Swimming Australia: Bombshell letter reveals extent of the sport’s power struggle and simmering tensions

Australian swimming is on the brink of mutiny, with a power struggle creating divisions never before seen. A leaked letter reveals how bad things are – right down to the grassroots.

Less than 20 months before the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Australia’s signature sport is on the brink of mutiny because of an ongoing power struggle that’s trickled down from the highest levels right to the grassroots.

The relationship between the current leadership of Swimming Australia (SA) and the sport’s key stakeholders has hit rock bottom, plunging the sport to the verge of a full-blown revolt.

News Corp can reveal that a confidential letter has been sent to SA’s board of directors, requesting an urgent and independent review into the way the sport is being run.

While worded carefully, the dispatch makes it crystal clear stakeholders have lost faith in the SA leadership and want drastic changes to save the sport from what they consider to be further ruin.

“It is our view the current culture and behaviours from the Swimming Australia executive do not align with stated values and strategic objectives,” the explosive letter says.

The simmering tensions within Swimming Australia have hit boiling point.

As previously disclosed by News Corp, some of the biggest movers and shakers in the sport - all speaking on the condition of anonymity because they fear repercussions for going public - have expressed major reservations about the leadership style of new chief executive Eugenie Buckley, who took over from Alex Baumann when he stepped down suddenly last year.

Buckley was previously in charge of Netball Queensland. She was hired initially by SA on an interim period then given the full time role on January 1 this year despite some board members apparently unaware she was being sued by a director at her former job.

University professor Marie Kavanagh commenced legal action against Buckley, Netball Queensland and its company secretary and general manager of corporate services, Ana Croger, for allegedly defaming her. The case is ongoing.

The letter, which was sent to SA, was signed by every state swimming association president in the country, plus the Northern Territory, as well as the national swimmer’s union and coaches and teachers’ association.

SA President Michelle Gallen confirmed the board had received the letter and would meet with the aggrieved state representatives.

“Our States all have such diverse needs and diverse memberships,” she told News Corp.

“It is their job to advocate for what is in their best interests, and it is our job to govern in the best interest of the sport as a whole, so there will inevitably be some natural tensions in that relationship.

“We remain absolutely committed to open and honest dialogue with all our stakeholders to address any challenges, while at the same time ensuring we continue to work together to ensure we propel our sport forward during this decade of immense opportunity.”

Swimming Australia CEO Eugenie Buckley.

The blow-up is yet further proof of the deepening divisions within Australia’s most reliable medal-producing Olympic sport.

Spin doctors have been telling everyone things are just swell because the team keeps winning so many medals, but the rifts have raised alarm bells with both national and international sporting bodies.

The latest spillover will escalate tensions because the timing is hugely embarrassing for SA with the sport’s global bosses arriving in Melbourne for the short-course world championships, starting December 13.

Exasperated stakeholders have run out of patience and it was only as a last resort that they called for an urgent face-to-face meeting with board members during the world titles.

It’s understood no one wanted to divert attention from the competition but the situation is so critical that stakeholders are unable to remain silent any longer — even if it means airing the sport’s dirty laundry in front of the entire swimming world.

Gallen said the meeting would go ahead during the world titles.

The Australian team train in Birmingham ahead of the Commonwealth Games earlier this year. Picture: Con CHRONIS

A high-level hook-up took place this week after Buckley sent a bombshell memo to all the states and territories notifying them that their participation growth funding was being slashed in half for the next financial year.

That was the last straw, according to the many disgruntled individuals — that include not only administrators, but also coaches, swimmers and even parents.

There have always been feuds bubbling under the surface but long-time insiders say they have never seen the sport as split as it is right now with simmering tensions at boiling point.

The funding cuts to developing programs are just the tip of the iceberg because there are broader concerns that the opportunity to safeguard the sport’s long-time future on the runway to the Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympics is being squandered.

Although the Dolphins cleaned up at the Tokyo Olympics, the record nine gold medals that were won can’t mask the problems outside of the pool.

Tracy Stockwell was sacked president of Swimming Australia last month. Picture: Luke Marsden.

Just last month, News Corp revealed SA had axed Tracy Stockwell as president, but without notifying the taxpaying public that bankrolls the sport, then replaced her with Gallen.

Stockwell was just the latest high-profile departure from SA, which has begun to resemble a revolving door — another telltale sign of the impending crisis.

Her predecessor, Kieren Perkins replaced John Bertrand as president in late 2020 but announced just a year later he was stepping down to take on a bigger role running the Australian Sports Commission.

In 2020, less than a year before the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics, Leigh Russell stood down as CEO, along with Jacco Verhaeren quit as head coach.

Other board members have also left, some in protest at the way the sport is being managed, raising concerns about the lack of transparency.

Despite the sport’s enormous popularity, swimming still does not have a free-to-air broadcast partner or a major sponsor after losing the backing of Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting - the exact details of which still remain largely untold.

Tellingly, even in the year immediately following the team’s historic achievements in Tokyo, SA’s latest financial statement reveals it still incurred a net loss of $2.21 million

Originally published as Swimming Australia: Bombshell letter reveals extent of the sport’s power struggle and simmering tensions