Approved at May 1998 House of Delegates Meeting

The annual meeting of the Potomac Valley Swimming House of Delegates was called to order by Dick Rankin, General Chairman. In attendance were:

*Voting Delegate

MOTION PASSED to approve minutes of the May 19, 1996, House of Delegates.

Potomac Valley is geographically the smallest of the fifty-nine LSC’s. In terms of registered athletes, PVS ranks sixth. The average size of our clubs is the larger than average in any other LSC. The structure of competition in PVS, therefore, also differs.

One objective is in the area of communication. The PVS delegation at USAS Convention was very productive with meetings as a group, and interaction with Virginia Swimming concerning interaction and future growth, including use of the new George Mason University facilities on campus and in Manassas. Communication with membership improved with the PVS newsletter and progress by Dave Scibetta’s Strategic Planning Committee in developing the use of electronic media. In terms of daily operations, people in charge of various areas have been given the responsibility and ability to proceed with work. The competition program has been evaluated and responsibilities of Competition and Operations defined.

PVS Bylaws have been approved by USS, and go into effect September 1, 1997. The PVS Policy and Procedures Manual has been compiled by Ron Taylor and Arvydas Barzdukas. Updates to the manual will be provided as they occur, so that Clubs can maintain their copies of the Manual. A copy is required on deck at meet by the host Club. Strategic Planning has been charged with establishing an ad hoc committee to review and evaluate every policy and procedure, and to present its recommendations to the Board.

The focus next year is to move from substance to form. Goals are to solidify what has begun in competition, become a leader in the electronic communication environment while continuing to provide the current means of communication with members. An LSC Workshop is also planned for spring 1998.

There is always a need for more volunteers. Call and offer your services, and we will put your talents to good use. It is also noted that parents have been pleased with the communications coming from PVS.

Mary Ann Henderson reported to date, PVS has registered 6060 athletes, 33 seasonal athletes, 36 Clubs, and 599 non-athletes.

Seasonal athletes may compete in PVS meets only, below the Zone level. This membership costs $15.00. If a seasonal athlete qualifies for Zone or higher level, the athlete must register as a year-round athlete; the seasonal fee does not transfer.

Sue Gosline related her positive experience with USAS Convention, and recommended clubs send representatives. The following Committees of the Division reported:

Top 16 & Records – Jan Wolff reported that times for consideration for 1996-97 short course were due May 1; several clubs had not yet responded. Her report is due to USS by June 1, and the Top 20 will be put on Internet around July 1. Any short course time missed can be considered until August 1. Corrections and changes must come through the LSC.

Scholar Athlete – Patti Brown as agreed to serve as program coordinator. As of May 15, no forms have been submitted.

Awards & Outstanding Athlete – Ward Foley reported that medals for Age Group Champs, Distance and Spring Champs would continue. High Point awards will be presented at Age Group Champs and JO’s. Outstanding Athlete nominations are submitted and selection is by vote of coaches. The Outstanding Performance Award has been named for Arvydas Barzdukas. Nominations may be submitted for this award for the period September 1, 1996 through August 3, 1997.

LSC Workshop – Sue reported on plans to hold this workshop on a weekend in spring 1998. Parent, Coach, and Athlete tracks are planned. A planning meeting will be held the end of June, and volunteers are needed.

Charlie Rimkus reviewed the mid-year financial report, September 1, 1996 through April 30, 1997, which had been distributed. He noted that historically our cash flow differs greatly from the first half to the second half of our fiscal year. For information, entry fees were raised two years ago for JO and Senior meets, and the year ended with a $10,500 deficit. Last year all other meet entry fees were raised, and we finished the year with an $8000 deficit. It is hoped to end this year with $0.00 deficit.

Fairfax County Parks Authority is raising their rental fees by approximately 6%. PVS Travel assistance has increased due to an increase in the number of athletes qualifying for this program. At present there is no recommendation to increase fees.

Steve Ercolano, Senior Division Chairman, reported a successful short course season. Most meets ran well. Problems occurring in management will hopefully be alleviated with the new meet management initiatives being implemented. QT’s for JO, JR and SR Champs were tighter, and meets were still full and fast. For Senior Champs, 16th in 1996 was 24th in 1997. The long course program will be structured as in the past. Early Bird Meet was well attended and ran overtime. This will be re-evaluated for 1998.

Major revisions have been made in the 1997-98 Short Course Schedule. It was decided that PVS was trying to do too much. For 1997-98, distance, mini, and open meets are scheduled for October and November, leading up to JO’s; and for January and February, leading up to the spring Championship meets. If special meets are desired, clubs can put these on the schedule and take responsibility for running them. One of the issues being considered by Competition is the definition of Best Times.

Ward Foley, Age Group Division Chairman, reported that more clubs have shown interest in sponsoring meets.

Zone Team Report – Thirl Crudup reported on the Short Course meet held on April 2-5, 1997. There were 85 PVS athletes participating, and the team finished sixth overall with 449½ points. The girls were 5th and the boys were 6th. There were three USS Junior Championship QT’s, five T-16’s, and 14 relay T-16’s. Middle Atlantic LSC won the meet. The chaperones and coaches provided excellent support and leadership for the team and the managers.

