31 OCTOBER version 37

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1 electronic NEWS 31 OCTOBER version 37 MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER Unfortunately we bring you some very disappointing news as we have learnt this morning that the 2013 Arafura Games have been cancelled. At this stage we have no indication when or even if they will be rescheduled. We have yet to receive an official press release so in the interim have included the ABC News report on the decision. On a brighter front, congratulations to Katherine Amateur Swimming Club on the fantastic Birthday Carnival over the weekend of 20th to 21st October. It was great to see the increased participation numbers and the number of swimmers and parents from Nhulunbuy Swimming Club, go the Gove Barras and their convoy! Also, thanks to Pru and the team for the report on the meet. We also congratulate our Directors, Shane Cross (Vice-President), Charles Staples and Kia Naylor on being reelected to the Board at the 2012 AGM held on the morning of the Katherine Birthday Carnival. We also wish Tahnee Afuhaamango all the best in Italy at the 6 th DSISO World Swimming Championships and have included other news items from the swimming community. CONTENTS Arafura Games Cancelled SNTI Annual General Meeting 3. Tahnee of to the 6 th DSISO World Swimming Championships 4. Petition for Compulsory School Swimming Lessons 5. Huegill Hangs Up the Goggles 6. Surf News 7. ascta Professional Development Events 8. SNTI Coach & Athlete Development Calendar 9. NTIS Sport Psychology Sessions 10. Sponsor Acknowledgements 2013 ARAFURA GAMES CANCELLED The Northern Territory Government has decided to cancel the 2013 Arafura Games, saying they are failing to meet their Asian engagement objectives. The biennial Arafura Games have been held in Darwin since They were called off in 2003 because of the Asia bird flu scare. The Government's website shows more than 2000 competitors from 39 countries took part in 20 sports at the games last year. Chief Minister Terry Mills has told question time in parliament that the 2013 games have been cancelled because the previous government did not run them properly. "What we have done is to put it on pause, to have a proper assessment," he said. "We will run the Arafura Games as they should be run, not the joke that it was under you guys (Labor) because you didn't care less." Opposition Leader Delia Lawrie says the decision is "outrageous". "Why are you devastating and wrecking the Territory with your foolish decisions?" she asked. She said the Arafura Games highlighted the Territory's engagement with Asia and the strength of sporting and cultural ties. The Government says only a few Asian countries now participate in the games and the countries that are heavily involved, such as Papua New Guinea, are not major trading partners. Deferring the games next year will save $3.5 million. The Government says the games have not been axed altogether but their long-term future is now under review.

2 SWIMMERS CELEBRATE AT CARNIVAL Proud club swimmers in the march. The Katherine Swimming Club hosted a very successful 31st Birthday Carnival on the weekend with 123 swimmers participating from Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Palmerston, Darwin, Nightcliff and Casuarina Storm. Congratulations to all the Katherine swimmers who performed really well, achieving some outstanding personal best times and results. A number of swimmers were competing in their first official meet. Well done to Bianca Schultz who swam 50m breaststroke, 50m freestyle and was part of the 12 and under Girls B relay team, and to Keegan Payne and Brooke Rapley who both swam 50m freestyle in individual and relay events. Jasmine Glass achieved three personal best times, including taking 13 seconds off her 50m breaststroke time. Paige Lawson swam two personal bests, won a silver medal for her 50m breaststroke, and achieved a Swimming Australia Junior Excellence time in her 50m backstroke. Braithlee Payne had another good meet swimming a personal best in his 50m freestyle. The Borroloola contingent again performed very well, with Mani Cai Russell receiving a bronze medal for her 50m backstroke and a silver medal and Green Junior Excellence time for her 50m breaststroke. Tjalluri Russell swam a pb in his 50m freestyle, winning a silver medal for this event, and a bronze medal for his 50m breaststroke. Charlie Alexander had three swims, achieving pbs in each event and showing great technique in his freestyle and butterfly. Brandi Conroy swam two personal bests including taking over nine seconds off her 50m freestyle time; Bradley Hayman had a great 50m butterfly swim winning a silver medal. Susie Millikan swam personal best times in both her 50m breaststroke and 50m backstroke events, and Leroy Schultz swam personal bests in each of his three events including a 12 second personal best in 50m breaststroke and a 13 second personal best in 50m backstroke.

