South Texas Swimming, Inc

South Texas Swimming, Inc.

Board of Directors Meeting

November 12, 2013

Meeting called to order at 8:31 PM.

Board Members present: Regina Prewitt-Campbell, Frank Swigon, Janet Risser, Rachel Woodard, Jessica Evans, Trey Prinz, Didi Byerly, Annette Duvall, Don Walker, Andrew Byerly, Blaine Stapleton and Robert Coleman.

Board Members absent: Florian Rudolph and Bobbi Villarreal.

Committee Chairs present: Kathy Hartman, Ron Zolno, Tim Byerly, Lorna Anaya, and Angella Woodard.

Quorum was verified.

Approval of Minutes – Didi Byerly moved to approve the minutes of the 9-28-13 Board of Director’s Meeting. Frank Swigon seconded. Motion passed.

Reports of Officers

General ChairmanRegina Prewitt-Campbell

Regina thanked everyone for calling in this evening and is looking forward to working with everyone. She has been and plans to continue to travel to meets to visit with everyone in all parts of the LSC.

Admin Vice ChairmanFrank Swigon

Frank reported that the Investment Committee is in the process of transferring the STSI account to a new investment firm. The account balance is currently in the range of $430-$440K. After the transition is made there are additional funds in the STSI savings account that will need to be moved into the investment account. The Investment Committee will meet after the transfer of the main account is accomplished.

Senior Vice ChairmanJanet Risser

Janet expressed concern that we really do not have enough meets in which the swimmers can compete. Entering meets has turned into a race to get in. This is something we need to look at when we establish the planning calendar in the future so we don’t have a situation where swimmers are not being able to swim in meets. We need to look at how to better serve the swimmers so that parents are not getting angry and frustrated with the sport. Don Walker pointed out that since Palo Alto is out of the game this year, we have lost one of our major venues. Angella reported that for ~10,500 swimmers are currently registered in STSI for either 2013 or 2014 thus the number of swimmers is out of proportion with the number of meets being offered. Regina has talked with Palo Alto but they seem to have little interest in reinitiating the hosting of club meets.

Frank Swigon inquired if perhaps the LSC should consider contracting a pool not being used to host meets, such as Palo Alto, and run LSC hosted meets to allow swimmers more opportunities to swim.

Janet Risser thinks an additional challenge we are facing is the lack of officials. She sees the same officials working every weekend and some of those folks are facing burnout. We need to find a way to get all teams to recruit officials.

Ron Zolno pointed out that two of the meets traditionally held at UT were not scheduled this year due to other conflicts. It was also observed that there is an increasing number of closed meets being sanctioned.

Frank Swigon suggested the Technical Planning Chair/Committee and the Officials Chair/Committee brainstorm and come up with a plan for discussion at the next Board of Directors Meeting to see if there may be ways to get more swimmers into meets.

Age Group ChairmanRachel Woodard

Rachel reported that 14 swimmers attended All Stars in Houston. It was an excellent experience for the swimmers. Camille Adams and Michael McBroom, from the National Team, worked with and inspired the swimmers. The coaches representing South Texas Swimming benefited from interaction with the coaches from other LSC’s. Several parents had sent emails thanking STSI for providing this opportunity for the swimmers.

Awards for the STSI Championship Meets have been ordered. They have been redesigned to make it easier for host teams to distinguish between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place medals awarded at the meets.

Rachel announced that CBA is willing to host a Slower than A Championship Long Course Meet for the LSC. The team is looking at the first weekend in August. Annette DuVall questioned the availability of the Corpus Christi Natatorium on that weekend. Rachel moved that STSI add the Long Course Under A Championship Meet to the planning calendar and award the meet to CBA. The motion was seconded and passed. After some continued discussion on the timing of the meet as impacted by other meets already on the STSI Planning Calendar, Frank moved that the previous motion be rescinded and instead Rachel be given authority to work with the team in Corpus Christi and potential conflicts with the planning calendar, so that a Long Course Under A Championship Meet may be placed on the STSI Planning Calendar. The motion was seconded and passed.

