In an announced released by Swim Ontario on May 31st “The Dolphins Swim Club of Oakville (DSC) membership within Swim Ontario has been terminated and all privileges of the club within the sporting organization removed.”
The independent adjudicator filed his decision May 24, 2013 and concluded,
In view of the two material breaches of the Settlement Agreement and the two major infractions under the Swim Ontario Dispute Policy, the membership of the Dolphins Swim Club of Oakville Inc. in Swim Ontario is terminated.
The full decision can be found here
In short Arbitrator Ed Ratushny stated, “The Dolphins were, in effect, a willing partner with an ineligible person in the operations of the club.”
The matter has to do with the involvement of Cecil Russell with the Dolphins Swim Club that had been sanctioned by Swim Ontario. There were specific complaints in relation to three separate meets.
In 1996 Russell was suspended from participation in amateur sports for life as a result of a criminal conviction related to trafficking in steroids. He was reinstated by an arbitrator in 2005, but then had the ban restored in 2007 because he failed to disclose a subsequent drug conviction in 2003.
In 2012 Arbitrator Richard McLaren made the decision that Russell’s lifetime banned should be reduced to three years beginning on September 10, 2012, which is subject to certain conditions.
In the document Ratushny outlines many different ways that Cecil Russell was involved with the club from sharing emails addresses and phone numbers with his wife who has been the Head Coach to writing out training routines and warm‐up routines on the white board prior to Oakville Dolphins’ practices.
In an article in the Toronto Star President of Swimming Canada David de Vlieger made the following statements, “This is someone who has a history of skirting the ban,” said David de Vlieger, president of Swimming Canada.
“That’s been known and found on multiple occasions. He doesn’t seem to stop. Any chance he gets he continues to involve himself in the sport.”
“He doesn’t appear on the pool deck, he gets into the stands, he gets at the athletes behind our back,” he said. “I frankly don’t understand why parents allow their young swimmers 12 and up to be associated with a fellow who is banned and has a pretty sordid past.”
Russell’s two children Colin and Sinead have had extremely successful swimming careers. Colin competed in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games while Sinead competed in the 2012 Olympics in London.
I know this topic is old, but I swim for a team that swims against the Dolphins and to my team and I, even other teams, it’s super unfair for us to have to race them. yes they got banned for Swim Canada so of corse they’re now trying to become part of USA swimming. at meets like zones, it’s very hard to qualify because they’re taking our spots! if you’re a Canadian team you’re clearly NOT American so don’t try to become part of USA swimming. also, I’ve seen them drink caffeine before their races… 1) super bad for you and 2) clear source of instant energy. at one of our past meets with the Dolphins, one of the… Read more »
It is time to conclude my participation in this blog with my main findings of the Dolphins case study:
1) The Dolphins Club has been repetitively accused having an association with Cecil Russell, a banned coach. The Club denies it but has not been able to prove the opposite because Russell’s wife is the head coach and his children swim for the Dolphins.
2) Russell found a legal way to circumvent the ban, which irritates the swimming authorities. As certified personal trainer he maintains private training contracts with some of the Dolphins’ senior swimmers. This is allowed as long as he does it privately, and not as part of a Club member of Swim Ontario (SDRCC DT 12-0177,… Read more »
was just looking at results from their meet they swam at in Baltimore this past weekend, and WOW were they ever bad! Did they loose all their pool time when Swim Ontario shut them down, because from the times it looks like they did not swim all year!
I am working on a more legal opinion. For a start, Swim Ontario has no jurisdiction to restrict or discriminate any individual because of association. Any swimmer can associate with whoever they want so their personal training with this man can never be illegal. His ban is indeed for coaching, not personal training and only applies in Canada (is not WADA). However, the Dolphins Club is a member organization of Swim Ontario and must follow its rules and regulations. I found the settlement agreements between Swim Ontario and the Club that restrict the Club to associate with him. So it depends who is booking the pool, if the pool is actually booked by his personal training program then there is… Read more »
I believe that the CCES report which covers the reduction of the lifetime ban after the introduction of the CADP and the particulars of the ban going forward form the basis for the decisions made wrt to the dolphins and Cecil in the recent past.
Reading this really shows why the issue continues today and I would say that some (if not most) of the blame has to placed at the feet of Swim Ontario and SNC.
If you read my comments above I obviously have no respect for Cecil or the Dolphins but I am also certainly not happy with SO in pretty much every matter. If anyone else reading this knows of a more appropriate place… Read more »
I can not speak abouthim coaching behind a class wall but I can say I have seen with my own eyes Cecil coaching on the pool deck at the Etobicoke Olympium (no I do not stalk him). He was running a “personal Training” session with the High Performance swimmers of the Dolphins before one of the swim meets in December.
Now this is very interested in terms of being in a grey area you are right there. Cecil is banned as a swim coach there is nothing stopping him from being a personal trainer, so in that sense he did nothing wrong. The issue swim ontario has is they informed the Dolphins to have zero contact with Cecil making… Read more »
I will. In the meantime please tell us how you know so many details about what he is doing. Like coaching behind a glass wall or something. Are you following him? Why you spend so much time and grief over this? Did you ever have something to do with this Club? Before I believe what you say I must know your motives. This is what anybody should know before passing judgement. I will, however, read the literature (all of it) and get back to you. At least for me is good professional training.
Rose, you obviously have not read the proper literature because there is nothing grey about it. People who are in the swim world have been dealing with Cecil and his lies and manipulation of the system to benifit his own cause for years. So, do me a favour and read all the legal documents and get back to me. They are all a matter public record. Where he was in jail what he was charged with how mant times he has lied to swim ont\can and yes Rose everyone in the swim world knows Cecil Russell. So go out and gather your facts and get bqck to us.
Dolphin swimmers sealed their fate by staying with Cecil. They were encouraged many times to leave him and chose not to. Every swimmer in his high performance group and their parents know the score. They are well aware of Cecil`s criminal past and his absolute determination to give the finger to swim ont\can. By keeping their children in his program they are only enabling him. As long as he has swimmers in his program he will continue to cheat the system and not from the background. He is at every practice he doesn`t give a s__t who sees him.
I just found this conversation and I am amazed that you guys are still talking about these people since June 1! They are either very important or must have a connection to all of you. Actually you sound like you know this Cecil because you call him with his first name. And to make so aggressive comments about young swimmers! Swim Mom, you must have a daughter or son who is competing against these swimmers. I am sorry Swim Mom but you sound like having a vested interest in all this, or something personal against these people (too bitter). This is a public conversation, please so some respect. Let the rest of us, who do not know these people, to… Read more »