When Shaun Curtis talks about the pathway from first lessons to international representation, he means it literally.
As Program Manager at South Australia Aquatic & Leisure Centre (SAALC) and Head Coach of Marion Swimming Club, he oversees swimming at every level of the sport, from children taking their first strokes through to athletes chasing Commonwealth Games selection.
This season, that pathway produced six of them.
Kyle Chalmers, Brittany Castelluzzo, Matt Temple, para swimmer Rowan Crothers, para swimmer Jasmin Fullgrabe and distance swimmer Molly Walker have all earned selection to represent Australia at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. Curtis himself has been named as one of the Australian Dolphins coaching staff for the Games.
The thing I’m most proud of is that this is a result of years of work by a whole community of people, not a single coach or a single athlete
His role at SAALC spans the full spectrum. He is involved in the transition from learn-to-swim into competitive squads, and he sees that early experience as the foundation everything else is built on.
“There’s a lot more to swimming than swimming up and down in front of a black line,” he said. “The life lessons you get from being a committed person who does something hard every day, that’s what stays with you. It teaches you how to do things that are uncomfortable. Because all of it is uncomfortable.”
That philosophy carries through to the elite program, including his work with Chalmers, whom Curtis coached as a junior and has worked with again for the past two years.
“Kyle has taken on a real leadership focus within Australian swimming,” Curtis said. “He craves team success as well as individual success. That’s what keeps him at this level.”
The same approach applies equally across the para swimming program.
“I think one of the things that many people with a disability crave most is being treated the same as everyone else,” Curtis said. “The coaching might need to adapt, but the values and the approach are the same.”
For Curtis, Glasgow represents the pathway working exactly as intended.
“This is what the pathway looks like in practice,” he said. “And we’re incredibly proud of every one of them.”
The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games runs from 23 July to 2 August. Swimming takes place from 24 to 29 July at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre and will be broadcast on Channel Seven.
Good luck to Shaun and all six athletes representing Australia in Glasgow.
