KKP recently presented its final report in relation to the development of the competitive swimmer pathway for Edinburgh. The study was commissioned by a joint steering group comprising representatives of the main swimming clubs, City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Leisure, Scottish Swimming and key stakeholders including the East of Scotland Institute of Sport.

KKP responded to a clear and inclusive brief to develop:

• The ideal swimmer and coach pathway together with options for their delivery.
• A water management plan for the programme.
• A financial plan for the programme.
• An implementation and monitoring plan.

The project came at a complex and delicate time for competitive swimming in Edinburgh, which has found itself at somewhat of a crossroads. Factors forcing something of punctuation in the provision of the performance programme in the City include:

• The scheduled closures of the Royal Commonwealth Pool (RCP) and the Glenogle Swim Centre for major refurbishment.
• The City Council decision to conclude performance funding in the city during the above pool closures.
• The suspension of Scottish Swimming's performance programme "City of Edinburgh Swimming" (CES). 
• The resignation of the CES head coach, Fred Vergnoux.

The Steering Group recognised the need for a new, forward looking, sustainable competitive swimmer pathway, within an arrangement to which all clubs are ‘bought in' and commit to graduating their swimmers. This had to address the barriers to smooth pathway progression in the City which were adversely affected by the ‘constitutional separation' of the elite squad from other clubs. Relatively unusually, in Edinburgh, performance swimming takes place at public swimming pools which are not expressly developed for this purpose and the operator, Edinburgh Leisure, has to balance the needs of all users, including performance swimmers.

Following assessment of other pathway models across the rest of the UK and Worldwide, KKP consulted with key practitioners, facility managers and club coaches in the City to develop an ideal pathway that is swimmer centred and account of Scottish Swimming's three key performance swimmer development stages:

• 'Train to train'.
• 'Train to compete'.
• 'Train to win'.

Recommendations to ensure that coaches have the opportunity to develop their skills and expertise alongside competitive swimmers were also incorporated in the proposals produced.

In a radical step, the adoption of a company structure ('The Edinburgh Swim Company') was proposed to drive accountability and tie in all partners. The success of this new governance structure will rely upon partner buy-in and it is designed to ensure that they cannot simply opt out of the programme as, for example in the case of clubs, this commitment to it is linked to the priority allocation of pool time across the City.

Concurrently, the City Council and Edinburgh Leisure are being asked to sign up to a policy that gives clubs committed to the competitive swimmer pathway priority access to the RCP and other key pools. This will obligate them to deliver new programming arrangements that give priority access to 50m water space to elite and performance swimmers in the City - making sure that they train in the best quality facilities available. The true cost of the programme was also identified alongside the appropriate action plan to implement the programme.

Strong endorsement of the proposals was voiced when all parties met to receive the report presented to the Steering Group. This is seen as something of a triumph given the strong lines drawn between some of the agencies involved at the start of the process. This said, it is just the first stage of a process that requires determination, trust and a real commitment to put the needs of the swimmer first.

Work is now underway on the detailed action plan. KKP has agreed to provide initial input to support the negotiations that are to take place throughout 2009 with further strategic developments expected to follow.

Commenting on the results that have been achieved in a relatively short space of time, Ally Whike, Performance Director at Scottish Swimming said,

"KKP has helped us to turn a corner. The team have handled a delicate and sensitive situation with tact and a firm hand, just what was required. Creating a swimmer centred pathway that is owned and managed by the clubs is a solution that gives confidence to Scottish Swimming and other funding partners."

The new pathway will provide more opportunities for swimmers to train with the best coaches and will certainly unearth some hidden talent, accommodating the most talented swimmers within a co-ordinated programme replacing the current disparate set of arrangements. Everyone concerned is hoping that the creation of this flagship programme will see more Edinburgh swimmers making it to the Scottish Commonwealth Games Squad, joining the likes of Kirsty Balfour and Gregor Tait on the podium in Glasgow in 2014.