Building on the Dolphins national team camp structure from 2019, members of the Australian Olympic swimming program will soon be entering National Event Camps (NEC) season for 2021.
Congregating for the first time in two years as a group, Australia’s best will convene across the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, Bond University and Palm Beach Aquatic Centre for a 10-day span of high-intensity training.
Freestyle specialists will take to the pool first (3-6 Feb), followed by a whole-team approach to the National Relay Project (7-9 Feb), and conclude with the stroke specialists (9-13 Feb).
National Team Head Coach, Rohan Taylor, said of the camps’ purpose, “These National Event Camps are the first opportunity in more than a year for our elite athletes, leading coaches and world-class performance support personnel to come together as a team,” Taylor said.
“With the challenges we had to overcome in 2020 and the months of separation between all of us, we decided to change the format this year and have all the camps in one location so we could reconnect, which is crucial leading into the Olympics.
“Bringing together the best of the best – including some of the country’s top sport scientists – will enable us to create a high-intensity training environment that will ultimately lift performance and unlock that one percent which will be vital for success in Tokyo.
“There’ll also be a big focus on the National Relay Project, with the aim to strengthen our relay teams.
“Relay medals are a key focus for our team and these camps provide a valuable opportunity to work closely with our sports science team to refine our skills.
“The camps are also a key activity in aligning our high performance programs to our strategic goals; building champions both in and out of the pool as well as winning when it matters most to inspire the nation.”
Below is a grid displaying the coaches and athletes involved in the 2021 Dolphins camps. Coaches include Chris Mooney, the SwimSwam Swammy Award winner last year for Oceanic Coach of the Year, as well as prior winner Dean Boxall. The former is the primary coach of backstroke ace Kaylee McKeown, while the latter has star Ariarne Titmus among those under his tutelage.
Kyle Chalmers‘ longtime leader Peter Bishop is set to head up the men’s 100m freestyle camp while the Campbell sisters’ coach Simon Cusack at the helm of the women’s edition.
In addition to these elite athletes who have competed multiple times across the international stage, rising stars to the tune of Lani Pallister, Sam Williamson, Elizabeth Dekkers, Thomas Hauck, Meg Harris and Mollie O’Callaghan.
| Camp | Coach | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Distance | Vince Raleigh | Moesha Johnson (TSS Aquatic), Maddy Gough (TSS Aquatic), Phoebe Hines (USC Spartans), Kiah Melverton (TSS Aquatic), Leah Neale (Chandler), Lani Pallister (Griffith Uni), Mack Horton (Melbourne Vicentre), Jack McLoughlin (Chandler), Sam Short (Rackley), Nick Sloman (Noosa), Mitch Tinsley (Chandler). |
| 2 | Breaststroke | Chris Mooney | Jess Hansen (Cruiz), Abbey Harkin (St Peters Western), Chelsea Hodges (Southport Olympic), Taylor McKeown (Griffith Uni), Leiston Pickett (Marion), Jenna Strauch (Bond), Tessa Wallace (Pelican Waters), Dan Cave (Melbourne Vicentre), James McKechnie (Starplex), Jake Packard (USC Spartans), Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler), Sam Williamson (Firbank Aquastars). |
| 3 | Butterfly | Michael Bohl | Brittany Castelluzzo (Marion), Elizabeth Dekkers (Newmarket Racers), Emma McKeon (Griffith Uni), Alice Stuart (TSS Aquatic), Laura Taylor (TSS Aquatic), Shaun Champion (Abbotsleigh), Charlie Cox (St Peters Western), Bowen Gough (Nunawading), David Morgan (TSS Aquatic), Matt Temple (Nunawading). |
| 4 | Backstroke | Glenn Baker |
Minna Atherton (Moreton Bay), Kaylee McKeown (USC Spartans), Ty Hartwell (Chandler), Tristan Hollard (Southport Olympic), Mitch Larkin (St Peters Western), Travis Mahoney (Marion), Brad Woodward (Mingara Aquatic).
|
| 5 | Medley | Adam Kable | Meg Bailey (Hunter), Jenna Forrester (St Peters Western), Calypso Sheridan (Moreton Bay), Brendon Smith (Nunawading), Se-Bom Lee (Carlile), Elliot Rogerson (Nunawading), Matt Wilson (SOPAC). |
| 6 | M100m | Peter Bishop | Jack Cartwright (St Peters Western), Kyle Chalmers (Marion), Alex Graham (Bond), Cam McEvoy (TSS Aquatic), James Roberts (Somerset), Louis Townsend (Rackley). |
| 7 | M200m | Craig Jackson | Tom Hauck (All Saints Gold Coast), Mack Horton (Melbourne Vicentre), Clyde Lewis (Bond), Jack McLoughlin (Chandler), Mitch Tinsley (Chandler), Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western). |
| 8 | W100m | Simon Cusack | Sydney Brown (Wests Illawarra), Cate Campbell (Knox Pymple), Bronte Campbell (Knox Pymple), Meg Harris (St Peters Western), Emma McKeon (Griffith Uni), Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western), Madison Wilson (Marion). |
| 9 | W200m | Dean Boxall | Carla Buchanan (Rackley), Kiah Melverton (TSS Aquatic), Leah Neale (Chandler), Lani Pallister (Griffith Uni), Ella Ramsay (St Peters Western), Mikki Sheridan (USC Spartans). |
Already you can see good things developing like this camp, now that sailor boy and the dutchman have been dispensed with
They had camps last year too.
Interesting they focus on relay training- Australia has been rock solid now (especially the women for 20 years) in relays…good skills, no DQs…. and now there are 7 relays to compete in.
the Aussie women 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 look in great shape for gold especially now kayleen will come into the mix , cant see us beating America in the 4 x 100 medley we don’t have a breaststroker
They did hold camps in early 2020, but I’m not sure if they all got together with the other camps for a few days?