THE success of the Leisure land meet in Salthill at the weekend has heightened expectations of the possibility of Grand Prix status for the Irish venue. It's now believed that the IASA stand a more realistic chance of being allotted one of the major FINA international meets.
The feed back from visiting international competitors is most gratifying, the consensus being that the fourth Leisureland event is worthy of recognition for future international short course events. Olympic medalist Jon Olsen travelled from Phoenix, Arizona to compete and was delighted with the facilities, stating that he "enjoyed every moment of the gala".
The weekend worked out in every respect," said Irish director of swimming Dave McCullough.
McCullough confirmed yesterday that the association would be "pushing for Leisureland to become an annual event on the international calandar. "There have been approaches made, notably by our LEN officer Ray Kendal. Basically, it's up to us to keep knocking at the door until such time as a gap appears on the calendar."
McCullough insists that the standards set in Salthill, not only in the pool, were certainly on a par with anything he and other IASA officials have seen in other countries.
Salthill and, perhaps, Grove Baths in Belfast are the only venues here capable of staging such an event. The six lane factor here, as against the eight lane facilities in other countries' short course pools, would not weigh, to any appreciable extent, against the IASA's prospects of acquiring a Grand Prix go ahead.
"Certainly it is a limitation," admits McCullough, "but there are events with six lane pools. The German one in Gelsenkirchen is a six lane pool and, as far as I can remember, World Cup events were staged in six lane pools in Bonn and Paris. So, that in itself is not a major disadvantage. It certainly makes competition tougher to make an A final," says McCullough.
"It was an excellent weekend, the atmosphere and performances were tremendous. Michelle's (Smith) presence certainly made a big difference. It was evident talking to the swimmers and watching them race that it made a big difference to their performances," he added.
"Michelle's all comers record in the 200 freestyle was a great result and there was Colin Lowth's 200 butterfly. It was an excellent time for him. The high profile occasion obviously brought the best out in the Cormorant swimmer."
Additions to the elite 2000 squad are to be announced this week. The selectors met after the Leisureland gala and their deliberations are yet to be revealed.
A decision by Smith on whether or not she will compete in the European Championships in Seville in August could depend, to an extent, on her PR commitments. She would need three months of largely uninterrupted preparation to progress from her current level of fitness to what would be required to defend her titles.
Smith will be training mostly in Kilkenny where she and her bus band Eric de Bruin have set up their new home.
