Community
1 April, 2026
Swim coaches upskill
THANKS to a training workshop run by Swimming Victoria in Geelong, two coaches from Timboon swimming club were able to upskill to provide the same opportunity and level of coaching as larger clubs across the state.
Volunteer coach Lynda McKenzie said thanks to the new initiatives, country summer clubs were now able to start on the same level as metropolitan clubs when it came to coaching.
“Two of us went down, so it was myself and Bobbie French who went down from here to Geelong to do the development coach weekend,” she said.
“Late last year Swimming Australia brought in the minimum level for coaches to have if they wanted to coach at a swim squad across Australia wide.
“The minimum level they required everyone to have was development level coach regardless of if you already had a swim teacher tick or anything like that, they wanted to standardise it across the board.
“Now we all have that base level starting out at the same point – it doesn’t matter if you’re a little summer club like us or you’re a big M1 metropolitan Melbourne club, we all have to have that same level.
“Obviously there’s higher levels that you can achieve and go onto to if you want to but what it means is that every club now starts at that base level.”
Mrs McKenzie said they covered a wide range of training over the weekend.
“We were lucky enough to have Joanne Love who has been an Olympic level coach come and present at that weekend,” she said.
“She took us across a wide range of areas from setting a season plan to just a session plan for what you’re going to run at that session to stroke development through the four different strokes, starts, turns, finishes – across the whole area of what you need to be able to teach to kids who are doing swim club.”
As a volunteer-led club, Mrs McKenzie said the support was extra meaningful.
“We have in our area, Jessica O’Brien, who is the sports development officer who specifically looks at the Barwon South West swimming region,” she said.
“She was very aware that we have lots of smaller summer clubs who just run on a volunteer basis and she recognised that that was going to be quite an expensive exercise for volunteers to undertake.
“She put in for a grant and arranged for that weekend and if you attended the weekend they would pay for half that through the grant and it also meant we could get that course done in one weekend.
“Otherwise you do eight hours plus online, then you have to go and attend a workshop, then you have to do another 20 hours with an already experienced, higher than a development level coach.
“So it’s quite extensive for a little summer club that runs on volunteers to do that, so she recognised that through her role in Swimming Victoria and she set about putting in the weekend and the grant with the funding in place to help cover that.”
Mrs McKenzie said the weekend also came with the benefit of mingling with other country clubs and coaches.
“It was a good opportunity for all the summer clubs – we had two coaches from us and two from Cobden who went and attended it,” she said.
“After it they did like a coach’s forum, so across the whole weekend there was lots of opportunity to interact with coaches from across other clubs who came to do it as well so it was it was a great opportunity to sit down, speak to other clubs and coaches about what they do and how they run things.
“We have volunteer committee and we have three volunteer coaches, so myself, Bobbie French and Alison Christopher who was also the lead lifeguard at the pool here.
“We also have a parent committee who does all the organising in the background.
“It’s been going for a long time with volunteers so it’s good to keep it going – we’ve got a pool here and 70 kids who were keen to join and swim so it’s worthwhile.”
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