Swimming New Zealand CEO Christian Renford will step down from his position after the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Renford joined Swimming New Zealand in 2013 after working for Rowing New South Wales. The organization is now looking for a replacement to lead Swimming New Zealand through at least the 2020 Olympic Games.
Bruct Cotterill, the chairman of Swimming New Zealand, applauded Renford’s efforts, saying “he has repositioned our sport in the eyes of many of our stakeholders.”
Despite this positive feedback, the organization’s funding from High Performance Sport New Zealand has fallen by $100,000 each of the past two years.
While Cotterill referred to “personnel changes” as “a fact of life within sports organizations around the Olympic cycle” high performance director Luis Villanueva also left Swimming New Zealand last year after serving for two and a half years.
Renford will be headed to a family business opportunity in Australia.
Save for Lauren Boyle the Kiwis haven’t produced one swimmer capable of medaling @. a worlds/Olympics since Danyon Loader 20’years ago — and HE did as Boyle did, I.e., going to Cal and learning from the Master ( in his case Nort Thornton, in Boyle’s Terri McKeever.)
Greg Troy has done backstroker Corey Main reach his potential @. Florida but unfortunately guys like Ryan Murphy and the defending Big O’s champ,in the 100 back plus Australia’s double- defending dorsal,ace Mitch Larkin, Japan’s Irie and Russia’s and Louisville’s Tarasevuch will be a tad too tough in Rio.
Sorry, Matt Stanley, but while you may be the toast of New Zealand too many other guys — starting w/209-400 free wr- holder — out if your league.
New Zealand needs to develop a club/ age- group program along lines of what Australia and USA have. Then when the ’24 Olympics in Christchurch roll around the powers that be @. Swim New Zealand will be inclined to,raise the budget.