Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)
18 May 2011
LOCAL swimming coaches have been advised to come up with viable long term programme to develop the sport that is emerging as one of the top in the country.
This call was made on Wednesday by the Director of Sports in Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports Leonard Thadeo when closing a ten-day FINA level 11 coaching course.
The course, conducted by German coach Gerd Nottelmann, and facilitated by world swimming body, FINA, ended in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday.
Twenty coaches and swimmers attended the course that had ten days of lecture and practicals at various swimming clubs and schools in Dar es Salaam.
Reading the speech on behalf of Thadeo, the Registrar of Sports in the ministry Rachael Masamu said the fact that the course drew at least 20 coaches from various swimming clubs and schools both in the Mainland and Zanzibar, shows the development of the sport over the past years.
“This will help swimming become more popular among the swimming community and that more stakeholders will realise the essence of swimming programmes in our country,” she said.
She further said that whether or not swimming programmes help participants attain desirable educational goals, as well as to provide a positive experience for those sportsmen and women involved, depends on the manner the programme is conducted. Added Masamu:
“In most of the clubs, schools and universities the swimming programmes have become rare vocabulary due to may be lack of funds to organise and run them.
“The shortage of funds for preparing coaches courses such as the one we are closing on Wednesday, is one of the challenges,” she admitted.
Other challenges, she said, include but not limited to poor swimming, low level of innovation and creativity amongst the swimming stakeholders.
She hoped that for participating in the course, coaches will be innovative, creative and able to improvise to water bodies that the county is endowed to serve and train youngsters.
Nottelmann challenged the coaches to go out and use the knowledge they gained from the course to popularize the sport.
“This seminar was of great benefit for the local association,” the expert said, adding that the emphasis should not only be on winning medals but train children to grow up in sport that is asking for maximum discipline,” he said.
“The seminar is timely for our swimmers, judges, coaches and administrators as we try to update their knowledge,” Noel Kiunsi, the association Secretary General said.
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