Please click the links below to access resources and support material.
- Beyond the Black Line
- Beyond the Pool - Developing Young Leaders
- Development
- Support
- Opportunities
- Education
- VIS and Regional Academies of Sport
- Anti-Doping & Supplement Information
- School and the Pool
- Be proactive
- Identify major events and activities
- Highlight areas of conflict
- Develop strategies to resolve conflict
- Get help (from your teacher, year level coordinator, school counsellor, PE advisor, employer)
- appointing a key staff member at each university to assist elite athletes;
- provide advice and guidance on academic planning;
- negotiate flexibility to meet academic requirements including assessment deadlines and sitting exams externally;
- tailoring academic study loads to integrate with sporting commitments and providing special consideration for course entry.
- Webinars
- District Development Program
- Develop the skills of State level swimmers into the skills of National Age level swimmers.
- Create more opportunities for our members, while opening the pathway to a broader base of swimmers and coaches.
- Expose swimmers and coaches to new opportunities and experiences to further their development, and
- Create an upward pressure for success by influencing development at a District level.
- Grants & Funding
- Request for University Letter of Support
Beyond the Black Line is more than an online resource. It’s a conversation starter to encourage the entire community to get behind our young swimmers. It’s a commitment that goes past a few extra cheers along the way.
BTBL focuses on sharing life experiences with young swimmers, facing the physical and emotional highs and lows of growing up. At the heart of this, are online videos and face-to-face workshops featuring past and present Australian Dolphins.
It’s all about openly talking things through and creating the right sport and life balance. So we can all continue to be the best we can be – both in and out of the pool.
Beyond the Pool Initiative
‘Developing Young Leaders’ falls within Swimming Victoria’s Beyond the Pool retention initiative which provides a holistic personal and professional development pathway for swimmers beyond traditional competition. The program supports athletes, who already have a solid grounding through sport, to become true leaders within the community and achieve every success in the workforce.
'Beyond the Pool’ has four key objectives:
For more information, please contact sv.admin@vic.swimming.org.au.
Many of Australia’s best athletes have been supported by the VIS. The training they have received has propelled them on to the world stage where their success has been nothing short of phenomenal. The VIS is justifiably proud of its many Olympic, Paralympic and World Champions who have not only succeeded in sport but also in life and, in so doing, have acted as positive role models for others.
The focus of the VIS swimming program is to develop and support categorised athletes with the aim of success on the international stage. Athletes are provided with comprehensive training support as well as support to compete at major events including the Australian Championships. VIS swimmers are supported to train at their home club with their chosen coach, to individually suit the needs and requirements of each athlete.
Regional Academies of Sport
Swimming Victoria supports the Regional Academy of Sport network, having formal partnerships with Barwon Sports Academy, Gippsland Sports Academy, WestVic Academy of Sport & Bendigo Academy of Sport. Regional Academies of Sport support emerging elite athletes from country Victoria and complement the Swimming Victoria Athlete Development Pathway.
Barwon Sports Academy
The Barwon Sports Academy Inc. provides pathways for aspiring athletes to reach higher goals at State and National levels through development programs, sharing information, ideas and experiences. The BSA exists to identify, support and further develop the sports related skills, personal abilities and health and wellbeing of talented athletes in the Barwon region.
P: 03 5224 9110
Gippsland Sports Academy
The Gippsland Sports Academy provides the opportunity for talented athletes based in Gippsland to reach their potential. Aspiring athletes will be exposed to expert technical coaching and personal development sessions allowing them to be their best in their chosen sport and personal life.
P: 03 5127 0163
FedUni WestVic Academy of Sport
WestVic Academy of Sport is working with athletes and their supporters to deliver specialist services to help them succeed. WestVic works with the athletes and coaches to implement a program which takes a holistic approach to an athlete’s development, through provision of off-surface services which support the technical and tactical sport specific coaching they are receiving already in their existing training environment.
P: 03 5327 9890
Bendigo Academy of Sport
The Bendigo Academy of Sport was founded in 1995 to support regional athletes and their families to pursue their dreams in elite sport. Our programs provide opportunities and exposure for athletes to high performance sporting knowledge. The Bendigo Academy of Sport works with athletes and their families to create and deliver programs and services that maximise their opportunities to be successful.
