World renowned coach Biz Price will leave her position as National Performance Director for British Synchronised Swimming today.
With the programmes and support Price has provided to British Synchro over the last seven years, the sport has achieved things that it has never done before.
The sport sent a full contingent to the London 2012 Olympic Games and showed their competitiveness on a world stage.
Price took over the reigns of the sport in 2007 and she set up the High Performance Centre in Aldershot that led to the athletes being centralised. The sharpest rise in performances in the sport’s history quickly followed.
"It is hard to believe we have had so many highs in such a short period of time,"
- Biz Price
“The opportunity to design a new programme and system for the sport and then take the athletes to their home Olympics was definitely the high point of my journey with British Swimming.
“There has been a positive change in culture for the sport of synchronised swimming in the UK with a better appreciation and understanding of this unique sport.
“Seeing the athletes compete in London 2012 was a great experience and one I will never forget. Taking a full team and duet to the Games and seeing them perform so well under pressure was a reward to the athletes, programme and the talented staff who worked so hard to make their competitive ambitions come true.
“I will look back with pride on the journey we have undertaken and hope that with the new crop of talented athletes that new funding will be gained in the future.
“I wish British Swimming and the athletes all the best in future and hope that they continue on their journey to excellence in the sport of synchronised swimming.”
High Performance Manager Lauren Smith added: “It is such a sad day to see Biz Price leave the British Synchro team after the phenomenal amount of time, effort and passion she has put in to the sport in the past seven years.
“British Synchro has made such a dramatic improvement in results and standard which is recognised all over the world. When I was an athlete under Biz, she enabled me to achieve my goals and ambitions as well as inspire me with her expert knowledge and experience.
“I would also like to thank her for assisting my development in my career as High Performance Manager. She will be sadly missed by everyone in the British synchro community.”
Former synchronised swimmer and current coach Katie Dawkins said: “We started our journey with Biz in 2007 and she gave us the opportunity to represent our country at our home Olympics which is the best thing that I have done in my life. I will always be grateful for the opportunities Biz has given to all of us.
"Biz is an amazing coach and choreographer who has done so much for synchronised swimming in Great Britain,"
- Katie Dawkins
Current British Gas Synchro Team member Genevieve Randall said: “It’s very sad that Biz is leaving because she is the best coach we have ever had and knows how to develop athletes very quickly. For me personally, I was the reserve for the team at World Championships in 2013 and now I have got to the point that I swim in all of our programmes and I want to thank Biz for that.
“She gave us all the mentality that you have to always start at 100 per cent and never let that drop. She always believed in us and our potential for the future. She made me believe that I can compete with the best in the world and she will be missed in Aldershot every day.”
Jodie Cowie added: “I want to thank Biz for the opportunities that she has given me. I got to compete for my country at the World Championships and that is something I will never forget.
“Biz is known worldwide for her coaching ability and to be coached first-hand by someone of her calibre has been fantastic. She instilled within all of us the idea of always giving everything you could to make sure that you were performing at your best and this mentality will stick with us.”
Hannah Randall commented: “Since February 2013 we’ve all had a massive improvement from working with Biz full time and that is down to her coaching and programmes that she created.
“She really inspired us when we joined the squad and made us believe that our dream of competing at the Rio Olympics could be a reality. She’ll be missed on poolside by the whole squad and we want to thank her for everything.”