The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. on April 18 at Whitman HS. by Thirl Crudup, General Chairman. In attendance were Kelly Burke, Manga Dalizu, Mark Eldridge, Kerry Ellett, John Ertter, Ward Foley, John Hirschmann, Linda Klopfenstein, George Massey, Kit Mathews, Peter Verdin, Greg York, Irene Millman and Linda Edmunds.

The General Chairman noted that the Board had a full agenda and requested that discussion be concise and on the topic being discussed.

Approval of the February Minutes:
The General Chairman requested approval of the minutes.

There was discussion of the contents of minutes with regard to motions. The minutes will not reflect the voting decision of any member; rather the final outcome of the motion will be included.

Linda Klopfenstein questioned the accuracy of a statement in the February Board minutes. It was agreed rather than change the record of what happened at the Feb meeting, it would be more appropriate to reflect her concern in these minutes.

Accordingly, Linda Klopfenstein provided the following statement:

Motion to accept the minutes of the February Board of Directors meeting: PASSED.

John Ertter reported that as of March 31, 2000, Potomac Valley Swimming had $271,702 in the bank. Thus far this fiscal year a total of $464, 632 of income was earned and a total of $354,810 in expenses were incurred. There was discussion of the expenses yet to be incurred this fiscal year. It was indicated that by the end of the fiscal year the current surplus is largely expected to be eliminated. This is because during the last 5 months of the fiscal year, the LSC will still incur significant expenses with only limited income anticipated.

Thirl stated that in response to his request for suggestions at the February Board meeting, he had considered some of our volunteers for the 2000 Phillips Outstanding Service Award. This award is based on quality, level and years of service. He proposed a member to receive the award who has shown dedication, quality and a consistent level of support to the organization. There was consensus from the Board for this selection.

Thirl reviewed the proposed agenda for the House of Delegates meeting with the Board. It was confirmed that the House of Delegates meeting would be held on May 23, 2000. Thirl announced the following House of Delegate at-large appointments: Marty Cohen, Linda Crudup, Linda Edmunds, Kerry Ellett, Linda Klopfenstein, John McDonald, Irene Millman, Frank Persico, Don Smith and Marilyn Somensatto. . Thirl asked for discussion on this item, the Board did not take exception to any of the names proposed

Club presentation: A club member of PVS presented to the Board of Directors it's concern with regard to the issue of advertisements in meet programs and the communication between the Board and member clubs. This pertained to programs for PVS sponsored meets for which the club was paying the cost of reproduction. There was discussion of advertising and PVS sponsored versus club meets and whether the policy is being applied consistently. It was noted that a club had been informally advised that what it had done in 1998 was inappropriate only to change that and still be admonished in 1999. It also highlighted that another club had done the same thing as had been criticized in early 2000.

The Board agreed that at the times the matter happened there was no policy in effect. It was also agreed that the General Chairman would extend apologies on behalf of the LSC.

Motion: Heat Sheets and Programs for all PVS sponsored meets will contain no information other than event and heat specific information. Motion: PASSED.

In discussion that followed, it was agreed that the above wording was not intended to preclude meet identifying information (Meet Name, Location, Date, Sanction Number, course length, etc.) from appearing.

There was further discussion of advertising in the programs of club sponsored meets. The Board agreed there currently is no PVS policy in this regard for club sponsored meets. It was however noted the USA Swimming's Code of Conduct (Section 304.4.13) does address this matter.

Meet reconciliation: Ward thanked Thirl for meeting with the invited coaches to discuss meet reconciliation. He stated that there was an overall feeling that this was a great tool which could be used to benefit the LSC while conforming to both USA policy regarding registration and allowing the athletes to swim. Two proposals were put before the Board, which would modify the current Potomac Valley Swimming Policies and Procedures regarding the registration of athletes. There was considerable discussion of these proposals and the impact they would have on the organization.

Some Board members felt that the current practice of assessing a $100 fine if an athlete was not registered with PVS when the meet entries are due should be continued. They stated it was reasonable to the LSC to expect them to verify the registration status of their athletes before entering them into a meet or be subject to a $100 fine. Others felt (as was reflected in the two motions made) that a process should be put in place to allow clubs to be first alerted of discrepancies identified by the Meet Recon process. They should then be given an opportunity to properly register the athletes until shortly before the meet without a fine being assessed.

