Development Camps

More than 150 age group swimmers and their coaches have attended camps around the country over September and October as part of the Swimming New Zealand (SNZ) High Performance Development Programme.

New Zealand coaches Donna Bouzaid (High Performance Development) and Gary Hurring (Talent ID and Development) ran five camps for distance and age group swimmers; at Rotorua, Dunedin, Marton and Auckland.

“The camp proved to be challenging for the 16 swimmers but they took up the challenge and worked hard to get through the workload”, said Donna. The distance camp, held for the first time in ten years, included daily dryland sessions that pushed the athletes out of their comfort zones.

The age group camps gave swimmers an opportunity to develop their skills, technique and training ethics while coaches were able to extend their coaching knowledge.

North Shore swimmer Flynn Jones enjoyed the challenges at the Auckland camp.

“We did a lot of specific skill work on our streamlines and underwater work. I really enjoyed my time at the camp and found it very beneficial”.

The camps included guest speakers including a nutritionists and sports psychologist.

The athletes also took part in some fun dryland and team work activities. The highlight of the camp in Marton was the ‘amazing race’ around the town where swimmers had to solve clues and complete team challenges that incorporated the SNZ values.

Donna said the coaches worked well together and spent time on Long Term Athlete Development and programming.

More information about the camps and a list of the swimmers involved can be found here.