3 SWIMMERS CELEBRATE AT CARNIVAL Three swimmers achieved qualifying times for the NT Championships in March. Tom Fawkner overcame pre race nerves to qualify for 50m freestyle and 50m breaststroke, winning a silver medal in each of these events, and also swimming huge personal best times in his 50m backstroke and 200m freestyle. Jasmine Harris was very excited to achieve a qualifying time and win a gold medal for 50m backstroke as well as achieving big improvements in her other events 50m breaststroke, 200m freestyle and 50m butterfly. Having already qualified for 50m backstroke, Nikaiya Payne swam a qualifying time for 50m freestyle as well as a 13 second personal best in 50m breaststroke and 20 second personal best in 200m freestyle. Grace Millikan had a very successful meet, placing second or third in every one of her five events, and achieving personal; best times in 400m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 200m freestyle and 50m freestyle. The highlight for Rebecca Mather-Brown was to swim a personal best of 0.74seconds in 50m freestyle, breaking the NT Masters record for her age group. Congratulations to all the swimmers who competed. The hard work you have put in at training shows in the great results you achieved. Young swimmers Ready to Race.

4 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The 2012 Swimming Northern Territory Annual General Meeting was chaired by recently appointed President, Nicole Jones who spoke of the contribution and outstanding efforts of Clare Labowitch who stood down in September. The meeting also saw the election of the Selection Committee and we thank the incoming members for their nominations: Clare Labowitch, Jenny Culgan and Karen Messenger. Congratulations to Shane Cross who was appointed unopposed to the Vice-President position and to Charles Staples and Kia Naylor on their successful nominations for re-election to the Board. In coming newsletters we will provide some pen pictures of our Directors and in this issue provide a short introduction of Kia: Since being accepted onto the Swimming Northern Territory Board in September 2011 I have thoroughly enjoyed the past 13 months working with the past and current President, other Directors and our members. I have spent pretty much my whole life in the swimming world, from being an elite competitor through to now, giving back to the sport and SNTI, working with our young talent and progressing them through the ranks from a strength & conditioning and sport science perspective. I believe I bring a lot and have a lot more to give to the organisation and it's members through a very exciting time of development over the next five to ten years here in the Northern Territory. The sport has some amazing young talent and I look forward to continuing to use my expertise and knowledge to help them reach their goals. Hi everybody TAHNEE S OFF TO ITALY We are getting very excited as we now only have 11 more sleeps until we leave for Loano, Italy on Saturday night 10th November. We fly to Brisbane where Tahnee will join other Team Australia members. We will next see her at the Championships as spectators. Tahnee will be the only swimmer from the NT representing Australia at the 6th DSISO World Swimming Championships starting on Saturday 17th November. We would love to see friends and supporters in the Top End community get right behind Tahnee and wish her well for the Championships as she takes on the world. Would you like to feel a part of it and cheer her on? You can encourage and support her by sending her a Herogram. Sending a herogram is easy, simply go to and fill in the Herogram, but importantly do it before the closing date of Friday 9th November. If you would like to follow Tahnee s progress and results go to: Please note that the website takes a few minutes to download photos. Tahnee is featured on the website. Warm regards Paul & Donna Rousham & Tahnee Afuhaamango

5 SAL & RLSSA Dear Stakeholders You may have seen on the news this morning or read in the paper today, a story on the push for swimming lessons to become compulsory in primary schools. The initiative is being pushed by Royal Life Saving Australia. We have shared it with our Facebook audience and also BASS. Feel free to pass on the link below to your clubs, members and anyone else you think may be interested. POOLS will be trucked in to schools on semi-trailers to give children who have never been taught how to swim the chance to learn - as part of a push for water safety to be put on the curriculum. The Royal Life Saving Society Australia will organise the transportation and setting up of the pools and offer free lessons for three months to as many as three schools around the state. The country's leading water survival body has called for learn-to-swim lessons to be made compulsory. RLSSA CEO Rob Bradley said more than 370 young Australians drowned in the past decade, a number which will double by 2020 unless "immediate action is taken". "We're talking about foundation skills that ensure every child's safety in the water," he said. "If it remains just as an option for schools, the situation won't change. Those schools educating their students will continue to do that but others that don't offer the lessons will not. It has to be made a compulsory part of the curriculum." Write in and tell us why your school deserves the lessons through Royal Life Saving Society's Pools For Schools program. your entry here or contact the RLSSA at poolsforschools@rlssa.org.au He urged schools in disadvantaged areas to apply for the Pools for Schools program, which will give students access to a pool and free classes early next year. "We're hoping the program will become one of the programs schools will choose to use in order to deliver a suitable swimming and water safety education to every student," he said. Children from financially disadvantaged areas, multicultural backgrounds or rural areas are often the first to miss out on swimming lessons, Mr Bradley said. "No one should miss out and costs should not be a barrier to participation," he said. "A system needs to be developed that ensures every child receives that education... we are committed to help build a system that will ensure gaps are closed and no children miss out." Up to three schools - one from a metropolitan area and up to two in rural towns - will be selected for the scheme, which will be completely funded by Uncle Tobys. Thousands of people went online yesterday to sign the petition to make learn-to-swim programs mandatory in schools. Mr Bradley said while there was plenty of support for the petition, more signatures were needed in order to reach the 50,000 target. "We believe 50,000 signatures is achievable and that would demonstrate very clearly that the community sees this as a very important issue," he said.

