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| Sunday, 15 December 2002 |
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Sri Lanka's swimming coaches gained much from Guy Edson's coaching by LESLIE FERNANDO An advanced swimming coaches clinic was held at the S. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia recently by the Technical Director Guy Edson of the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) with the objective of preparing forty nine local coaches to obtain the ASCA Certification for Level Two (stroke school) in the next a two to three months and for Level Three (Physiology School) around June 2004. A clinic at this level of intensity and purpose has never been held before and was a full time 6 hours 30 minutes of classroom and pool deck sessions with audio/visual supplementation. The clinic was opened to the widest selection of local coaches with preference given to those who had successfully complete ASCA Level One (Foundation of Coaching) conducted under a course direction of the Sri Lanka Aquatic Coaches Association (SLACA) based on the course material sent by ASCA translated into Sinhala for lectures. Around twenty members from other associations and independent coaches attended. No local coach was shut out. ASAC, the highly reputed coaches organisation, having produced hundreds of Olympic medallists and world record holders and is the key Coaches Association in the United States, working in tandem with United States Swimming, the controlling organisation for swimming. Dr. David Ponniah, Warden, S. Thomas' College, in his opening address on the opening day, said that he and his school firmly supports the kind of clinic envisaged as he has been made to understand that it would improve and enhance the sport of swimming throughout the island. The other participants have endorsed this view. "A clinic conducted under a renowned Technical Director from America would enormously benefit everyone - parents, coach and swimmer," Warden Ponniah said and wished the clinic all success. The classroom work was held in the comfortable and well-equipped Audio/Visual Theatre with demonstration taken to the pool deck of the newly refurbished college swimming pool. The chief guest Rear Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, President, NAASU at the closing ceremony of the clinic said that the efforts of SLACA for its vision and its effort to bring one of the world's best technical coaches to Colombo, to conduct a top level clinic should be commended. Karannagoda further said that the outcome of the clinic will be of immense benefit to the coaches and it will also raise the standard of swimming. The absence of qualified and trained coaches have been a drawback and this clinic may make the difference. NAASU President Karannagoda thanked E. A. G. Wilson, President of SLACA for his initiative in getting the services of Guy Edson to train the coaches here and said he was glad that NAASU had a role in the development of local coaches for the betterment of swimming. Vijitha Fernando, project co-ordinator in proposing the vote of thanks commended the role played by principal sponsor the National Lotteries Board and its, Chairman Imthiaz Ismail for the support given to swimming to S. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia and its Warden Dr. David Ponniah and his staff and also SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Peter Hill, The Milinda Moragoda Institute, NAASU President Wasantha Karannagoda, Kirthi Wickremasinghe - Berjaye Mount Royal Hotel General Manager, and his staff and SLACA president E. G. A. Wilson and SLAC for the successful course conducted. He paid a special tribute to Technical Director of ASCA Guy Edson for the excellent clinic the like of which had not been conducted before. He also paid a tribute to all the participants too. |
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