As the National Qualification Trials for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games continue on the Sport Ireland Campus we caught up with Swim Ireland CEO Sarah Keane to talk about the rare generation of talent we are currently seeing in the water, as well as an important campaign to press home how important it is for public safety and the industry that indoor sport and swimming pools should be advised of a pathway to reopening.
On the Swimming Talent we have with us today…
“We wanted to hold the trials here and this is a first and on Day One we had four swimmers hit the FINA A standard.”
“Ten years ago we didn’t have the depth in the system.”
“Jon Rudd and Ben Hickson have done so much coming into the system in recent years, as well as so many volunteer coaches around the country.”
And on getting people back into swimming pools…
“There are almost 300,000 adults that would normally be swimming every week, and the same number again of children. It’s a sport and a life skill that has been decimated.”
“We understand there are more concerns about indoor sport but we want that when indoor reopens that swimming lessons can start straight away. Our frustration is that there is a discussion about personal services and hospitality but we are hearing nothing about pools and gyms.”
“We need to have enough time to get ready with the pools, the staff and preparing the public. We need a pathway to bring back hope and motivation to people who are incredibly fatigued.”
“There is a concern that the rest of sport beyond the big outdoor sports has been forgotten about.”
We can only hope that next week’s planned announcement around the relaxation of restrictions through the summer will include the pathway that Sarah is seeking.
Swim Ireland are one of the 30 National Governing Bodies of Sport in Ireland that are members of the Sport for Business network of sporting and business organisations working together across a number of key areas.
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