Swimming: New swim schedule slammed

New Zealand swimmer Natasha Lloyd. Photo / Getty Images

Swimming New Zealand are under fire again. The national body have made a late change to their 2016 Olympic qualification schedule which could jeopardise the Rio prospects of some nationally-ranked swimmers.

SNZ have endured some difficult times in recent years, with a steady turnover of high performance staff, governance issues and funding cuts.

Now they could come under the microscope again after recently changing the date of next year's New Zealand Open, which doubles as the qualifying meet for Rio.

In their four-year plan, the event was set down for late April but it will now be held from 28 March-April 1.

The 2016 NCAA championships - the culmination of the college year - is on the March 24-26 (men) and March 17-19 (women).

Factoring in the travel, that gives swimmers little time to prepare for their most important swim of the cycle, and make the adjustment from the short course (25m) to Olympic length (50m).

"I am devastated," said freestyler Matthew Hutchins. "Our [college] season finishes two days before the Open and we now have to travel 20 hours and compete the next day. It was previously over a month."

Hutchins took up a scholarship at the University of Wisconsin in December 2013 and is ranked among New Zealand's top freestylers. He understands his commitments to his college as he's on a full scholarship.

"I came [here] to improve my swimming and to achieve a top quality degree - and it has been incredible. Before I left, I was a fair bit away from the qualifying times for Rio. Now, after some incredibly hard training, I am right on them. But it appears to [have] been in vain as the decision to move the Opens has effectively robbed me of my dreams to complete at the Olympics."

Christchurch breaststroker Natasha Lloyd is another bemused.

"I am sure there are reasons, however it's hard to digest considering the dates on the four-year plan were in April and [the change] can disrupt athletes' plans, whether in the US or not," said Lloyd. "Originally having a month post-NCAAs of long-course training would have been a fantastic lead up, but now we are left with a few days to cope with the massive adjustment from 25 yards to [50] metres. It surprises me changes have been made, [especially] considering some of the swimmers who are likely to qualify for the Olympics are based in America."

Others in the US include backstroker Corey Main (who has qualified for the 2015 world championships), two-time Olympian Glenn Synders, Caroline Baddock, Alex Hancock and Georgia Marris. However, the change doesn't just affect US-based swimmers. As high performance athletes, swimmers plan their schedules and training well in advance and the previous date had been locked in for some time.

In a statement, SNZ CEO Christian Renford said the adjusted date is "the fairest for all competitors" and was made "after discussions with coaches and Paralympics NZ".

Renford gave three key reasons for the change.

It allows an "optimal" 16-week build-up to the Olympics (however, the US Olympic trials conclude five weeks before Rio).

The previous date was outside the deadline for Paralympics qualifying, which would have forced Para-swimmers overseas to seek qualification.

The previous date did not allow for key national age events to be staged in school holidays.

SNZ said they would work with US-based swimmers to try to find a solution.