The specific process proposed in the motion for doing this was discussed including whether the names should be publicly posted on the PVS website or communicated privately via e-mail to the appropriate club. The exact schedule proposed was also discussed and the desire expressed to have an opportunity to test (validate) the process before becoming committed to it via approved procedures. It was also generally recognized that in order to make the process work, it would also be necessary to require meet directors to complete their entry processing and get the appropriate files to the PVS Admin. office by within 2-3 days after they receive the meet entries. It was recognized that if such an approach were to be adopted that it would be appropriate for the parties who would have to implement it to have an opportunity to review it and propose a plan that they believe could be implemented.

Concerns were expressed by some that if there were no financial penalty for not registering athletes until just prior to the meet, clubs would have little incentive to have completed the process by the meet entry deadline. Some proposed a modest assessment ($5 or $10) per unregistered athlete as of the entry due date be assessed in order to discourage this behavior.

The Board recognized that there was a broad range of views within the Board as to how the LSC should proceed on this matter. Accordingly, it was agreed that Thirl would bring a proposal forward to the House of Delegates in order to get their guidance on this matter.

Other New Business: It was agreed this will occur at the end of the meeting in the consideration of the time and given the importance of having time to review the proposed FY '01 budget.

Athlete's Representative: The Athlete Representative present advised that they had no report.

Treasurer's Budget Presentation: John E. distributed the proposed FY 2000-2001 budget. The exhibits provided included the proposed budget by account (and subaccount) for FY'01, with comparisons to FY '99 (budget and actual), FY'00 budget and actual to date) and the basis for all key items in the FY'01 budget. John E gave an overall review of the proposed budget and discussed the basis for all the significant line items in the budget, including pool rentals. Information from divisions submitted in support of their budget requests was provided.

Discussion of various line items of the budget followed. Various Board members asked questions regarding how realistic some of the assumptions were. It was agreed that based on the input received, some revisions need to be made. There was discussion of whether some of the competition venues previously announced should be changed in order to reduce anticipated pool rental costs.

John E. indicated that in order for the FY '01 budget to be in balance, given the budget requests that have been received, he was proposing that LSC's share of athlete membership dues be raised by $5 to $25. John E. also said he believed the LSC should continue to seek a modest surplus each year in order to build back to the USA Swimming recommended reserve of 1 years operating expenses.

Others expressed the desire to have more time to review the budget to see if savings (or more careful review of the assumptions) could avoid (or reduce) the need for an increase in the athletes dues. It was also noted athlete's registration fees had been increased by $10 for the 1998-99 registration year.

As the room used for this meeting is not available after 10 p.m., the meeting had to be recessed at 10:10pm. Thirl indicated he would advise when the meeting would resume and did so by e-mail to the Board members on April 19.

The meeting resumed at 7:20 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25, 2000 at River Falls Community Center. The meeting was called to order by Thirl Crudup, General Chairman. In attendance were Linda Crudup, Mark Eldridge, John Ertter, John Hirschmann, Jim Garner, Greg York, Irene Millman and Linda Edmunds. As a quorum was not present, general discussion followed.

John Ertter reviewed the budget, discussing changes that had been made. He stated that he had worked on the feasibility of eliminating the need for a $5.00 increase in athlete's dues. The proposed budget distributed at the April 25 meeting reflected an increase of $2 in athlete's dues. He noted that pool rentals had been reduced by $10,000 relative to the prior week's presentation. Also, expected reimbursements for summer 2000 Juniors was increased by $10,000 based on a more realistic estimate of likely attendance. Some other smaller adjustments were made including a $2500 decrease in the PVS subsidy to the Zone teams.

John E. pointed out that the current budget does not allow funds for any significant unforeseen contingencies, (unforeseen expenses or reduced revenue), a legal and/or accounting review nor does it allow for surplus. He stated that he did not want to have an increase in the athlete's dues again in the near future and for this reason, he supported the increase of $5.00 for this year.

