Coaches Boxall, Higson, MacDonald & Meiring Lead Commonwealth Team At ISL All-Stars Comeback
The International Swimming League is back, for its comeback All-Star Match in London on December 19, today marking the arrival of the first four coaches for the "Commonwealth Team" ahead of battle with USA, Europe and Team Intercontinental for 'the largest prize pool for a single night of racing'
Dean Boxall, Ben Higson, Byron MacDonald and Rocco Meiring, coaches who have guided a galaxy of star swimmers to major international podiums, Olympic gold aplenty in the mix, have been named as the coaches who will lead the Commonwealth Team for the ISL's comeback All-Star Match at the London Aquatics Centre on Saturday, December 19.
That date is meaningful: it was December 2018 when the ISL launched with its first competition at the same London Olympic pool, a new shoreline built in the sport, the hollow threats of FINA leaders, some still in leadership positions at rebranded World Aquatics to this day, crashing on the rocks as athletes stood their ground and insisted they had a legal right to choose the competitions at which to compete, build their profiles and earn a living from the sport ion which they excelled.
The 2026 format for the All-Star Match is a new version of a long-mentioned concept, the popular duals in the pool a guiding light: the Commonwealth is up against the USA, Europe and a conglomeration of intercontinental teams: 4 teams, 96 athletes racing for:
"The largest prize pool ever offered for a single night of competitive swimming"
It's eight years since the ISL and a large shoal of the world's best swimmers defied FINA's attempts to block them from forming a new competitive environment for swimming.
Much water under the bridge, legal and financial arguments settled along the way, and the League now making a welcome comeback in the city where it all started. A good moment to remember a watershed in the sport:
From the archive of my writing, November 2018:
As recalled by the ISL:
London - December 19, 2026 - A Date For Your Diary:
The Commonwealth Team will be coached by Dean Boxall (Australia), Ben Higson (Scotland), Byron MacDonald (Canada) and Rocco Meiring (South Africa) are the first coaches confirmed for the All-Star Match, in which the Commonwealth Team will face the United States, Europe and Intercontinental teams.
Announcements for other coaching teams and the line-ups of athletes will flow in the weeks ahead.
Ben Allen, Commissioner of the International Swimming League, said:
“The Commonwealth has produced some of the greatest names and nights swimming has seen, and this coaching staff belongs to that tradition. Byron, Dean, Ben and Rocco have coached Olympic champions and world-record holders, they know how to succeed on the biggest occasions, and two of them were part of the ISL’s original seasons. The first of our four teams is taking shape, and the names in the water will follow very soon.”
The Commonwealth Team’s first star athletes will be revealed very soon, with the coaches of the United States, Europe and Intercontinental Teams to be announced in the coming weeks.
- Tickets for the All-Star Match go on general sale through Ticketmaster at midday (UK time) on Friday, 30 October, with fans who have pre-registered at isl.global receiving presale access from Thursday, 29 October:
4 teams, 96 Athletes - the lowdown:
The Commonwealth Team coaches
Byron MacDonald (Canada): Head coach of the University of Toronto, now in his 49th season, and Toronto Titans head coach in the league's original run. A 1972 Olympian, double Commonwealth Games champion and two-time Gemini Award-winning broadcaster, MacDonald has sent 70-plus swimmers onto international teams and coached Kylie Masse to Olympic medals, a world title and a world record.
Dean Boxall (Australia): Head coach at St Peters Western in Brisbane and a record four-time Australian Coach of the Year. Boxall guided Ariarne Titmus to back-to-back Olympic 400m freestyle titles and Mollie O’Callaghan to 200m freestyle gold at Paris 2024, where his swimmers featured in four of Australia’s seven swimming gold medals and 12 of its 18 pool medals.
Ben Higson (Scotland): Head coach of the University of Stirling’s high-performance programme, where his earlier group included Duncan Scott and Ross Murdoch. Higson has coached at three Olympic Games for three different nations (Great Britain, Ireland and Australia), led Swim Ireland’s national programme and the Western Australian Institute of Sport, and was part of London Roar’s coaching set-up in the ISL’s original seasons.
Rocco Meiring (South Africa): Head of programme and head coach of TuksSwimming at the University of Pretoria, Meiring coached Tatjana Smith to Olympic breaststroke gold at both Tokyo and Paris, and five of South Africa’s eight swimmers at the Paris Games. His group’s recent successes include Pieter Coetzé’s 2025 world 100m backstroke title, and his 50m backstroke short-course world record, set this month.
The International Swimming League (ISL) on what its' about:
"Forget everything you thought you knew about swimming.
"The ISL tore up the rulebook. It built something the sport had never seen before: fast, ferociously competitive, team-based racing designed for fans, built for broadcast, and made to deliver unforgettable moments. The ISL gave the biggest names in swimming what elite athletes in other premier sports already had - a stage of their own. Real prize money. Team pride. High stakes on every single length, where the clock is not the only thing that matters.
"Across three unforgettable seasons between 2019 and 2021, the ISL lit up three continents with competing franchise clubs from North America, Europe and Asia, and a roster stacked with the greatest swimmers on the planet. Two-hour matches crackling with intensity.
"Point scoring that turned every race into a team battle. Coaches plotting line-ups, saving their strongest swimmers, and timing every selection to maximise points. Fierce rivalries igniting the moment the water broke, swimmer against swimmer, team against team, with everything on the line. The ISL didn't just prove swimming could be entertaining. It proved it could be electric.
"And now, the ISL is back. The League returns sharper, smarter and built to last. This is the next chapter of a movement that changed what swimming could be and it's about to do it again, bigger and bolder than ever.
About The All-Star Match:
On Saturday 19 December 2026, the ISL is hosting its All-Star Match in London: a one-night showcase of the world's fastest swimmers in a unique two-hour head-to-head competition. This is not a heats-and-finals meet: every race counts, every touch moves the scoreboard, and one team leaves London crowned champions.
The match marks the return of the ISL, bringing back the dynamic, unpredictable version of swimming in a world-class venue with a live crowd and global audience watching the best compete head-to-head.
Expect high-octane racing from first event to last, team tactics, momentum swings, and a venue energised by a DJ, with unique visual and audio production galvanising the atmosphere between races. Whether you have followed the ISL from the start or this is your first taste of swimming reimagined, London in December is where the sport comes back to life.
Along the way:
Craig Lord
