Head Coach

Primary Squads:  High Performance and High Performance Transition Squads.

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Janelle Pallister brings a wealth of experience from both her outstanding competitive swimming career and her successful transition into coaching. As an athlete she represented Australia at the 1988 Seoul Olympics where she placed 5th in the 400m freestyle and 6th in the 800m freestyle. Janelle’s career continued to flourish with incredible success at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games where she claimed three medals, gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay, silver in the 800m freestyle, and bronze in the 400m freestyle. She also secured multiple medals at the Pan Pacific Championships, including two golds in the 1500m freestyle. 

After retiring from competition Janelle turned to coaching and was most recently part of the high- performance coaching team at Griffith University where she contributed to the development of Australia’s top swimmers, including Lani Pallister, Meg Harris, and Elijah Winnington. Janelle’s proven track record of success at the highest level combined with her commitment to athlete wellbeing and performance progression makes her the perfect leader for Surrey Park Swimming Club. 

As Head Coach, Janelle is dedicated to fostering an environment that balances technical excellence, mental and physical wellbeing, and a commitment to developing swimmers across all levels – from grassroots to elite performance. Her coaching philosophy is rooted in creating a positive and supportive training environment that ensures every swimmer reaches their full potential. 

“I’m excited about the opportunity to work with Surrey Park Swim Club and Swimming Victoria. Surrey Park has a proud 120-year history in the sport, and it’s an honour to now be part of that legacy,” said Janelle Pallister. “I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together as a team, and where we can take Surrey Park into the future.” 

Senior Coach

Primary Squads: State Performance and State Junior Squads

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Anthony Di Petta is a Silver licenced swim coach who joined Surrey Park’s coaching team in 2021. Previously he was Assistant Coach at Ruyton Girls School.

Anthony has been in the Aquatics industry for over 18 years having started off as a Learn To Swim instructor. He then moved on to coaching junior swimmers and has progressed up the coaching ranks since and has developed a number of National Age qualifiers.

Anthony now holds a Swimming Australia Development Advanced Coach Licence (Silver). He has also completed a Diploma in Health Science.

Senior Coach

Primary Squads: National Age Performance and National Target Squads

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Elijah is a Development Licenced Coach. Elijah was originally from Canberra. He competed at National level and then later became Head Coach at the Ginninderra Swimming Club. Elijah’s most recent coaching position has been on the Sunshine Coast at St Andrews Swimming Club. There he worked in a National Development role as well as an assistant to the High Performance squad coach working closely with current Australian Team members.

Elijah will work across all of the National squads but will initially spend most of his time with the National Target Squad to assist in developing the next generation of National-level Surrey Park athletes.

Lead Junior Coach

Primary Squads: State Development and Junior Squads

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Matt competed for Surrey Park as a State Level swimmer in both pool and open water events for a number of years. In addition, he qualified for and represented Surrey Park at the Australian Open Water Championships.

Matt originally worked as an Instructor in Surrey Park’s Learn to Swim program and went on to assist with the co-ordination of Surrey Park’s Schools Program. He then obtained a Swimming Australia Development Coach Licence (Bronze) and started coaching the Club’s Junior Squads. He has now accumulated a number of years of experience coaching at different levels within the Surrey Park program.

Matt’s focus on technique and skills is very important for younger newer squad swimmers. He also develops a great rapport with them.

Matt is now Surrey Park’s Lead Junior Coach, In this role, he oversees the Club’s whole junior squad program on behalf of the Head Coach. He also assists with the co-ordination of the transition of swimmers from learn to swim into the Club’s Junior Squad Program.

Senior Coach

Primary Squads: Open Performance, State Senior and State Target Squads

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Michael is a Bronze Licenced Coach. He has been involved in sports and fitness programs over more than 16 years.  He also has a Certificate III and IV in Fitness Training. During the past few years Michael’s emphasis has been on activation and rehabilitation, particularly in swimming.

Michael is the primary coach of both Surrey Park’s Open Performance, State Senior and State Target Squads. He also assists with coaching of the Club’s other squads. In addition he is helping with the development and training of instructors who work in Surrey Park’s learn to swim program.

Anna Orelli

Anna is a current Surrey Park athlete who trains with our Open Performance Squad. She is an exceptional athlete working diligently towards Nationals times by completing eight swim sessions and three gym sessions a week. She is an experienced learn to swim instructor and coach who assists our Club’s Junior and State State Development squads. Her experience and work ethic, make her a great role model for the Surrey Park’s younger swimmers.

Anthony Lin

Anthony holds a Swimming Australia Development Coach Licence (Bronze). He has extensive swimming experience and is an athlete in our High Performance Squad. This experience, coupled with Anthony’s fun attitude and attention to detail, ensure sessions are fun and our younger squad swimmers learn and grow to the best of their ability. Anthony works closely with our Lead Junior Coach and assists with coaching the Club’s Junior and State State Development squads.

Chris Tang

Chris holds a Swimming Australia Development Coach Licence (Bronze) and has worked for Surrey Park Swimming for many years starting out in Surrey Park’s Learn to Swim Program. Chris continues to teach and coach as a Swimming Instructor, Lead Instructor, and Learn to Swim Development Squad coach. Chris’s work ethic and gentle nature, coupled with his presence across both Surrey Park’s Learn to Swim program and Club squads, help our swimmers be as prepared as possible for their Club swimming journey. Chris assists with coaching the Club’s Junior Squads.

Hamish McDougall

Hamish holds a Swimming Australia Development Coach Licence (Bronze). Hamish has been in the Surrey Park family for most of his swimming life. He has extensive experience as a former Surrey Park High Performance swimmer and current surf lifesaver. Hamish has exceptional Open Water experience and recently went with the Surrey Park Open Water team to Queensland and will head away to Hamish works closely with the Head Coach and assists with different squads across the Club.

Jazmyn Kursidim

Jazmyn swam with Surrey Park Swimming since she was a pre-schooler and progressed through our program to compete as a State Level swimmer. She competed with Surrey Park for a number of years and was even a State finalist! She has works as a teacher and Lead Instructor in the Surrey Park Swimming, Learn to Swim program, and coaches our Junior Squads alongside our Lead Junior Coach. Jazmyn has first hand understanding of the technique and training standards upheld in all of the Club’s squads and pathways.

Qiao Ning Huang

Qiao holds a Swimming Australia Development Coach Licence (Bronze). She is a secondary school teacher with a passion for teaching and coaching swimming. Qiao assists with coaching of the Club’s Junior Squads and also works  in Surrey Park’s Learn to Swim program.