In the world of competitive swimming, being fast doesn鈥檛 just happen.
Becoming the best in the pool is a process. For the last 15 years, the national swim centre located at the University of British Columbia has produced an impressive list of athletes who have won Olympic and world championship medals.
Olympic bronze medallist Brent Hayden trained at the centre. So did Olympians Annamay Pierse, a former world record holder in the breaststroke, and Martha McCabe, a world champion bronze medallist.
These successes are badges of honour for the program and UBC at a time when the university re-evaluates its varsity athletic program, which currently includes 29 sports. In some cases, the badge is literal: A two-storey billboard of Pierse, who retired last year, hangs on the War Memorial Gym with the UBC slogan, 鈥渁 place of mind.鈥�
Tom Johnson, technical director for the swim program at UBC, believes the national centre fills an even greater role than creating Olympians. Many members of the UBC Thunderbird swim team have gone on to train with the national program and that makes UBC an attractive option for Canadians considering attending a U.S. college to further their swimming career.
"We can offer as much if not more than what can be offered in the U.S.," said Johnson, who has coached at nine Summer Games and was Canada's head coach at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"We have a continuity of care. We have a program that will look after those kids 11 months of the year and keep moving them toward the international scene as a priority. In the United States, their priority is [to] score points at the NCAA or conference championship. In reality the whole thing is geared for what they can get out of them in March. Our whole program is more about getting them into the international arena [鈥 and developing them in that arena."
The centre, which was first established in 1998, employs 12 people and costs about $750,000 a year to operate. In addition to two coaches, there are support staff for nutrition, sport physiology and physiotherapy. Currently the centre trains 12 swimmers.
Steve Price, head swim coach of the Thunderbirds, said the cost of the swim team has been underwritten by the Pacific Dolphin Swim Association, now known as the UBC Dolphins. He was confident the swim program has a future at UBC.
"The truth is the current model we have with swimming, [which] includes club, varsity and high performance streams, is the new model that has been described by the 鈥榯hink tank鈥� group that set the groundwork for this sport review," Price said in an email.
鈥淚n fact, other sports in Canada have 'copied' the model set up here at UBC. It has been a successful model for athlete development for the student-athletes pursuing varsity swimming and the athlete-students pursuing international success.鈥�
Having the national centre operate at the same pool as the varsity team was a factor in Olympian Tera Van Beilen's decision to attend UBC.
"It attracts a lot of people to the university," said Van Beilen, 20, who was born in Oakville, Ont. "Having fast swimmers all together builds camaraderie and good training. That builds the swimmers as individuals and as a team. That will contribute to the growth of swimming in Canada."
Swimmers chasing their Olympic dream don't need to sacrifice their academic pursuits. Training schedules can be modified to fit students carrying heavy course loads.
"We're growing people and one of the vehicles is sport," said Johnson. "I think the value system in Canada is such that people really value higher levels of education. Their parents generally want their kids to go to school to be ready for life beyond sport."
Former Olympian swimmer Tim Peterson graduated from UBC with a degree in mechanical engineering. Other UBC graduates and swim team alumni include John McArthur, who went on to be a Rhodes Scholar and now works with the United Nations, and two-time Olympian Turlough O'Hare who is a doctor working in anesthesia research at McMaster University.
Last summer Swimming Canada conducted a review of the organization's centres, programs and overall high-performance strategy. A five-person committee made up of senior technical staff and a representative of Own the Podium reviewed the five national swim centres. Swimming Canada decided to keep the centres in Victoria, 麻豆传媒映画and Toronto. The centre in Montreal was temporarily suspended while Calgary's centre will no longer be funded by Swimming Canada.
While the future of the 麻豆传媒映画centre never should have been in doubt, nothing can be taken for granted.
"There is always a chance things can change," said Johnson. "I think our performances and our track record over the past 15 years are such we have consistently delivered not only high-performance athletes but also coaches and support people to the national program."
Jim Morris is a veteran reporter who has covered sports for 30 years. Reach him at [email protected].
