Established in 2004 to provide financial and professional assistance to help develop and support elite competitors, the Carlile Foundation was the brainchild of Forbes and Ursula Carlile.
The Carlile Foundation’s goal is to create an environment which provides every opportunity for aspiring athletes to be the best they can be. As Forbes Carlile said, “Our goal is not to create a champion but to create an atmosphere where champions are inevitable.” Indeed, the Foundation supported Paris Olympic Gold Medal-winning swimmer Olivia Wunsch and water polo silver medallist Sienna Hearn.
While only a select few go on to be Olympic champions the journey itself provides lifelong lessons, creating resilient and courageous people. This is central to the Carlile Foundation’s purpose.
Forbes and Ursula Carlile, were not just pioneers in sports science and coaching they were visionaries who created the Carlile Foundation to ensure Carlile Swimming would support a world class competitive program for years to come.
Traditionally, squad programs around the world operate at significant financial losses. Coaching elite competitive swimmers and surf athletes is an unprofitable venture. High Performance Programs must be subsidised to survive.
Since 2004 the Carlile Foundation has donated millions of dollars to support competitive swimming in Australia.
This enables the Carlile Swim Team to employ world class coaches such as GB and Australian Olympic coach Chris Nesbit, who himself has placed 28 swimmers on Olympic teams. The sports science support, physio, diet and infrastructure available to the Carlile Swimming Team rivals many state-based programmes and is unequalled by any club in the country.
Carlile Foundation Directors, John Coutts, Richard Cahalan and Tim Ford, all international swimming competitors, are determined to ensure the Foundation continues to support high performance swimming into the future.
Competitive swimming was a lifelong passion for both Forbes and Ursula. Forbes was Australia’s first Olympic swimming coach and Ursula the first woman to coach our swimming team at the Olympics.
Both are members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the only husband and wife coaching team to have achieved such an honour. They are also members of the Australian Swim Schools Association Hall of Fame, The Swim Australia Hall of Fame and they are both Life members of Swimming Australia
With Sally Lockyer and Jenny Turrall teenage Carlile swimmers who once dead heated in a world record time in the 1500 freestyle. The referee determined Jenny was the winner who therefore claimed the world record, despite the times being even something that couldn’t happen today. Sadly, Sally never broke another world record.
— Forbes Carlile
We make every swimmer safe, strong, and comfortable in the water, whether they’re taking their first splash as babies or refining competitive strokes. With a proven approach that combines world-class expertise and a caring environment, Carlile helps swimmers reach their full potential so they can swim with confidence for life.
Welcome To Carlile Swim
