POTOMAC VALLEY SWIMMING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
MEETING NOTES
7:00 PM – WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2008
MCLEAN COMMUNITY CENTER
MCLEAN, VA
Attendance: Board Members: Greg York, Chair, Austin Auger, Art Davis, Boots Hall, Dan Jacobs, Bill Marlin, Jim Thompson, Ron Whalen. Non-voting Board Members: Jim Garner, Karl Hellmann. Executive Director: John Ertter. Individual Members: Janet Auger, John Hirschmann, Tim Husson and Terri Marlin.
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:00 pm by Greg York, General Chair.
Agenda: John Ertter, Executive Director, provided the Board with a proposed Agenda that was adopted.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the January 9, 2008 meeting were unanimously approved.
Athlete’s Report: Austin Auger thanked the Board for its efforts in repairing the scoreboard at Oak Marr prior to Northern Region High School Championships. While he indicated that he preferred that the Region meet not be split by gender for preliminaries, he praised the enhancements of the large screen video and underwater camera at Finals. Auger’s comments were seconded by York who asked that the minutes reflect gratitude to both Jim Thompson and Phil Levine for all their efforts in ensuring the success of the meet.
Planning for PVS Camp: Terri Marlin, PVS Camp Coordinator, provided the Board with the preliminary plans to host a PVS Camp on Sunday, April 27th at Fairland. The proposed camp will be a Level II – addressing the needs of approximately fifty athletes ages 9-12 with a minimum of 3 BB times – at a registration cost of $20.00. To date, she had received three of the five needed coaches’ applications. Marlin indicated that she hoped to have a few senior athletes in attendance to assist with in-water demonstrations. She also expressed her desire to have PVS run clinics for both Stroke & Turn and Starter during the camp’s hours. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved to sanction the camp.
Award of Hosting of PVS 2007-08 LC Season Meets: Marlin presented the bids that had been received to host PVS sponsored meets for the 2007-08 Long Course Season. The following bids were presented for approval:
It was noted that no bids had been received to host the PVS LC Distance meet scheduled for June 21-22, 2008. The Board voted to approve awarding the above meets to these meet hosts.
Competition Committee Meeting Report: Marlin presented to the Board for its review and approval various items arising from the Competition Committee meeting on January 23, 2008.
1. Election of Mike Kraeuter as 2008 Eastern Zone Long Course Head Coach and Peter McDonough as 2008 Eastern Zone Long Course Assistant Head Coach. The Board endorsed the election results.
2. Election of Kristin Bryant, Shelley Gesker, Nathan Meadows and Steve Mennard as 2008 Eastern Zone Short Course Assistant Coaches. The Board endorsed the election results.
3. Competition endorsed the addition to the PVS schedule of the 2009 PVS B/BB Championships to be held on February 20-22, 2009. The Board accepted and approved this recommendation.
4. The 2008 PVS 14/Under Long Course Championships qualifying times were released by the Age Group Chair.
5. Competition reviewed and agreed to continue using last year’s criteria regarding eligible consideration times for the selection process for the PVS 2008 EZ SC Championships. [See http://www.pvswim.org/0708meet/08ez_sc_times_14U.pdf for 14/U Athletes and http://www.pvswim.org/0708meet/08ez_sc_times_15-18.pdf Athletes.] The Board accepted and approved this recommendation.
6. Competition approved the formation of a committee to investigate and make recommendations regarding warm-up procedures at PVS meets.
7. Competition endorsed Senior Chair, Riley Eaton’s, recommendation that Rick Curl’s request to permit participation of approximately 8-10 Australian athletes in the 2008 PVS Junior LC Championships be granted. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved by the Board to grant the exception to the closed meet.