As related to the budget, a discussion of pool rentals followed. Three possible options involving both short course and long course were presented which showed total costs ranging from $76,100 to $83,700. Irene stated that in order to get contracts on the pools, decisions must be made soon as to which pools will be rented next year. There was discussion of the need to balance providing the more desirable locations for our meets to encourage the highest possible attendance, the need to not overuse any one facility and the need to keep total pool rental costs at a reasonable level. A consensus was reached that for budget purposes, $80,000 was reasonable.

Mark Eldridge questioned the need for the increased subsidy to the Zone team in the budget. John H. stated the desire to have supporting detail of the proposed subsidy for the Zone teams. The possibility of decreasing the subsidy to the Zone team was further discussed.

At 7:45 p.m., quorum was established upon the arrival of Linda Klopfenstein and the following Board members: Manga Dalizu, Ward Foley. Linda K and Ward's arrival was delayed due to their need to participate in a previously scheduled Board of Review matter also scheduled for that evening.

Thirl recapped the discussion that had taken place to that point. There was discussion of how many athletes had traveled to the Spring National meets and the effect of Travel Reimbursement on the budget. Greg questioned the need of the Board to continue to review the budget proposal in detail, when John Ertter had been elected to handle this and obviously had worked hard to budget in the best interest of the LSC. Ward asked how the budget would be affected without an increase in athlete registration fees, John E. responded that PVS would have a projected $9K deficit. Ward proposed areas where costs could be reduced to avoid a dues increase -- reduced support for travel reimbursement and the zone team John E. reiterated his desire to not have a series of small increases. There was discussion of the ability to use better facilities based upon the athlete registration fee increase. Discussion of the use of specific facilities was discussed. Ward stated that he couldn't support the increase in athlete registration fees and suggested that Travel reimbursement and Zone team expenses be examined. Thirl discussed decreases in these budgets. Linda K. noted that the reimbursement share for 2000 US Open travel had not been approved. John Ertter reiterated his suggestion that the athlete registration fee be increased by $5.

The Budget was revised to provide for $500 (vice $450) reimbursement for Olympic Trial athletes as approved following the January Board meeting.

Motion to approve the budget as presented by John Ertter. PASSED - 1 opposed.

Zone Meeting: Linda E. stated that preparations had been made for the PVS hosted meeting of the Eastern Zone on May 13, 2000 at the Crystal City Embassy Suites. All but 2 LSC's have responded with their registration. These two are being contacted by phone. Ward asked if there was any specific information from Mike McDonough regarding Sectionals. Thirl stated that as Zone Director, Dave Carson had assumed this responsibility and that there would be much time devoted to this topic at the upcoming Zone Meeting. In response to a question regarding expansion, Thirl stated that the Western Zone had moved to 5 divisions but that no other increases were expected.

In response to questions, Thirl indicated that he would announce soon those who will attend this meeting on behalf of PVS.

Registration Report: Linda E. stated that as of April 25 there were 6506 athletes registered. Irene discussed that non-athlete membership is down from last year and informed the Board of a new team in the LSC.

Nominating Committee: Greg York reported that the nominating committee had the following slate recommendations:

Note: Kerry Ellett subseqeuntly withdrew his name from consideration.

Greg stated that the Operations Vice-Chairman and the Administrative Vice-Chairman have agreed to run for reelection. The other nominees have been contacted and have agreed to run.

There was discussion of the appropriateness of bringing forward a slate rather than a single name. It was agreed that if the Nominating Committee could identify more than one capable and interested person, it should bring forth multiple names

Greg stated that the nominating committee was still looking at nominees for the Board of Review positions. He noted that Mark E. had informed the committee that the two members whose terms were about to expire were eligible for reelection. Mark E. expressed his desire to have a 7 member Board of review rather than the existing 5. The intent is to have a larger group to draw from due to scheduling conflicts and the need to avoid having a member who may have previously been involved in a matter serve on the Board of Review for a particular case.. Mark E. stated that the quorum for the review of a particular case would remain at 3. Motion to increase the Board of Review to 7 members. PASSED.

Ward asked who has a vote at the House of Delegates meeting. All members who have voting rights at House of Delegates will vote.

Operations Division: John H. deferred to his written report as submitted.

The Board adjourned for five minutes so that designated Committee could review the bids received for PVS sponsored meets and requests to conduct club sponsored meets for the 2000-2001 short course season..

