The partnership between NSWIS, SNSW and the University of Newcastle cements our collective regional strategy to provide better access to world class facilities and training environments in regional areas. The NUsport Performance Centre has given swimmers in the Newcastle region a pathway to representative swimming and will mean they will be able to continue their training without having to leave the region.
The aim of the NUsport Performance Centre is to provide swimmers a pathway to national and international level swimming, and to support the growth and development of local coaches. Athletes accepted into the program will retain their ‘home club’ identity with the goal of optimising performances nationally and internationally.
- Head Coach - Sander Ganzevles
- Performance Hub Eligibility
- 18 years and over* (including university-aged students): This program is open to NSW athletes that are aged 18 years and older.
- National Age and Open Finalists: This program is open to swimmers who have qualified into Finals at Australian Age Swimming Championships or Australian Swimming Championships.
- Collaboration with the athlete’s home coach: To be accepted into the NUsport Performance Centre program, consultation and collaboration with the athlete’s home coach and the NUsport Performance Centre Head Coach is essential.
- Recommendations from the Regional Coaching Director or NSW Technical Lead: The Regional Coaching Director or NSW Technical Lead may, from time-to-time, have conversations with home coaches to create opportunities for their athletes to move into the NUsport Performance Centre program.
- *Hub Coach Discretion: Final athlete acceptance into the NUsport Performance Centre program is ultimately approved by the Head Coach, in consultation with the NSW Technical Lead, NSWIS High-Performance Manager and Swimming NSW CEO. Athletes must be able to recognise and acknowledge the key identified areas for development and must be willing to commit to addressing them in a Daily Performance Environment (DPE).
- Training Agreement: For anyone training at the centre, a Training Agreement, and Medical and Musculoskeletal screening will need to be completed prior to accessing the NUsport Performance Centre training facility. Training Agreements will be reviewed biannually, aligned with the NSWIS Swimming Program Period.
- Code of Conduct: Everyone interacting with the Performance Centres is expected to follow the Swimming Australia Code of Conduct . This includes athletes, parents and coaches. Swimming NSW has the right to refuse or remove any person from the Performance Centre if they are found to have breached the the Code of Conduct.
- Contact
The NUsport Performance Centre is headed by elite swimmer, PhD candidate and internationally-recognised coach, Sander Ganzevles. Sander began his swimming career as an elite swimmer in the Netherlands. After finishing his career in the water in 2004, Sander started his journey as a sport scientist. In 2010 Sander brought sport science into practice for the Royal Dutch Swimming Federation under former Australian Dolphins Head Coach Jacco Verhaeren, where he coached youth and senior teams, including Dutch Olympian Arno Kamminga when he broke the National Record in the 200m breaststroke.
Sander has a proven record of successfully bringing swimming stakeholders together to work towards a common cause, having held leadership roles at the German Swimming Federation's National Training Centre, and more recently as Head Coach of the Cairns Stingrays SC, where he was also elected coach representative for the Far North Queensland Swimming Association.
Eligibility to join the NUsport Performance Centre program may be defined, but not limited by, the below criteria:
For more information relating to the NUsport Performance Centre please contact:
