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For over seventy years, The Etobicoke Swim Club has been one of the top age-group swim clubs in Canada, a stature demonstrated by its championship banners, the percentage of national age group records held by members (30%),and the number of swimmers placed on Olympic teams (36). The club's success has always been fueled by exceptional coaches, many of whom have represented Canada at events like the Pan Am, Commonwealth and Olympic Games.
To build on that legacy, ESWIM has announced the appointment of Marc Spackman to the position of Director of Swimming & Head Coach. "This is a tremendously exciting outcome for ESWIM, and every athlete - current and future - who will be impacted by Coach Spackman's leadership", said Janet Morrison, President of ESWIM. "Marc's unwavering commitment to excellence as an athlete and coach, combined with his character and strong interpersonal skills, make him the ideal candidate for the exceptional leadership opportunity", she said.
Competitive swimming has been Marc Spackman's personal and professional passion since he was young. As an athlete, he swam for Great Britain at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and won two major games medals at World Championships in Hong Kong (1999) and Athens (2000). He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design from Nottingham Trent University in2006 and, while enrolled, started coaching with the Lincoln Vulcans Swimming Club. He was promoted to Head Coach, and subsequently moved to the Borough of Harrow Swimming Club, the Maxwell Swim Club, and - in 2014 - to his current role as Head Coach of the Royal School Wolverhampton. Marc has served as a Coach for Great Britain at Major Games, as Head Coach on England Talent Camps, and was a British Olympic Association Mentor at the London Olympics. He was selected as a coach on the New York Breakers team in the International Swimming League (ISL) for two seasons: Hungary (2020) and Naples (2021). Across these experiences, he developed and maintained a coaching philosophy grounded in cultivating each athlete's sense of purpose and personal standard of excellence.
Coach Spackman's record of success at the highest levels of competitive swimming are impressive; specifically, he has coached Robert Welbourn (Paralympic gold medalist, World, European and British record holder);Sophie Allen ( Olympian, European Junior silver medalist, British age-group record holder); Elizabeth Simmonds (Olympian, World Championship and European medalist, European Junior Champion, British and European record holder); Alice Dearing (Olympian, European Junior bronze medalist, Senior World and European Championship qualifier); Tom Derbyshire (Commonwealth Youth Champion, European Junior Champion and European Junior silver medalist, British age group recordholder); and, Matthew Richards (Olympic Champion, European Junior Champion, European Junior silver medalist, British and Welsh record holder). He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the BSCA Youth Coach of the Year Award, and the Terry Dennison Award for Coaching Excellence
For over seven decades, ESWIM has served as a consistent,reliable pipeline for exceptional swimming talent in Canada. CoachSpackman is excited to build on that legacy, noting that he "is incrediblyproud to be joining ESWIM, a club renowned for its commitment to excellence." He added that, "I believe that there are no limits, and that with the rightmindset, your capacity to improve is infinite. I'm looking forward to meetingESWIM's exceptional athletes and working together to achieve their goals."
For more information on ESWIM, or Coach Spackman's appointment,please contact Joe Grdisa, General Manager, ESWIM at gm@eswim.ca.