative divisions of Australia#Australian Capital Territory, district in the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. As at the , the ...

, ACT. In 2013, Mark Anderson was appointed CEO. The Australian Swim Team 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." The inaugural inductees were Fr ...

. 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) *The

Australian Olympic Committee The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is the National Olympic Committee responsible for developing, promoting, and protecting the Olympic Movement in Australia. The AOC has the exclusive responsibility for the representation of Australia at ...

(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 Australia at the Commonw ...

(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 * 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 Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and repo ...

, a

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

of inquiry initiated in 2013 by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

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 Senior Counsel, SC (born 15 January 1959 in Sydney) is an Australians, Australian barrister, prosecutor and Royal Commission#Australia, commissioner of a government inquiry. Background and early career Cunneen was born at ...

, Anthony Moynihan , Nicholas Cowdery , Lloyd Babb ,

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

Leanne Clare 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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...