Swimming NSW is proud to announce the members of the 2022-2023 Pathway Squads. Our biggest year for squad representatives to date, 205 athletes and 75 coaches have made the qualifying criteria for our Olympic and Paralympic Pathway squads, with over 70 athletes hailing from regional clubs. A further 12 swimmers have gained Podium Categorised Athlete status.
After two years of disrupted programming due to COVID restrictions and lockdowns, the Pathway Program has received a significant overhaul to ensure athletes working towards the Paris and LA Olympic cycles have ample opportunities for growth, despite unavoidable setbacks in training.
“Every year we reflect on our squads to see where we can do better, and where we can give our swimmers and coaches more support,” said Swimming NSW Coaching Director Jon Shaw.
“Having missed two years of development, we wanted to open up our qualifying criteria to give as many swimmers as possible opportunities this year.”
A new generation of staunch Mighty Blues have been selected off the back of successful national championships in Adelaide, wherein NSW dominated state relays, bringing home gold in five of the eight events, and medalling in the remaining three.
“This year we have a special group of squad members who have a common goal of uplifting the state of NSW that hasn’t been seen in many years,” said Jon.
Swimming NSW pathway squad members are supported through learning and development opportunities in and out of the pool. At squad development days, swimmers train with like-minded athletes, and coaches come together for personal development and mentoring.
During squad activities, swimmers are brought into a performance environment where Swimming NSW performance staff and key experts from NSWIS and the AIS can highlight what each swimmer needs to fill the gap between where they are and the level of success they want to attain.
2022 Swimming NSW Performance Squads
In 2022, squad members on the Olympic Pathway will have earned a place on our Flippers, Target or Open Water Target, Target Transition, or Sharks squad. Swimmers on the Paralympic Pathway have been selected on to our Para Development Squad, with three NSW swimmers having already gained selection on to Swimming Australia’s National Para Development Squad (Riley Moore – Woy Woy, Chloe Osborn – AquaBlitz Toongabbie, Hannah Price – Campbelltown).
Podium Categorised Athletes on the Olympic or Paralympic Pathway have earned their spots after being selected on to World Championships/Para World Championships teams, and/or Commonwealth Games teams.
Flippers squad members are producing results at competition that are within 3-5% of the top 8 in the world in their pet events. And 55 swimmers included in the NSW Pathway Program this year are within 7% of number 8 in the world.
Our new Target Squad is aptly named, designed to target the next generation of swimmers aiming for Olympic success, at Paris 2024. Working down the pathway from the Target Squad, the 85-member-strong Target Transition Squad has made NSW squad history as the largest group selected to date, with members’ skill sets and age range leading them towards LA 2028.
Swimmers aged from 13-16 years can get a head start on the Performance Pathway via our Sharks Squad, where they learn the technical skills they need to keep progressing, while balancing sport and non-sport life.
Swimming NSW’s performance pathway staff are making up for lost time this year, with two intensive squad camps already on the horizon. The Sharks Squad will call the AIS home from the 3-7 July, followed by the Target Squad from 10-13 July.
Follow us on our social media channels (Instagram and TikTok - @nswswimming, Facebook @SwimmingNSW) to see what squad members get up to during their time away in Canberra.
