Mexico: The Confederacion Centroamericana y del Caribe de Aficionados a la Natacion (CCCAN) has cancelled its multi-disciplinary championships in Mexico City and Cuernavaca because of the outbreak of Swine 'flu in the region. The CCCAN has issued an appeal to all affiliated federations to step forward if they are able to host all or any number of disciplines on the dates of the original event, namely, June 28 to July 6. Offers should be received by CCCAN by May 10.
France: Francis Luyce, the president of the French swim federation since 1993, attended a judicial hearing at the "11 chambre correctionnelle du tribunal de Paris" this morning. The citation against him is "illegal conflict of interest while exercising a public service". If found guilty, he faces a maximum jail sentence of five years and a penalty of 75,000 euros. The affair dates back to 2006, stems from two anonymous letters sent to the public prosecutor and boils down to a contract signed between the FFN (swim federation) and two companies that bid for work with the FFN, Cartaix and Paragon. The "problem" as L'Equipe puts it today, is that Luyce's son, François-Xavier, works as a technician at Cartaix. Luyce says that that was purely coincidental. There was "no material or moral conflict of interest, neither direct or indirect," said M Marie-Christine Chastant-Morand, Luyce's lawyer. He had not "gained personally" from the contract, nor had his son had anything to do with negotiations between the FFN and Cartaix. The decision as to which firm to deal with had been taken by the FFN "in a totally transparent ... way," the lawyer added.
Britain: Not often that Plymouth Leander can lay claim to getting their youth squad past the best of the shoal across the nation but coach Jon Rudd and his team have now done it twice, retaining their crown this year at the 40th National Swimming League Cup Final of England and Wales at the Ponds Forge in Sheffield. Rudd tells SwimNews that only four English clubs have managed successive victories in the history of the event. Plymouth also won the Relay Challenge Trophy, while the best male award went to to Antony James, with a 53.55 in the Open 100m butterfly. Rudd said: "Our swimmers work hard and work smart and are always up for one of the few competitions were it’s about ‘us’ as a unit. I believe that our coaching team is arguably the best in the country." A tall claim. Those interested in finding out more about the programme and links to education scholarships with Plymouth College and Plymouth Leander can find information here. The 2009 League Cup result top 3: 1, Plymouth Leander, 400 points; 2, Stockport Metro, 359; 3, Millfield School, 322.
