Vince Raleigh Leaves Youth Team Director Post to Return to Coaching in Australia

QUEENSLAND, Australia, October 12. SWIMMING Australia, in conjunction with the Queensland Academy of Sport, is pleased to announce that Vince Raleigh will take on the role of High Performance Coach at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre, a position previously held by Stephan Widmer.

Having worked as the Swimming Australia High Performance Youth Coach for the last two years, Raleigh will return to coaching on pool-deck from early December, after wrapping his current work in the talent identification area.

“I've thoroughly enjoyed working as the High Performance Youth Coach for the last couple of years and I know we have some great young talent coming through the system,” said Raleigh.

“The skills I've learnt in this role will only improve me as a coach, but my true passion is coaching, being on pool-deck each morning, and getting back involved with athletes on a day-to-day basis.”

“The chance to coach again at the high performance level in Brisbane is something that really excites me about this role.”

Disappointed to be losing an asset in youth program, Swimming Australia Head Coach Leigh Nugent said he understands Raleigh's decision to want to return to pool-deck.

“Vince has done some fantastic things in the youth program in a very a short period of time, and last week's talent ID camp at the AIS in Canberra is just one example of that,” said Nugent.

“He will be missed in this role, but we're not losing him to the sport, and it will be great to have Vince back coaching at a high performance level and looking to qualify athletes for national teams again.”

Queensland Academy of Sport Executive Director Bennett King says Raleigh's appointment will be of huge benefit to the QAS.

“The Queensland Academy of Sport is positive in its outlook for swimming in Queensland with the addition of Vince Raleigh to its coaching ranks,” said King.

“He has a strong vision for swimming, a commitment to continuous improvement for the Chandler club, Queensland and Australia, and a holistic approach towards individuals.”

A former high school teacher at Nudgee College in Brisbane, Raleigh coached six Olympians in Beijing in 2008, who returned with a combined eight medals between them, including Linda Mackenzie who gold as part of the women's 4x200m freestyle relay team and Brenton Rickard who won silver in the men's 200m breaststroke.

In 2009 Raleigh coached Rickard to a world record gold in the 100m breaststroke at the Rome World Championships and was a coach at the Australian Institute of Sport before taking on the role of High Performance Youth Coach. He made his first trip with an Australian team in 1993.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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