CONNECTICUT SWIMMING, INC. Board of Directors Minutes June 15, 1999 Present: John Abrami, Bill Ball, Ken Block, Steve Carroll, Mary Anne Condon, Barbara Ehmer, Bill Krumm, Mary Lynch, Tim Quill, Judy Snow, Leanne Spletzer, Lauren Taft, Kathleen Walsh, Wendy Whitcomb. Not Present: Ed Easley Rick Lewis, Pam Libertiny, John McCann, Bev Medlin, George Miles, David Moyer and Roxanne Smietana Also Present: Jeff Allen, Nan Cooper, and Clark Cooper ***************************** General Chairman Mary Anne Condon called the meeting to order at 7:43 p.m. Approval of Minutes: The minutes to the April 20, 1999 meeting were distributed. Correction to New Team Applications: Brookfield Y's name was changed to Regional Y of Western CT. Correction to Review and Approval of Annual Budget: "Technology budget was increased from $4000 to $6000 to accommodate anticipated increased technology expenses." was added. Motion was made, seconded and approved to accept the minutes as amended. Approval of the Agenda: Judy Snow requested that approval of a new club application be added under New Business. Announcements: Mary Anne welcomed all newly elected board members and those non-board members whose interest in Connecticut Swimming is much appreciated. A number of board positions will be vacant next year and interested people are encouraged to come to meetings and get involved in anticipation of filling future board positions. OLD BUSINESS ASCA Seminar: Bill Krumm and Steve Carroll reported on the coaches ASCA seminar held in late April. Thirty-seven coaches attended. The seminar was well received and feedback from the coaches was positive. Coaches who need Level I ASCA certification were able to obtain it at this meeting. Discussion followed concerning how many coaches clinics should be run each year as well as the type of clinic. Coaches Representatives are responsible for running the coaches clinics and will report to the September board meeting with their recommendations for future clinics/seminars. USA Swimming Club Business and Administration Program: Attendance from Connecticut teams was low, despite the proximity of the meeting and the CSI subsidy to CT teams who met criteria established for subsidy[NC1]. Senior Elite Training Camp: Bill Ball reported that 23-24 athletes attended. This camp brought together CSI's most competitive senior swimmers for high-quality training. Time was made for fun activities as well. Bill recommended improvements for future camps: an activity to get to know the kids before workouts begin and better selection of camp dates. Bill felt the camp would improve and attendance increase with each year and that the camp should be continued. Attending the Colorado Springs for a training camp (every other year) will be pursued. NEW BUSINESS Appointment of Age group Committee Chairman & Program Development Chairman: Mary Anne informed the board that she had received a letter of resignation from Bev Medlin, leaving the Age Group Chair vacant. Motion made, seconded and approval was given to Ken Block's appointment as Age Group chair effective immediately. His elected term will begin September 1, 1999. Steve Carroll was elected Program Operations Chair effective September 1999, leaving his former position as Program Development Chair empty. Approval was given to appoint Mary Lynch to cover Program Development for one year, as a transition period, commencing in September 1999. Long Range Planning Meeting (Fall of 1999): Discussion revolved around the purpose and function of this meeting and what could be done to make it an effective tool for CSI. It was felt that re-distribution of the Long-Range Planning meeting minutes should be done and committees should be held accountable. The decision was made to put this issue on the agenda for the Board of Director's April or June 2000 meeting. Meeting Schedule for 1999-2000: Mary Anne distributed a tentative meeting schedule for July 1999-June 2000. Mary Anne recommended reducing the Board of Directors meetings from approximately six a year to four a year. She emphasized that reports, tasks, etc. would have to be done in a timely fashion so these were ready for presentation at the meetings. It was felt if members did their "homework", the meetings would run efficiently and accomplish the goals set forth by the agenda. It was agreed to leave the starting time of board meetings at 7:30pm. Ken Block and Tim Quill are to confer and establish a meeting schedule for their respective committees and forward that information to their committee members and to the office. The following meetings were added to the tentative schedule: August 31, 1999- Open forum with USA delegates to the USAS Convention regarding new legislation and January 18, 2000- Board of Directors meeting, Task Force to Review Table of Organization & CSI Bylaws: Mary Anne recommended putting together a task force to study the organization and function of Connecticut Swimming. The task force would look at ways to better streamline our organization and increase communication and efficiency. Jeff Allen, Judy Snow, Leanne Spletzer and John Abrami volunteered to serve on this committee. Mary Anne asked that this committee come to the Board meeting scheduled in January 2000 with recommendations. USAS Convention: The convention is September 14-18 in San Diego. Bylaws state that nine board members (General Chair, Administrative Vice-Chair, Program Operations Chair, Program Development Chair, Age Group Chair, Senior Chair, Athlete Representatives, and Senior Coach Representative) are to attend on behalf of CSI and in addition one delegate-at-large. It was approved to send Nan Cooper, Executive Administrator, as the delegate-at-large. The CSI office will handle registration, hotel, meal and shuttle allowances and reserving hotel rooms. Athlete Representatives allowance will be one day less than other attending board members due to fewer days at the convention. Roommates were assigned. Discussion then opened to revising the CSI meetings attendance policy regarding attending the USAS Convention. To be eligible for convention funding, a board member shall be required to attend a minimum of 75% of all Board of Directors meetings and meetings of committees on which they serve (as defined by the CSI bylaws), in the 12 months immediately preceeding the convention. It was motioned, seconded and