CONNECTICUT SWIMMING, INC. Board of Directors Minutes September 16, 1997 Present: Michael Close, Mary Anne Condon, Ed Easley, Barbara Ehmer, Ellen Johnston, Rick Lewis, Mary Lynch, Beverly Medlin, Bob Olson, Rob Riccobon, Kimberly Richardson, Judy Snow and Leanne Spletzer. Not Present: Pam Libertiny, George Miles, Chris Michaelson, Caragh Moynihan, Chris Pac, Roxanne Smietana and Victor Xistris. ************************* The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. at the High Plains Community Center in Orange by Mary Anne Condon. Due to technical difficulties, the minutes of the June 17, 1997 Board of Directors meeting were not available for distribution. The evening's agenda was distributed. In response to whether there were any items to be added to the agenda, Beverly Medlin requested that the issue of Age Group Championship meet fines and the Awards Banquet be addressed. There being no further additions, the evening's agenda was approved. Mary Anne announced that the purpose of this evening's meeting was to review any issues and/or problems that had occurred over the summer and to address and begin preparing for the months ahead. OLD BUSINESS: Annual Report of Connecticut Swimming: Mary Anne reminded everyone that it continues to be her intent that we publish and distribute at the October House of Delegates meeting an Annual Report for Connecticut Swimming. Since the report is for the fiscal year September 1, 1996 - August 31, 1997, each committee chair/coordinator is to prepare and submit to Mary Anne no later than October 1, 1997, a report similar in format to the USS annual report that was previously distributed. Each report shall include: (1) a list of 1996-1997 accomplishments; and (2) a list of 1997-1998 goals/objectives. Computerization of the Treasurer's Function: The computerization of the Treasurer's function has not taken place. In order to get the project going as soon as possible, Mary Anne will ask Barbara Hudson to set up the program for Barbara Ehmer and to get it going. Bob Olson will be available to assist Barbara with any problems/questions. Computer Support Services: There will be two training classes scheduled for teams using the LSA Swim Meet and SwimTeam programs. One class will be held in Orange; the other class in Wilton or New Canaan. Both classes will be scheduled for early October. NEW BUSINESS: Changes in CSI Bylaws: Mary Anne reported that we had encountered some problems in the revised CSI Bylaws regarding convention voting for the Age Group and Program Development positions and the Senior and Program Operations positions. Mike will address and prepare revised Bylaws for submission to the House of Delegates. Mary Anne reported that at the time the CSI Bylaws were being revised (as mandated by United States Swimming) we briefly addressed the issue of an additional At-Large position on the Board for an attorney who would be available to advise and counsel the Board, as needed. Mary Anne indicated that she had been discussing the issue with Mike Close for some time and that he had indicated an interest in this position. As requested by Mary Anne, Mike submitted a written recommendation for the Board to approve an additional position and that such position assume responsibility for bylaws/legislation, and for the legal and tax committees of Connecticut Swimming. Additionally, Mike recommended that the Secretary of the Corporation be included in a new CSI division, to be known as the Law Division. Mike further recommended that the position not be subject to the two term limitation. Ellen Johnston made a motion to have Mike Close prepare legislation for the October House of Delegates meeting to create this position. The motion was seconded and approved. Further, it was recommended and approved that should the House of Delegates approve this position at the October meeting, it become effective immediately, and that Mary Anne appoint Mike Close to the position until such time an election be held. (Mike would then resign as co-Administrative Vice-Chairman.) Mary Anne requested that Mike Close draft a CSI Table of Organization chart. CSI Newsletter: Mary Anne discussed the problems and costs associated with publishing the CSI Newsletter. Mary Anne asked for the Board's input on using the CSI Website as an alternative to publishing the newsletter. Following discussion, it was agreed, as a service to our membership, that we continue to publish and mail to every CSI family the CSI Newsletter. Mary Anne will discuss with Jim Cooper the possibility of adding newsworthy items to our Website. It was noted that Jim and Mary Anne have been asked to make a presentation at the USAS Convention on technology in Connecticut Swimming. Outstanding Service Award: Mary Anne explained that United States Swimming offers each year every Local Swimming Committee the opportunity to recognize an outstanding volunteer by awarding the Phillips 66 Service Award. Last year, the Board voted to accept nominations for the Phillips 66 Award from our membership. An unsolicited nomination was received for the second year in a row to present the Phillips 66 Award to Pat Griffis for her tireless efforts over the years. The motion was made, seconded and approved to present the award to Pat Griffs at the CSI Awards Banquet on November 2nd. Sarah Jalet Award: It was noted that there is a need to solicit nominations for the Sarah Jalet Award to recognize one athlete for outstanding leadership, scholarship and athletics. Last year's recipient was Dana Albrycht. Age Group Championship Fines: Beverly Medlin reported that one club did not submit proof of times when submitting their long course age group championship meet entry. The Meet Entry Chairman requested that proofs of time be submitted. After the entry deadline, a completely new entry form was submitted. In