Tech Planning ChairmanJessica Evans

Jessica reported Janet Risser, Rachel Woodard, and herself had reviewed and approved all the changes made to the short course championship templates by the meet host. BB’s South has been sanctioned and posted to the STSI website, and B Champs and STAGS have been submitted for sanctioning. The teams participating in the BB Champs North meet gathered this past weekend at the UT Meet to discuss the best way to run that meet in an outdoor pool. Options were also being explored for an indoor venue. Jessica moved that the posting deadline for BB Champs North be extended until November 22, 2013, before a fine was imposed. This should give the meet host enough time to explore available options and submit the best possible scenario for sanctioning. The motion was seconded and passed. Jessica has sent the Meet Manager Setup Files to all meet hosts involved in running a short course championship meet.

Jessica is updating the Bylaws and they will be sent to USA Swimming by 11/29/13. She is also working on updating the STSI Policies and Procedures. She is waiting on the minutes from the September HOD Meeting to ensure that everything is correct before finalizing either document.

As Technical Planning Chair, Jessica is willing to talk to anyone having suggestions on how to incorporate more swimmers into competition within our LSC.

Officials Chair Trey Prinz

Lorna Anaya and Charles Yang represented STSI at a USA Swimming Officials’ Workshop held in Phoenix last month. Several Officials Clinics have been held throughout the LSC since September 1st.

The Officials Committee has been looking at the Recertification Requirements implemented in the STSI PPGO’s last May. As a result of these discussions, Trey will presentlegislation under New Business for Board of Director Approval.

TreasurerDidi Byerly

Didi sent out the budget to all Board Members prior to the meeting so that everyone could see where STSI is tracking. She is projecting that STSI will end the year in the black. Should anyone discover any mistakes in the budget, due to error coding, they are asked to contact her.

Trustee At LargeAnnette Duvall

No report.

Coach's RepresentativeDon Walker andFlorian Rudolph

Don echoed the previously addressed concern about swimmers getting left out of meets due to the capping of meets.

Athlete RepresentativeAndrew Byerly

No Report

Athlete RepresentativeBobbi Villarreal

Absent

Athlete RepresentativeBlaine Stapleton

No Report

Safety CoordinatorRobert Coleman

Robert has not received any Reports of Occurrence since taking office. He has consulted with Trey Kohlhuasen, the previous Safety Coordinator, and Trey did not have any recent submissions. An assumption might be made that we are doing really well in the safety area. Robert will contact Mindy Lewis to have the information updated on the South Texas website to properly reflect his contact information. Additionally, he will draft an email outlining the steps teams should take in the event an injury occurs under their watch. Once completed, he will send the email to Angella Woodard to forward out to all STSI Teams.

Reports of Committee Chairs & Coordinators

Adaptive Swimming Chair Kathy Hartman

Kathy is continuing her proactive involvement discussing Adaptive Swimming issues with individuals from nationals and other LSC’s to determine ways that STSI can better serve our disability swimmers.

Board of Review Chair Ron Zolno

The Board of Review has met and electedRon Zolno, as Committee Chair, Denny Ryther as Vice Chair, and Minerva Martinez as Secretary. There is one pending case before the Board of Review. Resolution of same is anticipated in the next few days.

Open Water Chair Tim Byerly

Tim is in the process of selecting two coaches to accompany the swimmers to the Open Water Festival in Florida next spring. Plans are being made to host an Open Water Clinic in March and an Open Water Meet will be hosted by Cedar Park Swimming in May. USA Swimming has announced that a National Age Group Open Water Championship will be held in 2015 in Florida at the same venue where next spring’s Open Water Festival is being held.

Safe Sport CoordinatorBarbara Brown

Regina stated that Barbara Brown had submitted a request reminding host teams to post the USA Swimming Safe Sport Flyer at their meets and to promote the online Safe Sport Education Classes available for swimmers and parents.

