19 Jan 2013

Australian sports administrator to lead Swimming New Zealand

5:08 am on 19 January 2013

Australian sports administrator Christian Renford has been appointed as chief executive of Swimming New Zealand, filling the role left vacant since the resignation of the previous head last May.

Mike Byrne resigned following the release of an independent review, which criticised the national organisation and called for the entire board to resign and Byrne to be removed.

In the meantime, Swimming New Zealand has undergone a whole of sport review by an independent panel.

The Swimming New Zealand Chair, Dr Brent Layton, says the review addressed the issues faced by the sport and the majority of the recommendations have now been implemented.

He says they have adopted a new constitution, have a new Board, a new Chair and a new High Performance Director and believes swimming is moving towards the review's vision for the future of the sport in the country.

He says Renford has displayed strong leadership and a clear focus in terms of organisational direction in his roles, and that is what the Board believe is required.

Renford has been the Chief Executive of Rowing New South Wales for the past four years and has a background in swimming and was formerly the national surf sports manager at Surf Life Saving Australia.