8. Recommended that the Board approve sanctions for the following club sponsored meets:
For the Period April 1, 2008 to August 31, 2008:
· Welcome to Summer – RMSC – May 17-18, 2008 – Rockville (replacement for Bunkey Lewis Mini Meet)
· FISH Just Swim Again LC Derby – FISH – May 17-18, 2008 – GMU
· Maryland States – RMSC – June 6-8, 2008 – Rockville
· Swim Like a FISH Invitational – FISH – June 14-15, 2008 – GMU
For the Period September 1, 2008 to April 30, 2009
· PEAK All Freestyle – PEAK – either October 5, 2008 (1st choice) or October 4, 2008 (2nd choice) – PGS&LC (date dependent upon Redskins’ schedule -- Age Group Chair was given authority to approve the final date)
· Harvest Moon – HAAC – October 11-12, 2008 – Herndon
· MSSC All Freestyle – MSSC – October 11-12, 2008 – Fairland
· Victor 12/U Invitational – SDS -- October 11-12, 2008, South Run
· Senior Circuit – PEAK – October 25-26, 2008 (1st choice), October 18-19, 2008 (2nd choice) or November 22-23, 2008 (3rd choice) – PGS&LC (dates dependent upon Redskins’ schedule – Age Group Chair was given authority to approve the final date)
· MSSC Senior Meet – MSSC – November 1-2, 2008 – Fairland
· Swim & Rock – SDS – November 21-23, 2008 – Oak Marr
· FAST Qualifier – FAST – November 22-23, 2008 – Fairland
· Pilgrim Pentathlon – CUBU – November 23, 2008 – Claude Moore
· Christmas Championships – MSSC – December 5-7, 2008 – Fairland
· Machine Turkey Claus Championships – MACH – December 5-7, 2008 – Takoma
· Tom Dolan Invitational – CUBU – December 11-14, 2008 – TBD
· Sport Fair Winter Classic – PM – December 19-21, 2008 – TBD
· 14/Under Polar Bear Invitational – SDS – January 10-11, 2009—South Run
· Snowball Splash – CUBU – January 11, 2009 – American University
· Potomac Marlin JO Qualifier – PM – February 7-8, 2009 – Cub Run
· FISH Qualifier – FISH – February 7-8, 2009 – Spring Hill
· President’s Day Classic – OCCS – February 14-16, 2009 – Freedom Center
· Machine/York Qualifier – MACH/YORK – February 28-March 1, 2009 – Warrenton
· Spring Championships – MSSC – March 27-29, 2009 -- Fairland
· Early Bird LC – MSSC – May 2-3, 2009 – Fairland
Addressing the meets for the period April 1, 2008 to August 31, 2008, Marlin pointed out to the Board that FISH acknowledged that its Just Swim Again LC Derby Meet coincided with PVS Age Group/Senior I, and confirmed that they would continue their past practice so that the meet would be an invitational with a goal of significant participation of non-PVS clubs. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved to sanction these four meets.
A motion was then made and seconded to approve sanctions for the meets presented for the period September 1, 2008 to May 30, 2009. Considerable discussion occurred prior to a vote on the motion. Ron Whalen, Operations Chair, expressed grave concern about PVS’s ability to adequately staff Officials for such a large number of meets, especially considering the number of weekends where three meets were being proposed. York pointed out that this number of meets was necessary in order to serve the sheer number of PVS athletes currently registered and wishing to compete.
Other points raised during the discussion included:
· That times achieved at meets without proper Officials staffing should not be loaded into the SWIMS database or otherwise be recognized as being Official Times.
· If additional meets are to be added to the PVS calendar, there needs to be a corresponding increase in the number of certified officials.
· Some officials are choosing not to increase their level of certification due to the potential increased demand on their volunteering to staff the additional meets.
· A suggestion was made that an Agenda item be added to the upcoming House of Delegates meeting regarding a minimum Officials requirement at PVS meets.
A compromise plan was offered under which the meets would be provisionally approved to be placed on the PVS calendar, but a sanction not be formally granted until receipt of the name of the Referee responsible for the meet. Following a motion and second, the motion was approved.
The Board next discussed a requirement that all future meet announcements include a section identifying the “Referee Responsible for the Meet.” Following a motion and second, the Board voted to adopt this requirement.