6 GEOFF HUEGILL TO HANG UP THE GOGGLES Geoff Skippy Huegill s second coming as an elite swimmer has ended today with the former world record holder and multiple Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallist announcing his retirement from competitive swimming. Having first represented Australia as plucky 17-year-old from Mackay at the World Short Course Championships in Sweden in 1997, Huegill was a silver and bronze medallist at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, a world championship gold medallist, and won a memorable gold medal as a comeback swimmer in the 100m butterfly at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. A finalist at last year s FINA World Championships in Shanghai against the great Michael Phelps, the 33-year-old Huegill missed selection onto the London Olympic team this year by less than half a second, and six months on from the EnergyAustralia Swimming Championships has decided to bring his racing career to a close. This time it s definitely it. I ve retired once before, and a lot of people have reminded me about that, but this is it. I ll keep swimming because I love the sport, but my serious racing days are over, said Huegill. I ve loved every minute of this journey, and I ve been able to share it with so many people and I would like to thank them all for their support. When I came back to the sport in late 2008 after Beijing, I d been away for some four years and had no idea what was possible. To return to the national team was a huge bonus and while a third Olympic Games in London was always the dream, I leave competitive swimming very content with what I ve been able to achieve. Swimming Australia Head Coach Leigh Nugent said Huegill s contribution to the sport over many years has been immeasurable. Geoff has experienced so many highs and lows in his swimming career, and the real test of character for an athlete is to learn from both of those, and Skippy has certainly done that. He always represented Australia with passion and pride and to see him at his second Olympics in Athens, and then return to our team some six years later for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi was a remarkable achievement. I m sure everyone in swimming wishes Geoff the best in his future endeavours and we hope to keep him involved in the sport at some level. In a career spanning some 16 years, Huegill won two Olympic medals, four world championship medals and eight Commonwealth Games medals including seven gold. GEOFF HUEGILL NICKNAME: Skippy D.O.B: 4/03/1979 BORN: Gove, NT LIVES: Sydney, NSW

7 MAIN EVENTS: 50m, 100m fly GEOFF HUEGILL TO HANG UP THE GOGGLES PERSONAL BEST TIMES LONG COURSE (50m Pool) 50m butterfly AIS Meet 100m butterfly Commonwealth Games PERSONAL BEST TIMES SHORT COURSE (25m Pool) 50m butterfly FINA World Cup Short Course 100m butterfly FINA World Cup Short Course CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Won a gold medal in the 100m butterfly, 4x100m medley relay and silver in the 50m butterfly at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi Retired after the 2004 Olympics, then made a comeback in late 2007, losing more than 45kg on his way to the goal of selection for the 2010 Commonwealth Games Established himself as one of the world s finest sprint butterfly swimmers between 1997 and 2004 Won an individual bronze medal and silver in the 4x100m medley relay at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney Won a gold medal in the 50m butterfly at the 2001 World Championships in Japan Has won 16 Australian national titles Is a former world champion and world record holder in the 50m butterfly, both long and short course. AUSTRALIAN SWIM TEAM MAJOR REPRESENTATIVE HONOURS AND RESULTS Olympic Games Athens, Greece th 100m fly Sydney, Australia 2000 Silver: 4x100m medley Bronze: 100m fly World Championships Shanghai, China 2011 Silver: 4x100m medley Bronze: 50m fly, 8th 100m fly Barcelona, Spain th 50m fly, 13th 100m fly Fukuoka, Japan 2001 Gold: 50m fly, 4x100m medley Bronze: 100m fly Perth, Australia 1998 Bronze: 100m fly Commonwealth Games Delhi, India 2010 Gold: 100m fly, 4x100m medley Silver: 50m fly Manchester, England 2002 Gold: 50m fly, 100m fly, 4x100m medley Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1998 Gold: 100m fly, 4x100m medley Pan Pacific Championships Irvine, California 2010 Bronze: 4x100m medley, 4th 50m fly, 5th 100m fly Yokohama, Japan 2002 Silver: 100m fly, 4x100m medley Sydney, Australia 1999 Silver: 100m fly

