Swim Ireland
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2008-05-17T20:15:41Z
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{{National swimming association
|Logo=SILogo.gif
|Founded=1998
|FINA affiliation=1998
|Region=[[Ligue Européenne de Natation|LEN]]
|Region affiliation=1998
|President=[[Pat Donovan]]
}}
'''Swim Ireland''' ([[Irish language|Irish]]: ''Snámh Éireann'') is the national governing body of [[swimming]] in [[Ireland]]. It is affiliated with both [[LEN]] and [[FINA]].
== History ==
Swim Ireland was founded in 1998 to replace the [[Irish Amateur Swimming Association]] (IASA). IASA was dissolved following revelations that a number of its senior members had sexually abused a number of swimmers.
== Competitions ==
Swim Ireland runs national meets which include:
*Dave McCullagh Memorial (March/April)
*Irish LC Championships (April/May)
*Irish Age Groups Division 2 (June)
*Irish Age Group/Youth Championships (July)
*[[Irish Open SC Championships]] (July/August)
Swim Ireland works with the different regions in organising competitions such as provincial Age Group Championships as well as other graded, distance and inter-club meets. They also work with the Irish Schools Swimming Association who run the Irish Minor and Secondary Schools Championships.
The Age Group InterProvincial takes place every year at the beginning of the summer months for swimmers up to the age of 16 years. This is where teams from the 4 provinces of Ireland (Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht) compete against each other.
These competitions take place in either the [[National Aquatic Centre]], Dublin or at University Arena, Limerick. Both pools have the compatibility to be changed into 50m and 25m.
In 2003, Swim Ireland hosted the European Short Course Championships at the [[National Aquatic Centre]] in Dublin. The event was a resounding success with a world record being broken by the Dutch in the final race, the men's 4x50m Freestyle relay.
== Irish swimmers ==
Swim Ireland recently introduced a new squad structure. This begins with Club Level, then Regional Level, National Level, Team 2012 and finally the Elite Squad.
==Team 2012==
Team 2012 contains swimmers who have the most potential of making the 2012 Olympics in London. On selected occasions throughout the swimming season the squad meet together to train in the pool, on land and also attend lectures regarding nutrition etc.
Many people believe that money has been wasted on this team (on trips to South Africa, Argentina etc.) as Swim Ireland is already under-funded.
==See also==
*[[List of Olympic-size swimming pools in Ireland]]
*[[Sport in Ireland]]
== External links ==
* [http://www.swimireland.ie/ Swim Ireland]
{{IrishSport}}
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{{LEN associations}}
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[[Category:Swimming in Ireland]]
[[Category:Swimming organisations]]
[[Category:Sports governing bodies in Ireland]]