the new entry, forty-six entry times were changed, which is subject to a $5 per change charge. Additionally, the team did not provide proofs of time for out- of-state meets by submitting copies of the meet results. Several attempts were made to obtain the proofs of time. Following a discussion of the meet entry rules and CSI Integrity Statement, a motion was made to uphold the full and maximum fines assessable in this situation. The motion was seconded and approved. CSI Banquet: Anita Garaffa, the Banquet Chairman, has raised many issues regarding the banquet. Mary Anne will call Anita to work out the problems. Mary Anne explained that once the CSI Data Base is fully functional that it will resolve most, if not all, of the problems Anita has encountered with the Banquet. This year's banquet will be held at the Aqua Turf in Southington. It was suggested that a committee be formed to review and come up with ideas on how to improve the Banquet. REPORTS OF OFFICERS: Administrative Vice-chairmen: No report. Treasurer: Barbara Ehmer reported that the books are up-to-date through July 31, 1997. The final closing for the fiscal year will be completed when outstanding items from the long course season, as well as senior travel, are received. Finance Vice-chairman: Victor Xistris was not present. Age Group Committee Chairmen: Beverly Medlin reported that Connecticut Swimming will be making a presentation at the USAS Convention on the Blue Camp that was jointly conducted with Metropolitan Swimming. It was noted that Joe Bernal, the guest coach at the Blue Camp, was not compensated (nor did he ask for any compensation) for his travel expenses or time. The motion was made by Leanne that Connecticut Swimming provide an appropriate honorarium. Mary Anne will follow-up. Beverly also raised the issue of timing equipment at Wesleyan well as the issue of unsold meet T-shirts. It was agreed that the left-over shirts should be brought to the Banquet and sold for $8 each. Senior Committee Chairman: Ellen Johnston reported that the issue of a second Connecticut/New England Championship Meet was discussed at summer Junior Championships by a group of coaches from New England Swimming and Connecticut Swimming. It was agreed by the coaches that there is a need for tighter time standards at the meet. Several board members expressed the feeling that we have an obligation to insure that we do not disregard the needs of Connecticut swimmers. Ellen also reported that senior travel requests will be finalized prior to her departure for the USAS convention. Technical Planning Committee Chairman: George Miles was not present. Program Development Chairman: Chris Pac was not present. Program Operations Vice-chairman: Mary Lynch discussed various problems related to CSI meet announcements. The Board agreed that all meet announcements must be reviewed and approved by the Program Operations Chairman prior to publication on any venue. It was noted that Connecticut teams should be afforded an equal opportunity to enter meets sanctioned and held in Connecticut. In order to accomplish this, it was agreed that once Program Operations reviews and approves a meet announcement, the Permanent Office will post the announcement on the Website and will forward to the host team a set of mailing labels so that the host team can mail the meet announcement to all Connecticut teams at the same time the meet announcement is mailed to out-of-state teams. It was further agreed that scratch policies, deck entries, oversubscription procedures and other issues which arise in the running of meets must be reviewed, revised, if needed, and published. It was further agreed that all Meet Managers be required as a prerequisite to obtain a sanction attend a Meet Managers Workshop each year. It is the consensus of the Board that we need to be consistent in the application and enforcement of our rules and policies. Coach Representatives: Rob Riccobon reported that the first issue of Stopwatch, the new coaches newsletter, will be published October 1. The newsletter will also be put on the CSI Website. Athlete Representatives: Kim Rchardson reported on the efforts of the Athletes Committee to put together an the Athletes Picnic that had been scheduled for earlier this month. More effort is needed to get more athletes involved in order to bring these events to fruition. Coach-at-Large: Rick Lewis reported that he has zone participation certificates for those swimmers who attended short course zones. Rick requested that the Age Group and Program Development Committees address the order of events at Age Group Championships. Safety Committee Chairman: Roxanne Smietana was not present. Registration/Membership Coordinator: Judy Snow requested that Connecticut Swimming require every meet host team to submit a registration diskette to her five days prior to the meet for membership verification and that the Meet Announcement entry form include a disclaimer by the entry person that all swimmers listed on the entry are registered prior to entry into the meet. No action was taken on this recommendation. Judy also reported on the latest CSI membership statistics and indicated that she had received applications for new teams that were not complete at this time. Officials Committee Chairman: Ed Easley presented a written report. Ed noted that officials patches will be available in the near future and announced the dates of upcoming officials clinics. Ed also reported that he had received a complaint involving an official at Long Course Silver Championships and that the situation has been addressed. He is preparing a response to the complaint. There being no further business, the motion was made to adjourn the meeting. Being seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Robert V. Olson CSI Secretary Board of Directors September 16, 1997 Page 4