Meet Sanction Chair Lorna Anaya

Provisional Sanctions are being issued for 2014 as officials continue to update their 2014 certifications. Hosts are being notified that the sanction is contingent upon all named officials being currently certified prior to the start of the meet.

NTV ChairDidi Byerly

The most current list of Observed Meets being hosted in the LSC was updated today on the STSI website.

Records CoordinatorDidi Byerly

The STSI Records List was updated on the STSI website earlier this week.

Registration & MembershipAngella Woodard

Angella reported year to date for 2014, 5924 Athletes, 13 Others, 130 Coaches, and 48 Officials have been registered for a grand total of 6113 registrations. Total registrations are up approximately 100 over the same period for 2013. Currently 10,314 athletes hold either 2013 or 2014 registrations.

While only 48 Officials have registered, Trey Prinz believes there are approximately 100 active officials. He stated a fair amount of interest has been generated by prospective officials this season. Angella reported of the 2013 and 2014 registered Officials, 70 individuals will need to update either their Athlete Protection Training, Background Screen, or both by January 1, 2014. Lorna is monitoring and reminding officials of approaching expirations.

Old Business

Two e-mail votes have taken place since the last Board of Directors Meeting. Regina requested the votes and results be recorded in the minutes of this meeting.

Email Votes -

All Stars Funding E-Mail Vote:

Hello All,

I'mcontacting you all for review of the Texas All-Star Camp budget.

Didilooked at the budget that we passed. In the "Income column" we
budgeted$1700 and to date have received nothing. Last year BJ did not charge co-pay, but based on the number of $1700, it was probably set at about $100perathlete.

Thisyear'scamp estimated total cost for sending 16 athletes and 3coaches is$6158.96 including cost of transportation, food, and hotel. For the approved budget, $14,200 is designated to the TSA Select camp,whichaccounts for the one in the spring and the one in November. Todate, wehave spent $6,000. We can operate within the budget withoutcharginganything. However, I would like to follow through with the previousset-up. Imake a motion that each athlete pays $100.00 to attend theTexas All-StarCamp.I ask that each of you vote to approve or disapprove.

Thanks,
Rachel Woodard

South Texas Age Group Chair

Motion passed with 11 votes in favor and 1 vote against.

Investment Policy – Email Vote

Good morning,

Our draft investment policy was sent to the previous board; however, we failed to vote on it during the HOD meeting. To that end, I am forwarding to the new board for review and comment. We would like to vote on approval of this policy prior to our BOD meeting in November. I ask that each of you review, and then a motion be made to approve/disapprove.

Thanks

Didi

I make a motion that it be accepted. Also I think there is a typo on page 5. Should it read "provision" instead of "provison?"
Robert Coleman

Motion passed. 9 votes in favor – 3 no responses. Copy of the approved investment policy is included at the end of these minutes.

Debit Card For Age Group ChairDidi Byerly

Didi moved that STSI issue a Debit Card to Rachel Woodard, STSI Age Group Chair, to be used in conjunction with LSC sponsored activities and travel such as All Stars and Zones. The Debit Card would be held by the Treasurer and provided to the Age Group Chair when such activities occur. At the conclusion of the event, the Debit Card will be returned to the Treasurer. Motion was seconded and passed.

Revisions to PPGO’sTrey Prinz

Sponsor: Trey Prinz, Officials Chair, on behalf of the Officials Committee

Requested Action: Approve the proposed changes to section XVI.A of the PPGO, which address annual participation requirements for officials. The complete section is given below; items highlighted in yellow represent new language, strikethroughs represent language to be deleted.

Summary: Based on feedback from STSI officials, it became apparent that we needed to make some adjustments to the minimum annual participation requirements for officials. There are several factors that can potentially limit the ability for folks to meet the session requirements, including:

• Geographic location
• Participation in other activities
• Lack of opportunity to volunteer in a specific position: For example, to maintain certification as a Meet Referee, an official must work a minimum number of sessions as a Meet Referee. Oftentimes an official may far exceed the overall number of required sessions, but they aren’t able to meet the position requirements.

