Dive Into the Summer!
Summer may “officially” begin with the summer solstice. But swimmers and their parents know that summer really starts with that first dive into the outdoor pool, probably sometime around Memorial Day weekend. The PVS summer schedule includes a number of competitive long course meets, including several championship meets. We’re looking forward to seeing you on deck this summer!

Upcoming Meets

June 2010
Date	Meet	Location	Officials Contact
4-6	33rd Maryland State LC Championships	MAC	Jim Garner
4-6	SNOW LC Invitational	Claude Moore	Mike Ryan
12-13	FISH June Invitational	GMU	Al Meilus
13	PVS Senior/Age Group I	Fairland	Brian Baker
13	PVS Senior/Age Group I	Lee District	Scott Robinson
19-20	PVS LC Distance Meet	Takoma	Art Davis
27	PVS Senior/Age Group II	Fairland	Randy Bowman
27	PVS Senior/Age Group II	Lee District	Brian Baker
July 2010
Date	Meet	Location	Officials Contact
15-18	PVS LC Senior Championships	Univ. of Maryland	Jack Neill
15-18	PVS LC Junior Championships	Univ. of Maryland	Scott Witkin
22-25	PVS LC Age Group Championships	Fairland	Ed Dona
August 2010
Date	Meet	Location	Officials Contact
5-8	Eastern Zone Super Sectional	Buffalo, NY	Eastern Zone
11-14	Eastern Zone LC Championships	MAC & Rockville	Eastern Zone
15	Eastern Zone Open Water Championship	Annapolis, MD	Doug Colley

Camera Policy
In April, the PVS Board of Directors adopted a new policy to help protect the safety and privacy of our swimmers: “The use of equipment capable of taking pictures (eg., cameras, cellular phones, PDAs, etc.) will be banned behind the starting blocks during all meets sanctioned by PVS. Use of these devices will not be permitted behind the blocks during warm up or competition.” The following guidelines have been issued to help officials in enforcement of this policy:

• S&T and Timer Briefing Update: “Use of cell phones and cameras in deck area behind the starting blocks is prohibited during warm-ups and competition. Report any violations to the Referee.”
• The Referee directs the person to put the device away or leave the deck area immediately behind the starting blocks. If an athlete is involved, work through the coach for enforcement.
• Enforcement of this restriction does not extend into raised spectator areas that are directly behind starting blocks. However, Officials shall continue prohibiting the use of flash photography from any location during the time swimmers are on the starting blocks.

You Make the Call
In the girls 10 & under 50-yard breaststroke, the starter has just finished giving the command “Take your mark” when the swimmer in lane 4 comes down and immediately falls in the water headfirst. The referee could not tell why the swimmer went into the water. However, the starter indicated he/she thought the swimmer had lost her balance when she came down for the start, before assuming a starting position. What should occur and why?
See the answer at the bottom of this newsletter.

Did You Know . . .
The USA Swimming website has been completely redesigned—have you seen it lately? All of the information, but now with improved visual display. Check it out at www.usaswimming.org.

Open Water Swimming
Open water swimming is different. No lane lines. No starting blocks. No stripe to follow on the bottom. Unseen creatures lurking beneath you. Seen creatures kicking you and flailing their arms all around you. Cold, choppy water trying to splash in your mouth on every breath. But it’s also a chance for swimmers to get out and simply enjoy the great outdoors. It is to pool swimming as trail running is to track running.

Open water swimming reached a new level of international exposure by becoming an official event at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. And now PVS swimmers have an opportunity to participate in this unique event at a nearby location. The Eastern Zone Open Water Swimming Competition will be held Sunday, August 15 at Bay Ridge Beach in Annapolis. The event includes a 1K for 10&U, a 2K for 11-14 year olds, and a 3K for 15-18 year olds. Officials are needed, both on the water and on the beach; contact the meet referee for more information.

The top open water swimmers in the U.S. will compete June 4 and 6 in Long Beach, California, at the 2010 USA Swimming Open Water National Championships. The competition includes both a 5K and 10K race, and will serve as the selection meet for the 2010 FINA Open Water World Championships and the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships.

Officials Education Travel Reimbursement
Did you know that Potomac Valley Swimming will contribute to your travel expenses for working at national level meets? In March 2007, PVS instituted the Officials Education Travel Reimbursement program. This program is intended to encourage PVS officials to further their skills by participating in national level meets. Complete details can be found on the PVS website.

Questions? Suggestions?
Do you have a question about officiating or a tip you’d like to share? Is there a rule that you’d like to have clarified? Do you have a suggestion for a future item in this newsletter? If so, please send your questions/comments to the newsletter editor, Jack Neill.

New Officials / Advancing Officials
We’d like to welcome these new officials—and congratulate advancing officials—who have recently completed the requirements for first-time PVS certification in the following positions.

Referee:	Starter:
Lynn Gerlach	David Hermreck
	Ron Hong
Stroke & Turn Judge:	Kristy Kellogg
Judith Barnes	Dave Schultz
Lee Brayman
Don Brazelton	ETS Operator:
Guiping Fu	Brian Baker
Jennifer Harris	Brian Kane
Vi Luong	Marc Mantelli
Liz Potemra	David Merkin
Pam Skinner	Kevin Olson
Richard Stevenson	Dan Seliskar
Dave West
Lora Zarchin

Resolution to ‘You Make the Call’
The starter should “Stand up” the remaining swimmers. If the referee agrees that the swimmer fell before becoming set and that this was not a starting motion, the swimmer should be allowed to swim with the heat.