2008 LC Zones Planning: Marlin informed the Board he was encountering objections from Fairfax County over the use of Pohick Bay for the Open Water events. A meeting has been scheduled in the hopes of overcoming their concerns.
Update on PVS Membership Study: Prior to the meeting, Jim Thompson, Strategic Chair, distributed to all Board members an Update on the PVS Membership Study. Analyzing meets held in PVS from October 1, 2003 through August 1, 2007, yielded several key points:
Thompson also provided a handout illustrating the density of PVS registrations in Fairfax County. He indicated that his next steps were: (1) to examine the end of season extracts provided by the PVS Registrar, (2) provide finer granularity analysis on PVS Membership at the March Board meeting, and (3) prepare a report for the upcoming House of Delegates meeting.
Webmaster’s / Technology Report: Prior to the meeting, all members of the Board received a Monthly Report from Tim Husson, PVS Webmaster that summarized his accomplishments and initiatives. In addition to his report, Board members were provided samples of both Virginia Swimming’s and USA-S’s privacy policies. Husson indicated he would be using this and other information to make a recommendation to the PVS Board regarding an appropriate privacy policy for PVS.
Travel Assistance for USA-S Select Camp Attendance: John Ertter, Executive Director, informed the Board that he had received a request from the parent of a PVS athlete for travel assistance for the athlete to attend an Eastern Zone Select Camp in Buffalo, NY from June 2-5, 2008. Noting that no funds had been budgeted for this expense, he cited where PVS Policies & Procedures state that PVS will provide support of up too $300 for said assistance. At his recommendation, a motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved provide up to $300 travel reimbursement assistance for attendance at the USA-S Select Camp as long as the appropriate requirements are met.
Administrative Division: Art Davis, Administrative Chair, presented a handout outlining future PVS membership registration fees. He explained that the impetus for creating the document was an inquiry from a member club working on its next year’s budget. The Board endorsed posting the document on the PVS website following verification of the numbers.
Executive Director’s Report: Prior to the meeting, the Executive Director’s monthly report had been distributed to all members of the Board. Ertter emphasized his need for budget input from all Board members to enable him to prepare a draft 2008-09 Budget. He announced his intent to present an initial draft at the March 5, 2008 Board meeting.
Operations Division: Whalen had nothing to report.
Senior Division: Riley Eaton was not present and had not submitted a report.
Age Group Division: Bill Marlin indicated he had nothing further to report.
Coaches Representatives: Dan Jacobs indicated that he had nothing to report.
Officials Committee Report: Jim Van Erden, Officials Committee Chair, submitted a written report.
Officials Representative: Boots Hall reported that, at the recently held Officials Committee meeting, it was proposed that an Officials Co-Chair position be created. The proposal is currently under review. Additionally, the decision was made to request N-2 National Certification for both the Tom Dolan Invitational Meet and PVS Senior Championships.
Other Reports: York informed the Board that Janet, Auger, PVS Administrative Assistant, had submitted her 90-day notice of resignation and that a committee has been formed to hire her replacement. A position description and request for applications will be posted on the PVS website within ten days.
York announced that the 2008 House of Delegates meeting had been scheduled for May 21, 2008, McLean Community Center at 6:30 PM. He proposed and the Board endorsed the formation of a Nomination Committee comprised of Riley Eaton, Jim Garner, John Hirschmann, Brian Pawlowicz and himself.
York next recognized Boots Hall on her selection as the January recipient of the Maxwell Excellence Award for service to local swimming.
Old Business: Art Davis provided an update on the status of the PVS Officials Requirement fines. To date, one club has paid the fine in full, one club has made a partial payment and the remaining clubs have either filed appeals or have indicated their intent to file appeals.
Next Board Meeting: The Chair announced that its next Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 5th, 6:30 PM at McLean Community Center.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM.
Respectfully submitted by,
Janet Auger
Administrative Assistant