USA-S publishes minimum participation requirements and both the current and proposed changes to the PPGO’s meet or exceed these requirements. In determining the proposed requirements, we looked at available year-to-date session reports and also listened to opinions from existing officials. As a committee, we believe we have struck a workable balance between proficiency and participation requirements.

As you deliberate this, I’d invite you to consider the following comments from Clark Hammond, National Officials Chair (from his October 2013 Officials Newsletter):

“Another area that I have discussed with the LSC Officials Chairs is the need to make sure that each LSC's certification and recertification requirements are not driving officials out of our sport. While I am an advocate for good training and standards, I ask every LSC chair to revisit their minimum standards, certification and recertification requirements to make sure that they are appropriate and necessary "minimum" standards. Thanks to everyone for their service and commitment to our athletes and our sport.”

Proposed Changes:

XVI.Minimum Participation and Other Recurring Requirements

1. The following table summarizes the steps that are necessary to retain Official certification in STSI. Note that for the purposes of accumulating Meet Referee sessions, a meet can be structured such that the named Meet Referee can designate one official to act in the capacity of co-Meet Referee and carry out duties typical of the Meet Referee. For example, the co-Meet Referee can coordinate operations with the Deck Referee(s) and Administrative Official(s), with the agreement and direct supervision of the named Meet Referee. Ultimately, the named Meet Referee has the final responsibility and authority for the operation of the meet.

STEPS NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN OFFICIAL STATUS
Position / Memberships / APT
and BGC / Biennial Tests
or Meeting / Minimum Participation
Meet Referee / Maintain USA-S and STSI membership / Renew APT annually and BGC every 2 years / Take appropriate tests or attend approved clinic / 12 sessions per year: 4 sessions as MR and 8 sessions in any wet-side capacity8 sessions per year: at least 6 as Starter or higher with at least 4 as Deck Referee, 2 as Starter, and 1 as Meet Referee
Meet Referee/
Administrative Referee / Maintain USA-S and STSI membership / Renew APT annually and BGC every 2 years / Take appropriate tests or attend approved clinic / 12 sessions per year: 4 sessions as MR, 4 sessions as AR, and 4 sessions in any wet-side capacity8 sessions per year: at least 6 as Starter or higher with at least 4 as Deck Referee, 2 as Starter, 1 as Meet Referee, and 1 as Administrative Official
Deck Referee / Maintain USA-S and STSI membership / Renew APT annually and BGC every 2 years / Take appropriate tests or attend approved clinic / 12 sessions per year8 sessions per year: at least 6 as Starter or higher with at least 1 4 as Deck Referee and 2 as Starter
Starter / Maintain USA-S and STSI membership / Renew APT annually and BGC every 2 years / Take appropriate tests or attend approved clinic / 10 sessions per year8 sessions per year: at least 4 as Starter
Stroke and Turn Judge / Maintain USA-S and STSI membership / Renew APT annually and BGC every 2 years / Take appropriate tests or attend approved clinic / 10 sessions per year8 sessions per year
Deck Referee, Starter, or Stroke and Turn Judge AND Administrative Official / Maintain USA-S and STSI
membership / Renew APT annually and BGC every 2 years / Take appropriate tests or attend approved clinic / The required number of sessions for the respective wet-side certification, half of which must be as an AOwith at least 2 as AO
Administrative Official / Maintain USA-S and STSI membership / Renew APT annually and BGC every 2 years / Take appropriate tests or attend approved clinic / 6 sessions per year during at least 3 meets

A motion was made and seconded to accept the proposed changes to the Policies and Procedures Governing Officials. After some discussion centering on Administrative Referee/Official requirements, the motion passed with 11 votes in favor and 1 vote against.