The 85-member-strong Swimming NSW Target Transition Squad made NSW squad history in June, as the largest group selected to date.
This colossal squad’s main development activity – Target Transition Squad Camp – is being held at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) from 2-8 October. Swimming NSW performance staff are expecting to host more than 60 swimmers and coaches.
Given the size of the squad, Swimming NSW performance staff have split the squad’s camp activities into two groups for practical reasons. 13–15-year-old girls and 14-15-year-old boys will take over the AIS from 2-5 October, followed by boys and girls aged 16+ years from 5-8 October.
Swimmers were selected for the Target Transition Squad by age group at the 2022 Australian Age Swimming Championships, with members’ skill sets and age range placing them on the pathway to the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
The skills development portion of the camp will prioritise kick and pull components of the stroke, race strategy, and improving results from the group’s last testing session in July.
Target Transition Squad participants will be the first group of NSW stakeholders to undergo Swim Confident educational programming. Dr Georgie Buckley from the Body Confident Collective will join athletes and coaches at the AIS to run presentations on nutrition and body image.
ACT Academy of Sport, Sport Scientist Dr Jessica Stephens will address both groups about the importance of recovery, and the physiological aspects of recovery. The older group of athletes will have the chance to use the Recovery Centre facilities at the AIS, where they can put their new knowledge into practice.
Each group of athletes will also receive special targeted presentations. The younger segment of swimmers will work with Swimnastics founder, Kirsten Norden, to learn activations in an interactive workshop format.
Warringah Aquatic Head Coach Cameron Gledhill will run a technical presentation for younger athletes and the five additional coaches attending from 2-5 October: Blake Medhurst (Manly), Tom Sunter (City of Sydney), Calum Timms (Trinity Grammar), Laura Brindley (Cruiz), Ryo Kito (Narrabeen). Participants at the 16+ years camp will hear from Manly Head Coach Justin Rothwell.
