First FINA World Swimming Coaches Conference to be held in Singapore

Michael Bohl among the list of Beijing Gold Medal winning coaches at inaugural conference

Singapore will add another first to its list of sporting credentials by hosting the first ever FINA World Swimming Coaches Conference at the Marina Mandarin Hotel from 15 to 17 January next year. The confirmed list of coaches speaking at the conference include Michael Bohl (coach of Stephanie Rice), Rohan Taylor (coach of Leisel Jones), Mark Schubert (Head Coach of Team USA), Alan Thompson (Head Coach of Team Australia), Norimasa Hirai (Coach of Kosuke Kitajima) and other coaches of medal winning swimmers at the Beijing Olympics.

"We expect this Conference to have a very positive impact on the global development of competitive swimming, by providing a unique chance for the world's top coaches to share their expertise with counterparts from so many FINA National Federations. We are excited about this important gathering - the first main FINA event of 2009 - and hope the FINA National Federations will find it both interesting and valuable for their training goals. Participants will be treated to insightful presentations and discussions from those who guided some of our stars to Olympic gold medals. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Singapore Sports Council and the Singapore Swimming Association for acting as hosts," said Mustapha Larfaoui, President, FINA.

This inaugural conference is organised by the Singapore Swimming Association, supported by the Singapore Sports Council and sanctioned by the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA). Taking place over three days, attending delegates will include Presidents and Directors of Coaching from the 197 National Federations, as well as IOC Representatives, FINA President, Bureau Members and international media. The invited coaches to the conference will speak on the preparation and planning involved in the success of their respective swimmers while FINA Executive Director, Cornel Marculescu, will also be sharing with attending delegates FINA's executive plan and strategy from 2009 to 2013.

"It gives us immense pleasure to be able to host the first ever FINA World Swimming Coaches Conference. This is the first conference of its kind to be held in the world and it speaks volume that FINA has given Singapore the responsibility of organising this groundbreaking event. This conference will provide a good insight into the lives of world class swimmers and is a good opportunity for local coaches to learn from their foreign counterparts," said Jeffrey Leow, President of the Singapore Swimming Association.

The hosting of the FINA World Swimming Coaches Conference is another stamp of approval from international sporting bodies after Singapore gained international prominence as an efficient and organised venue for hosting the 117th International Olympic Council session in 2005. Since then, Singapore has gone on to secure the rights to host the world's first ever Formula OneTM night race this year as well as the world's first ever Youth Olympics in 2010. The Formula OneTM race in Singapore also won several accolades from the international motor sports industry including the Promoter of the Year Award at the annual Federation Internationale de L'automobile (FIA) gala dinner.

The securing of the rights to host the FINA World Swimming Coaches Conference is the continuation of Singapore's strong affiliation to FINA, having organised several other FINA-sanctioned events in the last few years such as the FINA Marathon Swimming World Cup and the FINA/Arena Swimming World Cup. Earlier in the year, Singapore also hosted the US and the Canadian Olympic swimming team before the swimmers headed to Beijing for the Olympics.

"This conference confirms Singapore's ability to create new sporting events that have great relevance for the international community," said Oon Jin Teik, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Sports Council. "Not only have we established Singapore as an organised and efficient host city in the past few years, we have proven our capabilities in creating events that are first of a kind. We look forward to welcoming some of the best brains in the international swimming fraternity to Singapore to share their experiences and strategies in grooming medal-winning and record-smashing swimmers."