Age Group Division: Ward verbally presented the 2000-2001 short course schedule pertaining to the PVS sponsored meets and mentioned a few of the club meets. The vote was taken on the written schedule as verbally presented by Ward. This schedule is to be presented to Competition. The approved schedule is attached to these minutes. Ward noted that a traditional meet hosted by a Club had not been bid. A representative of the club stated that this had been an oversight and the meet was added to the schedule. Motion to accept the 2000-2001 short course schedule to be presented to Competition. PASSED.

Manga discussed the need to have the host club of meets more clearly identified. Mark E. stated that this information was already indicated.

Greg stated that there desire to have Potomac Valley sponsor the December Championship meet and not have this particular meet run as a club hosted meet. Ward stated that the proper time to make this proposal was at the Winter Competition Committee meeting. He further stated that a club should propose that this meet be run as a PVS meet. Thirl stated that such a proposed change must first go through Competition. Ward stated that Competition puts meets on the PVS sponsored schedule and that this schedule is then brought to the Board.

Senior Division: Jim Garner discussed the addition of the 50-meter events to the Long Course meets this summer. He stated that currently only MD States and the championship meets offer the50-meter freestyle event and only MD States offers the other 50M events. Jim proposed that the 50 meter events be added for all strokes at the senior level Long Course meets. Motion to accept the decision of Competition at its May 3 meeting on this proposal. PASSED. Manga stated that the maximum number of splashes per meet day might need to be examined.

Jim stated that the Open Water Committee of himself, Kerry Ellett and Kurt Thiel had developed a proposed policy for Open Water reimbursement that they will be taking to Competition. The proposed policy requires that the event for which reimbursement is sought must be on the USA website as a National level meet and that the athlete represents PVS in the meet. Additionally, there would be a set amount of funds available which would be divided among the applicants with a minimum (1/2 Jr. share) and a maximum (JR share). The athlete must have already have participated in one 5K open water event and will be required to have swum in a to be determined number of PVS meets. In response to a question from Linda K.,, it was stated that there are not enough meets available with the same distances to require that the athlete have swum the same event before the meet for which the reimbursement is requested. It was clarified that Competition would be asked to review this proposal and their recommendation would then be brought back to the Board.

Jim presented to the Board a letter sent to him with regard to athletes who "tanked" events at the PVS Senior Championship meet. The acts of the involved athletes were perceived as deliberate. It was stated that one athlete had been told that his/her coach would be mad if the event was not "tanked". Greg stated that while this sent a bad message to the other athletes of the association, no one could dictate morality. Manga questioned the possibility of not granting travel assistance to those athletes. John Ertter stated that these deliberate acts cheapened the meet. Ward stated that PVS cannot make travel reimbursement dependent on performance. Linda K. suggested that lower or no travel assistance amounts might alleviate the problem.

Ward stated that a letter would be delivered to a team not in good standing (since it no longer has a registered coach) who is scheduled to host a meet in the near future. The team will have until May 3, 2000 to respond or the meet will be awarded to another team.

Age Group Swimming: Ward-extended thanks to the Zone team coaches as well as to Linda Crudup as the Zone Team manager. He asked to see the Meet director's financial report for the Zone meet. Linda C provided it to him. Mark E. questioned whether the Zone meet was a PVS or a club sponsored meet. Thirl responded that the Zone meet is an USA meet that one club within the association had asked the LSC to bid on their behalf. Mark E. asked what were the financial arrangements for the meet. Thirl stated that the only PVS financial obligation was a $500 deposit that the Zone requires the LSC to make. This deposit is refunded after required meet paperwork is filed. Linda C stated all required paper work had been filed in a timely manner. $120 is deducted from this check for the Zone pins, but the club will reimburse PVS for this expense. In response to a question from Ward, Linda C. stated that splash fees are not paid to the LSC because the entry fee paid is per LSC rather than per splash, but that the club would be donating money to the LSC. There was further discussion. It was recommended that in the future, the Board be advised of the proposed financial arrangements in advance of the meet being officially bid.

Travel Reimbursement: Linda K. stated that it was found that an athlete had "double-dipped" for a second time and therefore, he was not qualified for the travel assistance. There was discussion of the repayment of the travel share. Motion that the club be fined $100 and repay the Jr. share ($300) and that the club be issued no further assistance until such time as this total has been paid to PVS. PASSED.

