Canadian-born Biz Price took over the reigns as British Synchronised Swimming National Performance Director in 2007 and guided by a vision of the 2012 Olympics as the prize she has transformed the sport.
She now welcomes the country’s second international competition, the 21st LEN European Junior Synchronised Swimming Championship, which is set to take place in Gloucester from 22nd - 26th April.
Price came to Britain to revolutionise a sport that had struggled to make an impact on the international scene for many years and within 18 months she made huge gains as she guided Britain’s duet of Jenna Randall and Olivia Allison to the Beijing Olympics.
Randall and Allison exceeded expectations with their performance in Beijing, where they finished in 14th overall, and Price’s eyes are now turned towards the British junior squad as Britain welcomes the cream of European Junior Synchro to Gloucester.
“I am really excited that the championships are to be held within Britain this year. It will be good to allow more people to see a higher level of synchro which will come with this competition,” Price said.
“What is important with the team that will be selected for the European Junior Championships is that some of the athletes could potentially move up to the senior squad in time for the London Olympics.
“I have previously worked with some of the athletes that could feature within the junior team so I know what level they are at and what they can do.”
Within a year of her starting, Price helped to implement a new National Performance Centre at an army garrison in Aldershot where she works day-to-day with Britain’s senior squad and in March will welcome the junior athletes for a camp as she selects the ten athletes that will compete for Great Britain at the European Junior Championships.
“At the camp the junior athletes will train alongside the senior squad and this is going to be really important for their development because they will get to see the higher level of synchro that they will need to aim towards,” Price said.
“Some of the girls have been working at the High Performance Centre with the senior squad already and I think this will help push them forward to success during the camp.
“We have some excellent coaches that will be working with the junior squad which will drive the athletes forward. We will also have coach mentoring that will help improve the skills of the coaches working with the junior athletes.”
Price’s impact on the sport within the UK has been apparent from day one and in December 2008 the British team debuted both their free routine and free Combination routine. The improvement of the team was recognised when they secured their first international scores of nines and she hopes to have the same impact with the junior squad.
“There is a long way to go with the junior athletes until they are at the level that I want them to be at,” commented Price. “But what is positive is that we have a much younger group of athletes than before and this is a great place to start and we can build from here.”
Synchro requires strength and stamina in massive measures, and it is only with this background that the real gains be attained. To this end athletes can expect to train for up to eight hours a day, six days a week.
Swimming coach Ben Lafferty has been a successful addition to the programme and coaches the athletes as he would if they were competing in the Olympic 50m pool.
Olympians Jenna and Olivia now swim the 400m Freestyle in under five minutes and the effect this has had on their overall fitness levels and abilities in the water have been very apparent in the results achieved internationally.
“During the junior camp athletes will be taking part in the full training schedule that our senior athletes go through. It will be a good test to see what they are capable of,” Price said.
“We have given them guidelines to follow in preparation for the camp but people are often at different levels so we are going to put them through their paces.
“The ten athletes that will compete at the European Junior Championships will be selected after some rigorous tests within the first couple of days and then we will proceed to help prepare them for the competition.”
