Swimming NSW is governed by a volunteer board of eight Directors and a President.
You can learn more about each of our President and Directors below.
Our Board
- Chris Fydler OAM - President
- Janelle Barnett - Director
- Kerryn Divall - Director
- Alexis Dodwell - Director
- Graeme Field - Director
- Sarah Platts - Director
- Ian Thorpe AM - Director
- Matt Levy OAM - Director
- Benjamin Tuxford - Director
Chris Fydler OAM - President
2018 - Present
Chris Fydler, OAM is a member of the Knox Pymble Swimming Club and a former competitive swimmer, who competed for Australia in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992. Chris represented Australia at an international level from 1989 to 2000. During his career he amassed over 20 national championships including five consecutive national 100-metre freestyle championships. His finest hour came at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, when he was a member of the men's 4×100-metre freestyle relay team that defeated the Americans and won the gold medal in the prestigious event, alongside Michael Klim, Ian Thorpe and Ashley Callus. It was the first time in Olympic history that the US team had been beaten in that event.
Since retiring from swimming in early 2001, Chris has continued to be active in the swimming and Olympic families at all levels. He is currently a board member of the NSW Institute of Sport and the FINA Ethics Panel. He was a board member of Swimming Australia Ltd from 2006 to 2010, and was a member of the FINA Disciplinary Panel from 2009-2017. He was the President of Abbotsleigh Swimming Club from 2013-2016, and is the Patron of the SMNE region.
Chris was also the Deputy Chef de Mission for the Australian Olympic Team competing in London in 2012 and 2016 Rio Olympics.
From a professional perspective, Chris is a qualified lawyer who for the last 15 years has owned and run a variety of IT companies and is currently the CEO of publicly listed software company, tambla Ltd.
He has two daughters who are active and competitive swimmers for Knox Pymble SC, and still tries to train 3-4 times a week to stay competitive in the oceans swims in Sydney during the Summer.
Janelle Barnett - Director
Janelle was a member of the Swimming NSW Technical Swimming Committee from 1997 until 2015, Chairman since 2010; Hon. Secretary Sept, 2004-2007 and FINA Referee 2003-2010. Janelle was awarded Swimming Australia’s Technical Official Of The Year award in 2002, received the Swimming NSW Service Excellence Award in 2010 and has trained Technical Officials since 1987. Janelle is also a SAL qualified Presenter and Assessor and was a member of SNSW Sub-Committee for Competition Strategy Review, 2009.
Kerryn Divall - Director
Kerryn is senior executive with over 25 years of experience across a range of sectors and companies including listed, domestic and overseas. She has been a member of senior leadership teams for more than a decade and will provide the Swimming NSW Board with invaluable financial and risk management experience. Kerryn also has been fundamental in the development of Strategic Plans and monitoring the execution of these Plans. She is a current member of the Swimming NSW Audit & Risk Committee where she has gained has a sound understanding of our organisation.
Alexis Dodwell - Director
Alexis is a member of Swimming NSW's Audit and Risk committee, a qualified lawyer and AICD graduate. She brings a significant capability to strengthen our board in the areas of risk and governance.
Graeme Field - Director
With over 10 years experience on the Swimming NSW Technical Committee, a qualified Level 2 Referee, and a former President of the SMNE region, Graeme brings a wealth of swimming experience and knowledge to the Board.
Sarah Platts - Director
Sarah has a high level of experience in human resource management and leadership development, as well as an excellent knowledge of strategic planning, brand planning and team effectiveness. She also has broad Board experience at a variety of organisations, and, with children who are involved in our sport, possesses a sound knowledge of swimming.
Ian Thorpe AM - Director
Ian is Australia’s most decorated Olympian and one of the country’s most recognised and influential athletes. He has a strong commitment to the not-for-profit sector, having established his own charity, Fountain for Youth and is a Director of Reach Out Australia. This experience combined with his passion and love for the sport of swimming makes him an invaluable addition to the Swimming NSW Board.
Matt Levy OAM - Director
Matt Levy is an Australian Paralympic swimmer renowned for his outstanding achievements. With a classification of S7, Levy broke the 200m freestyle short course world record in 2003. At the 2008 Beijing Games, he won gold in the 4x100m medley relay 34 pts. Levy's accomplishments continued at the 2012 London Paralympics, where he earned five medals, including a gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay. He secured two gold medals and a silver at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships. In 2020, Levy triumphed with a gold in the 4x100m freestyle 34 pts at the Tokyo Paralympics. He retired at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games after winning gold in the Men's 50m Freestyle S7.
Benjamin Tuxford - Director
Benjamin is currently the President of SWIM New South Wales, and has been a Director of the coach and teacher association since 2009. He is the Director of Swimming at Trinity Grammar School and a Gold Licence SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia accredited coach, who also holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Teaching (Primary). Over the years, Benjamin has toured with numerous New South Wales and Australian teams as a coach.
