Swimming: Coaching duo sign up for medal chase

Successful swim coaches Jan Cameron and Thomas Ansorg have signed long-term contracts with Swimming New Zealand as part of a redevelopment of the successful high performance programme to chase medals in Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

Cameron and Ansorg will head Swimming New Zealand's high performance centre based at the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health on the North Shore.

Cameron will also assume wider duties to work with other coaches to assist in developing their elite programmes.

Cameron has been appointed high performance coaching director and Ansorg will be designated high performance coach, evolving the shared role he has had with SNZ and the North Shore Swimming Club for the past two years into a fulltime role for SNZ.

Clive Rushton, high performance director for the past five years, will become high performance programmes director, responsible for high performance programmes including strategic planning, competitive development and coach education initiatives.

Cameron has developed the coaching programme at North Shore Swimming Club over 15 years and as head of the Millennium Institute's high performance swimming programme to become the outstanding dominant force in the country. Since 2004 she has headed the Millennium Institute-based SNZ High Performance Centre.

German-born Ansorg joined her five years ago.

Twelve of the 18-strong team in this year's Commonwealth Games, including all of the individual medalists, were coached by Cameron and Ansorg.

"SNZ see the change of role as a natural extension to the high performance centre concept," Rushton said yesterday.

"It will allow Jan's talents to be applied across the country and allow Thomas to focus exclusively on international success."

- NZPA