Let’s Work to Clean up this Mess
 by John Leonard, August 12, 2011
https://www.swimmingcoach.org/wsca/clean.htm


Here is a surprise...I'm going to be blunt and to the point.

Those who are going to be offended, should be embarrassed and I have no regrets.

There are places in the world where national swimming federations are cheating their swimmers, cheating their coaches and retarding development of swimming in their nation.

This has been going on for a long time. It is time that coaches do all they can to stop it.


Here is how it works:

 -FINA gives the Federation money to send both 2 athletes and a coach and a Federation member to the World Championships at FINA expense.

 -The Federation Member decides he'd like to take his wife / girlfriend / boyfriend / husband / son / niece / nephew, or friend, to Shanghai, or any of the other fine sites that FINA hosts championships in. He uses those FINA tickets to get free rides (and rooms, etc.) for those he wishes to favor.

 -At the same time, the Federation Member tells the swimming population that FINA has NOT provided any support for the World Championships, and tells swimmers and coaches that they can PURCHASE an airplane ticket and hotel room to go compete in the World Championships.

 -Coaches/Athletes and their friends scramble to find funds to support an athlete or two. This is completely without regard to who the best national swimmer might be. Whomever can pay for the tickets (and perhaps a further "consideration" to the Federation) takes those places at the World Championships.

 -So the Federation head has a nice free trip to a nice city with their family/friends, and athletes who have not EARNED a spot as intended by FINA (as the fastest swimmer in their nation) get to swim at a World Championship event.


Meanwhile, many lament the fact that swimming in "X" nation is not "progressing". No, of course not. When you know, as an athlete and a coach, that WINNING and being the fastest swimmer in your nation will NOT certainly get you to the World Champs, all motivation is lost. Competition is meaningless. It is all about who can come up with more money to give the Federation. If you got the money, the Federation will get you the slot on the team roster.

This has been going on for DECADES. It keeps our sport from developing, and may well be the single largest thing keeping third world swimming nations, AS third world swimming nations.

Demand honesty. Speak out loud and long when the "wrong people" get sent to meets. Protest in writing to your Olympic Committee.

Reclaim our sport.


p.s. FINA is helpless to do much about this. Anytime FINA seeks to interfere in the internal affairs of a Federation, ALL the Federations raise a holy stink about it and they should. No nation should want FINA to tell them who to send to the World Champs. But when Federations steal FINA funds for their own personal benefit, and athletes who have rightfully earned a place in the World Champs are cheated, we all lose. So we all need to speak up.