Next week’s New Zealand Short Course Swimming Championships in Christchurch will provide an appropriate send off for longtime swim coach Glen Findlay.
It will be the last meet in charge for the Nelson South Swimming Club head coach, who has been calling the shots in the region for the past 10 years.
The West Coaster embarked on his coaching career in Christchurch and enjoyed plenty of success there over 20 years before moving north.
“Thirty-two years of continuous professional swim coaching does take its toll over a long period, with those early morning and night training sessions. I have also been spending up to six or seven weeks away from home a year. I will be spending more time with my family. My eldest son has complex needs and requires a lot of support,” says Glen, who has sold his Hampden Street Swim School business.
“I will miss the connections, having seen a generation of swimmers coming through in Nelson, and also relationships with other coaches around the country.”
It will be a seamless handover for Nelson South Swimming, with Glen’s assistant coach of the past 18 months, Brooke Swan, assuming the top competitive coaching role.
“Brooke has an incredible swimming IQ, and she will add her own flavour to things at the club. To have a 19-year-old stepping into coaching is a real positive,” enthuses Glen.
Brooke says that she has absorbed quite a lot of knowledge along the way with Glen and previous coaches.
“Nineteen is quite young to become head coach, but I feel I am the sort of person who needs to be made to step up. It is a great opportunity because it gives me a lot of free time to do my own training too,” insists Brooke, who won the butterfly sprint double at the recent South Island champs in Dunedin.
The age grade star has graduated to the open swimming ranks and will take on Glasgow Commonwealth Games fly exponents Hazel Ouwehand and Zoe Pedersen in her specialist 50m and 100m events.
Also heading to the Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre next week is the highly versatile Tegen Stewart, fresh from the World Junior Open Water Championships in Argentina.
The relative sea swim rookie was representing New Zealand, one of 39 nations competing in Santa Fe.
Her 7.5km race drew a big, fast and feisty field.
“It was quite aggressive out there with a lot of hitting and kicking as swimmers were trying to sort out their positions,” reveals Tegen.
She finished 26th in just over one hour and 40 minutes.
“It hurt a lot out there. Over the last 400 metres I was racing a Brazilian girl and I beat her home. There was a lot of adrenaline, and I finally crashed about three hours after the race,” recalls the Nelson College for Girls student.
She is relishing a return to the pool where a busy schedule awaits at the nationals.
“I am hoping for top five finishes in the 800m and 1500m freestyle. They will be like sprints after Argentina.”
Tegen is also contesting the 100m, 200m and 400m.
Her tough South American experience hasn’t put her off ocean racing either.
“New Zealand may send a team to Australia in January, and I am keen to step up to 10kms,” says Tegen, who is part of the 10-strong club side going to the nationals.
The squad will be bolstered by the return of William Seymour for the meet.
The 19-year-old is on scholarship at the University of California, in San Diego, after starring for Nelson South at national and international level.
“William missed the nationals last year but is popping home as he wants to stay in touch with the national programme. He has been going very well over there and will bring a real edge to our team,” concludes Glen.
It would be fitting if the short course specialist sends his former mentor out with a winner.