John Hirschmann, Officials Chairman, reported for Dave Davis. Dave began chairing this division in September, and has added two components to the division: Meet Management, chaired by Jack Mechler, and Equipment, chaired by Don Smith. Jack and Don will be attending the Officials Workshop at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

John reported that training on electronic equipment has been conducted, and the stroke and turn clinic in early May was well attended. If a club is interested in hosting a clinic, they should contact John. The new navy and white uniforms for deck officials are being worn. The National Officials Training Program has been adopted requiring 4 sessions for S&T, 5 for Starter, and 6 for Referee. Sub-committee chairmen are reviewing all meet pass down sheets.

Operations Support Committee – Don Smith reported on continued care of equipment and training of equipment operators. Plans are for 6 new touchpads, starter, harness, and laser printers. Lap tops and bubble jet printers are on deck and in use, and are being evaluated. Colorado Time Systems is scheduled for routine maintenance visit.

John made available an analysis of clinic attendance and a breakdown of PVS officials by club. The annual Club Officials Chairman’s meeting was also successful, and it is planned to hold this meeting again.

Dave Scibetta first reported on USS Age Group Planning Committee, to which he was elected. Kerry Ellett is the elected Coach Representative to the committee. Items included ICAR direction and projects; Sports Science Age Group Forum; communications with LSC Age Group Chairmen; Camp program; National Relay Records; Coach of Year and LSC Coach of Year; Senior Swimming issues of expanding age group events to include distance freestyles as ranked events for 12 & Under, as well as 200 strokes and 400 IM, and adjustment of age groups to better match maturation of swimmers.

Internet Project: Thanks to Chris Granger for his assistance. PVS has applied for the address PVS.org. and expects to be an official site by August. All results for short course are up, as well as the Early Bird and some Age Group meets. Progress continues to be made. A configuration control group of Dave Scibetta, Chris Granger, John Hirschmann, Jim Garner, and Evelyn Taylor, will be formed. It is anticipated that there will be no change in the Family Mail program for 1997-98, and will then be evaluated. It was noted that athletes’ names must be consistent for each entry to avoid confusion when calculating results. The present PVS address is: UMSA.UMD.EDU/PVS.

Goals are to provide timely and accurate information to all parties in the LSC, and to make notification of changes that may occur due to unforeseen circumstances. For future it was suggested that consideration be given to providing the ability to download data in HyTek format for use by clubs.

Dave Tonnesen reported on the mentoring program in Colorado Springs. It is open to any USS coaches who apply. Information is available from the USS website.

Amanda Sovik reported on plans to establish club athlete representatives. Suzie Scibetta was sending letters to clubs.

Arvydas Barzdukas reported that United States Swimming has appointed Chuck Weilgus as the new Executive Director. He is replacing Ray Essick, who was the first and only USS Executive Director, and who is retiring this year. Also, the new United States Swimming headquarters building at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs was recently dedicated.

The PVS Nominating Committee is chaired by Arvydas. Members of the committee are: Nancy Winings, Dave Greene, and Jan Wolff. The Committee submits the following slate:

General Chairman	Dick Rankin
Senior Division Chairman	Steve Ercolano
Finance Division Chairman	Bob Fout
Board of Review	Elizabeth Burton
	Mark Eldridge
	Frank Koval
	Carol Nickel
	Ron Taylor

MOTION PASSED that a unanimous ballot be cast to elect these officers. A meeting of the Board of Review will be held at the conclusion of this meeting.

Nominations were opened for Athlete Representative. Nominated are:

Amanda VanHorn

Kristelle Harris

Greg Long

MOTION PASSED to close nominations. It was noted that write-in vote is allowed.

Nominations were opened for Coach Representative. Nominated are:

Mike Johnson

Kit Mathews

MOTION PASSED to close nominations. It was noted that write-in vote is allowed.

Elections for both of these positions will be held at the Sunday sessions of Junior and Senior Champs meets. Plurality elects.

Charlie Rimkus presented the proposed PVS budget for 1997-98. He noted that Travel was slightly lower based on projections, Duplication and Distribution were slightly higher to finance newsletter and Internet service, respectively.

After discussion, MOTION PASSED to approve proposed budget.

On behalf of Potomac Valley and the Board of Directors, Dick thanked and commended Charlie for his four years of service as treasurer and Finance Division Chairman.

Opportunity to Excel: Thirl Crudup and Arvydas Barzdukas have been involved with the development and direction of the new sports complex to be built in conjunction with the Redskins Stadium in Prince George’s County. The County Council has approved pool funding, with 1999 as the anticipated completion date. The pool will be 50 M by 25 Y with an additional 5 lane training pool. It is expected to be a quality facility capable of holding national level meets.

University of Maryland is also near completion of its new pool. The Athletic Director is interested in having PVS use this facility. PVS needs to establish communication with UMD to discuss this issue.

Ron Taylor reported that 1997 Summer Zone Long Course Meet will be hosted by Middle Atlantic at Gloucester County Institute of Technology pool. 1998 Short Course Zone Meet will be hosted by New Jersey at GCIT.

Copies of the manual were distributed as follows: two copies per club, one designated for Club Officials Chair. Copies of the PVS Bylaws were distributed one per club. Clubs not present will receive their copies by mail to the Club House of Delegates Representative.

It was noted that all policy and procedures in the manual are currently in effect. The cover letter explains the procedure established for evaluating and changing existing items.

Expect to see enhancement in marketing of Swimming. For Future: How does PVS market our sport with the jurisdiction of PVS?

MOTION PASSED to adjourn. Meeting adjourned 4:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/

Evelyn Taylor
Administrative Assistant