In a statement on Monday, Swimming New Zealand acknowledged that they had accepted the resignation of Mark Regan, one of their High Performance Coaches, just days before new High Performance Director Luis Villanueva was set to take over.
Acting Chief Executive Mark O’Connor said of the decision that “the Board was disappointed that Mr. Regan has resigned on the eve of the arrival of the new High Performance Director, Luis Villanueva, who has been the Head Coach and High Performance Director of the Spanish Swimming Federation.”
This is the latest in the turmoil that has roiled the country’s swimming program that has included heaps of executive turmoil, the departure of their National Team High Performance Director, the loss of one of their top coaches to Australia, and a 15% spending cut.
Regan, an Australian, before being put in charge of Swimming New Zealand’s high performance athletes, spent 7 years as the head coach of Denmark, a position that just-so-happens to be open again. Between his experience there, and that in Australia (who has also been on a hiring binge lately), Regan should have plenty of options in front of him for his next position.
