OUR COACHES

A nationally experienced and accredited coach with more than 30 years experience, Huia established the Waitaha Aquatic Centre, Canterbury Swim School and Waitaha Swim Club alongside Jenny Jones in 2013.
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Huia has taught and coached swimmers from Learn to Swim right through to Open National and International Level competitors, and has been committed to swimming and assisting youth in the community for many years.

In 2015 Huia and Jenny were presented Service Awards by Swimming New Zealand in recognition of their outstanding contribution over many years to swimming.
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Huia currently coaches the Distance squad

Zyiu is a China certified Swim Coach and, prior to joining us, was Assistant Coach with the Beijing Sport University team in Beijing and has coached the Beitichanye group in Beijing. He has also been a research assistant for the China National Swimming team and has published over 10 peer-reviewed articles on swimming performance and sports science, contributing to the advancement of training methodologies and athlete development.

Ziyu is currently completing his PhD at the University of Canterbury under the guidance of Carl Petersen, whom we are also fortunate to have on our coaching team.

Ziyu says his PhD “focuses on how strength and conditioning can improve swimming performance, especially how strength gains transfer into the water. I’m particularly interested in swimming economy and middle- to long-distance performance, but the same ideas also apply to sprint swimming through power, starts, turns, and efficient technique. My research looks beyond race times and uses evidence-based measures such as applied physiology, swimming economy, stroke mechanics, and swimming-specific force/power to understand why swimmers improve. You could describe it simply as evidence-based swimming performance, strength and conditioning, and how land training transfers to the pool.”

Matthew's been been teaching since 2009, and coaching competitive swimmers since 2016.

He was 8 when he started swimming competitively under Huia's coaching, until a shoulder injury at 14 got the better of him. Matthew said that while he represented the Canterbury West Coast region at the old South Island Champs, hands down the best part of swimming were the swim camps (and we still have them every summer!)

When Matthew's not poolside he's a maths/science enthusiast who also loves skiing & snowboarding, mountain biking, gaming, and tinkering with projects.

We’re super fortunate to have Dr Carl Petersen, Strength and Conditioning Coach and Applied Sport Scientist at the University of Canterbury here with us and taking some of our swim school groups as well as Waitaha Swim Club squads.

Carl lectures in Sports Nutrition as well as Strength and Conditioning and is currently supervising PhD students with a research interest in enhancing physical performance, and personally undertakes applied swimming research investigating potential performance enhancement strategies.

Carl is running the dryland training for the squads and is applying his research with his developed and coaching of the "Lightning Sprint" and the "Dolphin Distance" swimming programmes and is also teaching some of our swim school students, often using advanced technology with headsets and various swimming aids. Not only is this a fantastic opportunity for our swim school students, but Carl is also a great resource for our teachers and coaches with whom he willingly shares his ideas!

Swimming has been a lifelong passion for Shona — from learning as a young swimmer to now helping the next generation build confidence, skills, and enjoyment in the water.

Coached early by nationally respected coach Morry Doidge, Shona developed a strong technical foundation and a love for the sport that continued through Masters swimming, ocean events, and triathlon competition.

With a background in Science, anatomy, and architecture, Shona brings both technical understanding and attention to detail into every training session. Her coaching style combines strong stroke fundamentals with encouragement, fun, and athlete development.
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After supporting her three daughters through their own swimming journeys, Shona became deeply involved in the wider swimming community through officiating and club volunteering, gaining extensive experience in how swimmers grow both in and out of the pool.

Shona is passionate about:
Building strong technique from a young age
Creating positive squad culture
Developing confident, resilient swimmers
Helping athletes enjoy the process of improvement
Supporting families within the club environment

“Great swimming comes from consistency, confidence, and loving the sport.” MP