P: 03 5444 7700
It is the personal responsibility of all athletes to check the status of any medication or substance prior to use.
Click here to access Swimming Australia's Anti-Doping Policies.
Click here for ASADA Supplements Information
World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List can be found here. A new list comes into effect on 1 January each year.
Swimming Victoria's Supplement Information: Decision Tree Poster - Is it Safe? Is it Legal? Will it work for me?
Decision Tree Information Sheet
Risks Associated with Supplement use Information Sheet
Caffeine and Junior Swimmers - What you need to know
Caffeine & Junior Swimmers Information
ASADA Mobile App - Download the App on the iTunes App store or Google Play Store
Almost one Australian athlete tests positive from a supplement every month. Typically, these are not athletes at the elite level, who have the guidance of dieticians and strong support teams, but younger athletes or those at levels which have less support.
Historically, ASADA’s advice to athletes has always been to simply not take any supplements, however, evidence shows that many athletes still use them – either of their own accord, or under the guidance of their support personnel. To help ensure athletes do not take high-risk supplements, ASADA has recently launched the ASADA Clean Sport mobile and tablet app.
The App can also be used to report doping, check if a medication is banned in sport, give ASADA feedback on testing missions, and complete online education modules.
Parents’ Guide to Support Clean Sport
ASADA, in partnership with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Play by the Rules, have developed the Parents' Guide to Support Clean Sport as ASADA recognise the crucial role parents play in helping children achieve sporting goals.
This guide is an online anti-doping course to help parents ensure healthy athletic development and prevent the use of performance enhancing drugs. The course covers topic such as healthy sport cultures, nutrition, the risks of supplements and doping risk factors, and includes links to websites where parents can find further useful information.
To access and complete the online course, please CLICK HERE.
Watch the videos below to learn more about supplements and associated risks with using them -
Is it Safe? Is it Legal? Will it work for me?
What are Supplements?
Nutrition
One of the most difficult tasks is often striking the balance between sports and school. Training and competitions quickly fill up the schedules of our teenage athletes and they are forced to juggle their time. The good news is with a bit of organisation and planning they can optimise their time and be successful at both.
Weekly & Yearly Planners for swimmers
The weekly planner allows you to get an overview of your whole week. The yearly planner allow you to note when you have swim meets, training camps and your educational/work commitments so you can identify if there are any conflicts:
Weekly Planner 8 Year Goal Planner
Swimming through VCE
We have had plenty of swimmer’s compete at the National Championships whilst doing VCE. We have documented how four of our swimmers balanced their study and swimming. It may help you work out some strategies for the last two years of school.
If you need a letter provided due to being absent from school if the National Championship dates occur in the school term please provide the following details - School Name, name of Year Level Coordinator or Head of House, travel dates and the events you have qualified for.
Requests for letters of support can be sent to - joshua.busch@vic.swimming.org.au
Nutrition for your School Day
A swimmers lunchbox, filled with the right foods, will assist them completing their recovery adequately and continue their preparation for the afternoon session. Like all other aspects of a swimmers training nutrition the swimming nutrition jigsaw is critical throughout the school day.
What's in your lunch box - surviving the school day
Elite Athlete Friendly Universities (EAFU) + Elite Athlete Entry and Scholarships
Many Australian Universities now offer elite athlete entry and sports scholarships to support both education and sporting pursuits.
The guiding principles of the EAFU include:
AIS Elite Athlete Friendly University (EAFU) program
If you are applying for an Elite Athlete Scholarship - a letter of support can be provided documenting your swimming performances, your involvement in our Pathway Program and your training load. Please email requests to nic.baker@vic.swimming.org.au
The District Development Program underpins the Swimming Victoria (SV) Performance Pathways Program to provide an integrated pathway for athlete and coach development.
The purpose of the program is to develop the skills required for success at a State and National level and provide a key entry point into the performance pathway, which is aligned to national standards and benchmarks.
The aim of the District Development Program is to:
While a key focus of the program is to deliver pool-based sessions, SV is committed to developing the whole person. It is for this reason that a core component of the program are education workshops that align to SV’s overall Education Framework.
Sports Excellence Scholarship Foundation - Funding available for eligible athletes
Click here to request a Letter of Support from Swimming Victoria
Swimming Victoria will aim to get in contact with you within 2-weeks of submitting your request.