approval was given to revise the attendance policy so that board members are expected to go to 75% of the meetings. This includes not only board meetings, but other committee meetings that member may be involved with. Conflict of Interest: The board was reminded that as board members they are held to a high standard. Any board member or committee member, etc. cannot use their position to benefit themselves, their children, other family members, club or club members in any way. Leanne Spletzer offered to provide a copy of USA Swimming's Conflict of Interest statement that USA board members are required to sign. It was recommended this would become part of the orientation packet for new CSI board members. Spectators on Deck: The board is concerned about the safety on the pool deck during CSI sanctioned meets. Too many people not directly involved in a meet, can crowd the deck creating an unsafe situation. The CSI Code of Conduct clearly addresses the issue of who should be on deck during a meet. It was motioned, seconded and approved that #9 of the Code of Conduct be amended to read: "There shall be no one on the pool deck including parents or siblings, unless they are actively participating in the meet as a swimmer, meet volunteer, official, marshal or a member of a Group Member's coaching staff. No one under age five shall be permitted on the pool deck at any USA/CSI sanctioned meet or sanctioned activity." This statement will be included in all meet announcements commencing in short course 1999-2000. New Team Application: Judy Snow has received an application for club membership from the Greenwich YMCA. The board, pending Judy's review and acceptance of the application paperwork, approved the new club. Judy stated that Wheeler Y had expressed interest in a fall application. Convention Forum: It was suggested that there be an opportunity for club representatives to meet with the convention delegates to discuss issues that are pending legislation at the USAS Convention. These items include, Club Championships, Club Membership and Outreach. A date of August 31 was picked as a meeting date. Leanne Spletzer suggested that a letter be sent to the clubs, which includes a RSVP, regarding this meeting. Reports of Officers Administrative Vice-chairman: Not present, no report given. Treasurer: Financial Statement for month ending May 31, 1999 was given. Barbara Ehmer reported that she is working with John McCann on a new version of QuikBooks and hopes to have the program in place by the beginning of the fiscal year. Finance Vice-chairman: John McCann was not present. Mary Anne reported on John's behalf. John's report stated that he had set up payroll for Nan Cooper (office) and had begun working with QuikBooks Pro for payroll and 1999-2000 budget figures. After the program is in place, John will install it into Barbara Ehmer's computer. His goal is to have the CSI finances on computer by September 1999. Mary Anne also redistributed the USA Swimming Investment Policy for board members to review. Mary Anne asked that board members review this document and be prepared to discuss its adoption at the September board meeting. Age Group Committee Chairman: Ken Block shared his short-term goals. First is conducting Long Course Age Groups, secondly, organizing his committee and lastly, being support of CSI and its programs. Senior Committee Chairman: Tim Quill reported that the caps for the senior open have been ordered through Metro and the trophies through Hasty. Technical Planning Chairman: No report. George Miles was not present. Program Development Vice-chairman: Steve Carroll highlighted some approved changes Program Development has effected. At the May Program Development meeting a new fee structure for qualifiers was established allowing teams who host qualifiers to charge $3 per individual entry and $6 for relays. The schedule for short course qualifiers was determined and sent to teams with the bid information. Consensus was that the qualifiers are still an important part of the CSI meet schedule and coaches indicated by survey that they would like to see qualifiers continue. Steve also reviewed upcoming changes to the championship meets (pls. Refer to program development minutes of May 11 and June 8th. Program Operations Vice-chairman: Mary Lynch reported that summer meets are running as expected based on last summer's meets. Regarding the issue of placing two swimmers in a line, at a recent long course meet, Mary repported that the minutes of the June 1997 Board of Directors clearly states that there shall be no more than one swimmer in a lane. Coaches Representatives: John Abrami and Bill Ball will look into the USA Club Championship and Club Membership issues in preparation for the meeting with club members on August 31, 1999. Coach-at-Large: No report. Rick Lewis was not present. Athlete's Representatives: No report. Safety Committee Chairman: Kathy Walsh reported that she has received a box of safety materials from Roxanne and it is in order. Mary Anne took this time to thank Roxanne for her two terms as Safety Chair. Roxanne took this new position and developed safety into an important and visible part of Connecticut Swimming. All involved in swimming are now much more aware of safety. Many thanks, Roxanne. Registration/Membership Coordinator: Judy Snow reported that there are currently four clubs without certified coaches. Next year the 2000 coaches' card will have an expiration date on it. Before the next registration year, a new computer program will be available from headquarters. Currently the software is Y2K non-compliant. Judy has had a request for an inner-city outreach program that would run next spring. Judy encouraged membership verification for USA national meets be done before the CSI championship meets. She will not be at the Senior Open. The membership verification has been revised and coaches' credentials must be signed off by Judy as well. Officials Committee Chairman: Not present, no report. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Nan Cooper ACTION LIST: WHO ACTION ITEM WHEN John Abrami, Bill Ball Recommendations for coaching clinic, etc Report to 9/28 BOD meeting Task Force: John Abrami, Jeff Allen, Judy Snow and Leanne Spletzer Study the organization and function of CSI. Make recommendations as to changes Report to 1/18/00 BOD meeting [NC1] 3 4