International swimming coach Ron Philpot has been appointed as the first Head of Aquatics for the new Crystal Palace Beacon Programme, which is set to transform aquatic sports in south London.

Philpot, currently Head Coach of Leatherhead Swimming Club, will be employed by leisure operators GLL to lead a programme that embraces swimming, diving and water polo and links in to other sports such as biathlon and triathlon.

He expects to begin work in June and the programme is expected to be fully operational by September 2009.

Philpot, who has coached swimmers to Olympic level, said: “My whole career in swimming has been spent in London and the south and this is a great opportunity to take the sport forward in a newly-refurbished facility.

“Seventy per cent of the job will be in elite performance coaching but it will also involve learn-to-swim upwards, following the Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) pathway.

“We will also build in with other sports like triathlon and water polo.”

Crystal Palace will be part of a network of Beacon Programmes which the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) is currently launching at centres with 50-metre pools in various parts of England.

Philpot hopes the programme will halt the drift of senior aquatic athletes in the region to other parts of Britain and abroad.

“Quite a few swimmers have come from London and the South East but we have not had the facilities or programme to keep them here once they get to a certain age,” he said.

“Hopefully we can change that, although we will have to be patient with it – I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight.”

 

 

 

Philpot said selected swimmers would still compete for their clubs but would also now have access to about 20 training hours a week in the 50m pool and to dry land facilities and support services such as sports science and physiotherapy.

There will also be a coach education programme.

Nick Sellwood, the ASA’s Head of Talent Development, said: “Ron has coached swimmers to Olympic team level and brings a wealth of knowledge which will support the Crystal Palace Beacon Programme.”

Andrew Clark, Head of Swimming Development at GLL, said: “We are delighted to be able to welcome someone with Ron’s wealth of experience to the Crystal Palace aquatics team. Ron’s passion for swimming development will help to ensure that Crystal Palace becomes a model of best practice within the sport and his appointment further cements GLL’s partnership with the ASA and our mutual commitment to swimming development in London.”

Colin Brown, Director of London Swimming, said: “I welcome the appointment of Ron Philpot as the right man to lead aquatics forward at this crucial site for London. The regeneration of Crystal Palace brings a good facility back to its best. However, if we didn’t seize the opportunity to put in place an athlete-centred programme across swimming, diving and water polo, we really would be missing a trick.’

Over the last 20 years Philpot has coached more than 20 senior and junior international swimmers, including Matt Kidd, who swam at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games in Sydney and Athens and in 2001 became the first Briton to break the 50-second barrier for the 100m freestyle.

He was a member of the Great Britain coaching staff from 1996 to 2004 and has also coached international biathletes, triathletes, pentathletes and disability swimmers.

He has been Head Coach of Leatherhead SC since 1996, when he was also named British Junior Coach of the Year.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

ASA: Nick Sellwood on 07879 635567 or Roger Guttridge 07901 821550