Swimming Australia President Chris Fydler Handed Eight-Month Suspension for Improper Conduct

After previously denying and defending himself over allegations from the Aquatics Integrity Unity (AQIU) after his decision to request a revote on the renomination of former Olympic Teammate Matt Dunn to World Aquatics’ executive board, Swimming Australia President Chris Fydler has been given an eight-month suspension after confirming that he was guilty of ‘improper conduct”.

An investigation from AQUI, as reported by the Sydney World Herald, showed that Fydler had abused his position in a dispute over Dunn’s bid for the vice president of World Aquatics, after being nominated to be the continental representative and serve as vice president on the World Aquatics board.

Fydler was appointed president of Swimming Australia in May of last year after serving as Interim Chair on the board.

As shown in the AQIU report, in April 2024, Fydler, who was interim chair at the time, said he had no evidence that Dunn had been nominated for the role. The two met again, with Dunn reaffirming his nomination had been signed earlier by former interim co-chair Hayden Collins. He also said his nomination had been approved by World Aquatics, as reported in the Sydney World Herald.

In April of 2025, Matthew Treglown, a board observer of the Australian Sports Commission, reviewed the relevant documentation and found that the board’s resolution referred to Dunn’s nomination as a board member of Oceania Aquatics (Swimming Australia) but did not say anything about a nomination to the World Aquatics board. With the AQUI report saying “Nonetheless, on the same day, the President of Swimming Australia had submitted a nomination for both positions.”

Fydler had a phone call with Dunn around that time, hoping to clarify what was happening. Fydler had told Dunn that he “was in trouble because some of the Board Members of Swimming Australia were not happy with the position, he [Dunn] took in relation to the governance issues of Swimming Australia.”

On April 3, 2025, Fydler reportedly “initiated two circular voting resolutions addressed to the Board Members of Swimming Australia, accompanied by an explanatory letter,” as mentioned in the AQIU report.Fydler claimed that votes from the year earlier did not carry significant importance for either role that Dunn wanted. And after a re-vote took place, Dunn was denied for those roles. Fortunately for Dunn, he did hold support of other national federations. And was later found by adjudicator Raymond Hack to have been validly nominated for both of those positions back in 2024.

Britta Kamarau-Fielder, the vice-chair of the AQIU investigatory body, presented a report, writing that Fydler’s conduct may have been “politically motivated. The evidence does not support Chris Fydler’s assertion that his conduct was motivated by good governance.

Kamarau-Fielder also wrote the following in the report:

Chris Fydler abused of his position as interim chair to induce the board of Swimming Australia to vote on a matter on an obviously incorrect basis, diverting the attention of the members of the board of Swimming Australia to one single document, and misleading them, arguing the non-existence of any other evidence.

Independently on the motives behind Chris Fydler’s actions, Chris Fydler did not act in a manner that can be expected from a chair or an interim chair of the board of a national swimming federation that is a member of World Aquatics.

The so-called “investigation” conducted by Chris Fydler before submitting the matter to the board of Swimming Australia was neither adequate nor ethical, as he failed to address the core inconsistencies or to engage the key individuals involved at the time. A proper investigation into whether the board of Swimming Australia intended to nominate Matthew Dunn to World Aquatics was not conducted, even though Chris Fydler represented to his board and to World Aquatics having conducted such a thorough investigation.

Fydler argued that he had been given advice by the Australian Sports Commission, but was handed an “eight-month suspension from holding any position within World Aquatics, any World Aquatics Continental Organisation, any World Aquatics Member Federation, any club or any other recognised body. The suspension imposed on the Respondent shall also prevent him from taking part in, or attending in any capacity, any aquatic-related activities or events organised by World Aquatics, any World Aquatics Continental Organisation, any World Aquatics Member Federation, any club or any other recognised body,” as noted in the AQUI report.

Fydler will not resume his role until August, with co-vice presidents Alice Williams and Susan Smith each serving as interim presidents of Swimming Australia.