8 SURF NEWS Top NT Lifesavers at Rescue 2012 the World Lifesaving Championships Eight lifesavers from the Darwin and Mindil Beach Surf Clubs will compete at Rescue 2012 the World Lifesaving Championships in Adelaide, 4-18 November. Training hard in IRB racing and looking very fast are Trevor Radburn, Sam Edwards, Ryan Kershaw, Matt Fox, Isla McCaw and Wayne McMahon. They ll be racing at beautiful Glenelg Beach on November. The team gained valuable experience at the National IRB Championships in July making the Top 40 from 170 competing teams in the prestigious IRB Rescue event. Joining the young guns will be Mindil Beach Masters Legend Moira Wigley, expected to do well in Pool events, and Mindil clubmate Tony Snelling - both will brave the cold Southern Ocean surf at famous Christies Beach for swim, board and ski events. The team will also take the opportunity to promote the 2013 Arafura Games next May and the 2013 National IRB Championships in July. Darwin Womens Surfboat Crew for World Champs The Darwin Surf Life Saving Club will be represented at the World Championships in Adelaide by a fantastic women s surfboat crew making their debut against crews from outside the Territory. Coached by sweep Paul Hardy the crew has been training hard and comprises Chloe Fox, Nadine Phillips, Rebecca De Grandi and Rachel McLean. ATHLETE & COACH DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR DATE VENUE OVERVIEW Wednesday 21/11/2012 Alice Springs Swimming Pool Bush Schools Swimming & Thursday 22/11/2012 Lifestyle Clinic Saturday 16/02/2013 Sunday 17/02/2013 Saturday 23/02/2013 Sunday 24/02/2013 Casuarina Aquatic Centre Casuarina Aquatic Centre Target 12 Clinic National Age Qualifiers, Tier 1 and fill as identified by Selection Committee COACH: SAL appointment SNTI Skills Development Clinic Tier 1 (Free of Charge) Tier 2 (User Pays) Leadership Group (Free of Charge) Senior Swimmers (User Pays) Talent Group (User Pays) Junior Development & Club Swimmers (User Pays) COACH: Gary Barclay

9 ascta PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EVENTS SwimTASSIE # Hobart Spring, 2012 asctainternational Teaching 2013 ^ Hong Kong 7-9 March 2013 asctaconvention 2013 ^ and Sofitel Gold Coast May 2013 SwimFEST # asctainternational Coaching 2013 ^ Thanyapura, Phuket November 2013 * Conferences are hosted by the relevant asctabranch. # SwimEVENTS are hosted by Swim Australia. ^ asctaconvention and asctainternational events are hosted by ASCTA NTIS SPORT PSYCHOLOGY SESSIONS Psychology has traditionally studied people s problems. Psychologists were interested in conditions like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. This isn t a bad thing, as there have been a number of illnesses that are now treatable. But somewhere along the line, psychology forgot to make relatively normal human beings even happier. Performance psychology along with positive psychology focuses on moving people towards greater wellbeing and performance. The 2012 NTIS Sport Psychology Sessions aim to give each participant an understanding of the specific topic, along with give but also practical suggestions that can be utilised not only within sport and performance, but also in day to day activities. Bookings are required for catering purposes and size of venue. To book in, please contact Liz Grylls ( or liz.grylls@nt.gov.au) VENUE: TIME: NTIS Conference Room (Ground Floor NTIS, Arafura Stadium, Abala Road, Marrara) 6-7pm pm (Questions) Date Topic Information 5 th November 3 rd December Introduction to Performance Psychology for Sport and Life Attitude A review of February s session: An introductory session on the factors that make up performance, from basic, intermediate and advanced skills. The session will give an overview of performance psychology from both within and outside of sport, the benefits of performance psychology, and how performance psychology skills can be used in all facets of life, including within sport. A review of March s session: A positive attitude manifests in positive and creative thinking, optimism, motivation and resilience. Throughout this session a number of practical tips on attitude will be presented. Video footage of elite athletes will demonstrate the ability to change attitude quickly. For further information, please contact: Liz Grylls: Sport Psychology and Athlete Career & Education Co-ordinator (NTIS) Liz.grylls@nt.gov.au or

10 SWIMMING NORTHERN TERRITORY SPONSORS