CONNECTICUT SWIMMING, INC. Board of Directors Minutes April 21, 1998 Present: Mary Anne Condon, Ed Easley, Barbara Ehmer, Ellen Johnston, Mary Lynch, Bev Medlin, Caragh Moynihan, Robert Olson, Chris Pac, Kim Richardson, Judy Snow and Roxanne Smietana. Not Present: Michael Close, Rick Lewis, Pam Libertiny, Chris Michaelson, George Miles, Rob Riccobon and Victor Xistris. Also Present: Steve Carroll and Al LaPrino. ***************************** The meeting was called to order at the High Plains Community Center in Orange, Connecticut at 7:40 p.m. by Mary Anne Condon. The Athlete Representatives requested that they be allowed to present their report at the beginning of the meeting since they needed to leave early. Caragh Moynihan and Kim Richardson announced that Wendy Whitcomb of Cheshire had been elected the new Junior Athletes Representative. Following discussion of the Athletes' Committee, it was suggested that at Long Course Age Group and Senior Championships this summer every team be encouraged to elect or appoint an athlete to serve on the Athletes' Committee. It was suggested that Athletes' Committee meetings be held at the same time as the House of Delegates meetings so that athletes could coordinate transportation with adult team representatives attending the House of Delegates meetings. It was also recommended that the Houses of Delegates meeting and the Athletes' Committee meetings be jointly announced. It was agreed that the first Athletes' Committee meeting will be scheduled for the October 1998. In response to Caragh and Kim's request for information on senior camps, the senior training camp scheduled for next month at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs was discussed. Al Laprino also commented that, if elected Senior Committee Chairman, he would make every attempt to schedule over the next four years a senior training camp around the Memorial Day weekend. Approval of the Agenda: Mary Anne requested that we add to the evening's agenda, the acquisition of computer equipment for Judy Snow. Motion was made, seconded and approved to accept the agenda as amended. Approval of the Minutes from the January meeting: Distribution and approval of the minutes of this meeting were postponed until the next Board meeting. Announcements: There were no announcements. OLD BUSINESS: Annual Report for the October House of Delegates Meeting: Mary Anne requested that each Board member prepare a report for the House of Delegates meeting scheduled for next month. Mary Anne also requested that everyone begin preparing information for the CSI Annual Report. Each Board member shall be responsible for listing their top five achievements/accomplishments for the current fiscal year, as well as five objectives for the coming year. Those who will not be returning to their positions are encouraged to coordinate this responsibility with the incoming Board Member. This is a joint responsibility for both. CSI Policies Manual/CSI Bylaws: Neither Pam Libertiny nor Michael Close was present. Both matters are to be postponed until the next Board meeting. NEW BUSINESS: USOTC Training Camp: Mary Anne reported that we were notified a week ago Friday that our request to conduct an altitude training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs was approved. The dates for the camp are May 19 to May 25. Although we had requested a camp many months ago, short notice is typical since USS/USOTC are only obligated to notify forty-five days out. Mary Anne reported that we received approval to bring 24 Athletes, 3 Coaches and a Team Manager. The Board discussed issues related to funding the training camp. USS will pay room and board for those athletes that meet USOTC time standards. If an athlete does not meet the USOTC time standards, the cost to the athlete is $30 per day. We have been advised that two practices have been scheduled for each day, except the dates of arrival and departure. Expenses related to air and ground transportation, speaker honorariums and other costs were discussed. The motion was made to offer a $250 subsidy per swimmer toward the cost of the trip. The motion was seconded and passed without objection. The next issue that was discussed related to the criteria for selection. Following discussion, it was agreed that we should utilize the same criteria as three years ago (with the exception of college athletes to be considered after high school athletes) -- a minimum of three CSI swimming meets in the twelve months preceding the camp, as well as either a USS National Championship or Junior Championship qualifying time. A system for ranking qualified swimmers was also discussed and finalized. It was agreed that a minimum of eight athletes would be required to conduct the trip. In the event only eight athletes apply, one coach and one manager would be sent; 9-17 athletes, two coaches and one manager; and 18 or more athletes, three coaches and one manager. Tim Quill will be the Head Coach. Swimmer, Coach and Team Manager applications will be mailed within two days and information will be posted to the web. Report of the Nominating Committee: Steve Carroll presented the slate of candidates prepared by the Nominating Committee: General Chairman Mary Anne Condon Administrative Vice-chairman Pam Libertiny Program Development Steve Carrol Senior Committee Chair Al LaPrino Finance Vice Chairman John McCann Secretary Dave Moyer Mary Anne requested that the Board approve the purchase of plaques for the outgoing Board members to recognize their service to CSI. The Board approved the recommendation with no objections. Report of the Budget Committee and Approval of the 1998-99 Annual Budget proposal: Since Victor Xistris was not present, Mary Anne presented the proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning September 1, 1998. The budget will essentially remain the same as this year with the exception of fees for Data Entry Services