Linda K. stated that the 2000 US Open travel share had been discussed at the January Board meeting, but that it had not been made part of the e-mail vote taken following that meeting. Motion to set the 2000 US Open Travel share as $250. PASSED.

The Board was also asked to address proposed changes to the age categories for which Outstanding Athlete Awards would be presented. The Board was advised that Competition may wish to reconsider its action at its Spring meeting and therefore the Board took no action on this matter.

Mark E. asked if participants in the USA Zone distance camps could apply for the assistance as granted for the National select camps. Linda K. stated that no more than $300 would be paid and proof of purchase price of travel must be provided. There was discussion of the number of athletes who would participate in the Zone distance camps. It was decided that the athlete's clubs should present to the Board an application for reimbursement after the camp.

Thirl reviewed a case that he was bringing to the Board after mediation by the Board of Review. He asked that the travel assistance that had previously been denied be granted less a fine of $200. He stated that upon further review, there was no evidence that the team had previously filed a late submission and that he would ask the Board to approve payment. Linda Klopfenstein received confirmation from Thirl that all the athletes were eligible. John E. recommended that the funds be sent to the athlete's current club. Ward stated that PVS could not dictate how the club handles their money. Mark E. stated that reimbursement is not made to the athlete and providing the money to the athlete's new club moves toward that. Additionally, he stated that the new team(s) hadn't incurred the expense of the athlete's attendance at the meet(s). There was discussion of the $200 fine, which Thirl explained was offered by the team for late submission. Ward stated that this would not call for a change in policy, as it was a one-time only case. Motion to reimburse the team $3900 for travel assistance. PASSED. 1 opposed

Coaches' Representative: Greg reviewed the plans and registration for the PVS Mini Camp. The deadline for registration in this camp was extended. This information will be posted to the webpage.

Manga stated the desire of the coaches to see "bonus" events as offered at the Senior Champs meet be offered at the Junior Championship meet. Jim stated that this will be brought to Competition. Manga expressed the desirability of also addressing the number of events an athlete could swim at a meet. PVS has traditionally limited athletes to three events per day, but USA Swimming rules permit up to five.

Old Business: Ward questioned the deposit of fines into the Travel account. It was explained that the Travel account has a restricted activity level and that the funds are separated on the chart of accounts. The funds will be withdrawn from the operating account and deposited to the travel account.

Ward questioned the Meet reconciliation fine letters and the timeliness of the letters. Irene stated that running meet recon before the meet causes quite a time crunch. Thirl stated that perhaps there is a better way to proceed with this and that it will be included in Policies and Procedures soon. John H. asked how the upcoming meets would be handled. Thirl stated that the current procedure would be followed until such time as the Board or House adopts new procedures.

Mark E. asked about the report of the Records Committee. Mark was advised that Competition had discussed and then tabled the matter for further discussion at its Spring Meeting. This report was given to Kit. Thirl recommended that Mark E. check back with Kit.

Mark E. asked about the PVS's participation in the upcoming World Cup meet; if there is a PVS point person; and how one could become involved. Thirl stated that there is no point person at this time and that there would be more information available after the upcoming meeting. Mark E. stated that all PVS clubs should be given equal opportunity to participate in this meet.

Mark E. asked when the requirement for Meet Directors would be put into effect. Irene stated that the requirement would go into effect no earlier than Short Course 2000-2001. There is no committee yet convened and the requirement would apply to the meet directors of all PVS sanctioned meets.

New Business: Linda K presented to the Board a matter brought before the Board of Review. The Board of Review requested that the Board be canvassed by a secret poll at this time on whether payment would have been approved if it had been applied for as a ""pecial" travel assistance request with reimbursement set at the Sr. share.

A coach asked for a continuation on the use of his Coaches Continuing Education Grant due to personal reasons that precluded its use within one year of its award. Motion to grant a 1-year extension of the Coaches Continuing Education Grant awarded in 1999. PASSED.

Motion to adjourn at 11:10 pm.

Respectfully submitted,


Linda Edmunds/Irene Millman
Administrative Assistants/Registrars