New National Centre Coach Named For Swimming
1998-12-12

PRESS RELEASE - Bud McAllister, coach of 1988 Olympic Games triple gold medallist Janet Evans, has been named director of swimming and head coach of the Kitchener-Waterloo National Swimming Centre at Wilfrid Laurier University (K-WNSC) in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, McAllister has spent most of his 20-year coaching career in California, including coaching positions in Mission Viejo, in Coronado and in Fullerton, California. Twice named the American Swim Coaches Association Coach of the Year, McAllister has been the head coach of the Golden West Swim Club in Huntington Beach, California since 1993.

At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, McAllister led American swimming superstar Janet Evans to gold medals in the 800m freestyle, the 400m individual medley, as well as a gold medal and world record in the 400m freestyle. In total, Evans set six individual world records during her swimming career with McAllister and was named World Swimmer of the Year in 1987 and 1988.

Other world-ranked swimmers who have seen success with McAllister include 1991 and 1993 Pan Pacific gold medallist Kristine Quance, 1987 Pan American gold medallist Julie Martin, American 1500m freestyle champion Alexis Larsen, 1996 Olympian and Japanese national record holder Suzu Chiba, and 1988 Canadian Olympic team member Darren Ward.

"The Canadian swimming community is extremely pleased to be hiring a coach of such high calibre," says Bill McFarlane, President of Swimming/Natation Canada. "Bud brings international gold medal experience to the Canadian swimming program, having had excellent success in endurance freestyle and individual medley swimming. We're looking forward to the impact that he will have on swimming in Ontario and Canada."

Nationally-recognized coach Dean Boles, who is head coach of both the Region of Waterloo Swim Club and the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks, has been named the associate coach of the K-WNSC. McAllister and Boles will join forces and work together towards producing world-level high performance swimmers. This will include the design of training programs and competitive strategies, and liaison with the centre's support programs such as sport science, sport medicine, and athlete services.

McAllister is preparing for his transfer to Canada with a targeted start date of January 15, 1999. Once in position, he will report to Swimming Canada's coach of high performance services, Dave Johnson.

McAllister will bring his wife Terri, originally from Timmins, Ontario and son, Kyle to the Kitchener-Waterloo area.

The K-WNSC and its director of swimming/head coach position were created and funded through a partnership between Swimming/Natation Canada, Swim Ontario, the Region of Waterloo Swim Club, the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo.

Swimming/Natation Canada (SNC) currently operates four national swimming centres across the country -- in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, and Kitchener-Waterloo. A fifth, which is operating in principle and soon-to-be officially open, is located in Winnipeg.