which appear to have substantially increased this year. Following discussion, it was recommended that the Personnel Committee monitor and review the fees and expenses of operating the office. The budget was discussed in detail. Some minor changes were proposed. Barbara Ehmer requested that an adjustment of $450 be made to the budget to "balance the budget." The motion was seconded and approved. Following discussion, the motion was made, seconded and approved to accept the proposed budget for the fiscal year September 1, 1998 - August 31, 1999, as amended. Approval of Funding for Computer Acquisition: Judy Snow's computer is aging. It has been upgraded as far as economically possible. It was recommended that a new computer be purchased to replace the current one. Following discussion, Mary Anne requested that $2,500 to $3,500 be approved for this purpose. The motion was made, seconded and approved to authorize an expenditure up to $3500. Jim Cooper is to be asked to prepare two or three different proposals (different manufacturers) prior to purchasing the computer. REPORTS OF THE OFFICERS: Administrative Vice-chairmen : No report -- Pam Libertiny and Michael Close were not present. Treasurer: Barbara Ehmer presented the monthly reports from the last three months which were discussed in detail. Upon review of the assets of the LSC, it was recommended that Barbara utilize $50,000 of the funds currently in the checking account and transfer them to two Certificates of Deposit, each in the amount of $25,000. Both CDs are to be opened at the same time: one, a three month CD and the second, a six month CD. This would begin a cycle with CD's maturing each three months. At maturity, CDs could be renewed for six month or one year to continue the cycle. This would allow the new incoming Finance Chair to study the situation and come up with a plan of investing the funds for future reserves. Following discussion of CSI current assets, it was recommended and agreed that the incoming Finance Chairman should activate the CSI Investment Committee, as authorized in the CSI Bylaws, and that he should also be asked to review and report back to the Board on the feasibility of obtaining a Financial Advisor. Finance Vice-chairman: No report -- Victor Xistris was not present. Age Group Committee Chairman: Beverly Medlin reported that the Committee has not met and that she nothing to report. Senior Committee Chairman: Ellen Johnston also reported that her Committee had not met and that she had nothing to report. Technical Planning Committee Chairman: No report -- Geroge Miles was not present. Program Development Vice-chairman: Chris Pac reported on the upcoming Technical Planning Committee meeting scheduled for June 6. The Committee will address the following topics: CSI's relationship with the CIAC, the championship meet season and the long range goals of CSI. The USOTC camp is in process, as discussed earlier, and the proof of time chart discussed at the prior meetings is progressing along with further revisions to be made. Chris stated that Mary Ellen Brigham, Zone Team Coordinator, had reported at the last Program Development Committee meeting that two male swimmers had to be sent home because of discipline problems at the spring zone meet and that CSI's performance at the meet was not of the caliber we should be expecting. Both issues need to be addressed. Coaches Representatives: No report -- neither Rob Riccobon or Chris Michaelson were present. Mary Anne reported that the election for a Junior Coaches Representative did not take place at Age Groups or Senior Championships, as was supposed to happen. A mailing was sent to all Coaches and both John Abrami and Tim Murphy have indicated an interest in the position. A ballot will be sent to all CSI registered coaches to determine the outcome. The Board discussed the lack of attendance by the present representatives. The Board expressed its desire to strengthen the rules for attendance and the ramifications on those who do not fulfill Board or committee attendance requirements. Committee level involvement, especially in Program Development, is even more important in certain positions especially at the coach level. An annual schedule of Board of Directors meetings has been published a year in advance for the past two years. It was recommended that at a future meeting the Board discuss adding language to the By-Laws to strengthen the ability of the Board to sanction those members who do not attend meetings and do not fulfill the obligations of their elected positions. Coach-at-Large: No report -- Rick Lewis was not present. Athletes Representatives: Their report was presented at the beginning of the meeting. Safety Committee Chairman: Roxanne Smietana reported that she is coordinating Coaches Safety Training classes with Kathy Walsh. Roxanne also reported that the injury rate has been considerably lower this year than in the past. Roxanne feels that much of this can be attributed to the presence of safety marshals at meets. Registration/Membership Coordinator: Judy Snow reported that a letter is being sent to all clubs reminding them to review their membership rosters to ensure all swimmers are registered, especially those returning students who did not swim with the club during the short course season. Judy has already questioned a couple of clubs as to their coaching staff and their current credentials for the long course season. Judy needs to be provided with current information related to coaching changes. As of today, we have just surpassed last year's registration level. Officials Committee Chairman: Ed Easley presented a written report which included notification of the upcoming officials committee meeting and its agenda for May 11. Meeting Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:52 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Robert V. Olson Secretary Board of Directors April 21, 1998 Page 1