District Semi- Annual Meeting
June 3, 2001
Buffalo
Board of Directors Attending: Frances Klier, Marcia Callan, Stephen Snyder, David Finger, Mary Paladino, Ruth Whelehan, Steve Root, Jamie Adams, Mike Baines, Gerry Lofthus, Kathy Derrick, Bruce Derrick, Keith Shields, Gary Karl, Paul Bartlett, June Mundt, Jim Bowen, Eric Schwartz
Excused: Ron Paradis, Mike Cahill, Martha Beck
Not attending: Mike Ross
The meeting was called to order at: 9:05 a.m.
Frances introduced the Board.
Minutes from the Annual meeting of November 2000 were approved.
Reports:
Frances Klier-General Chair:
Frances gave a report on events since November 2000. She discussed the Zone meetings, as well as the Sectional meeting. Niagara District was well represented. The next Sectional meet will be held at ECC in Buffalo. Information from the upcoming National Convention will tell us what will be happening next with the Sectionals. Information will be posted on the USA Swimming website. Please contact the ND Board members with your opinions, so representatives can vote appropriately at the Convention. Representatives will be asking for one Junior National meet, we will have to wait and see what happens.
Senior Nationals Meet – 3 swimmers were there from ND -Kara Joyce, Greg Danner and Kim Black.
Frances read an article in Swimming World magazine that highlighted Kim Black’s recent accomplishments. She also read a thank you to Niagara District from Kim Black for the swimmer award and case for her gold Olympic medal.
Frances gave an update on Ann Czekizian from Oswego who recently had a brain tumor. She is a freshman at Oswego State, and is making a good recovery.
Frances encouraged all teams to buy the ND guides for their boards to keep people informed; the answers to many questions regularly asked of Frances are in the book.
National Director Pat Lunsford is trying to work with High Schools, the YMCA and the NCAA to get uniform rules for swimmers, meetings are in progress.
Frances noted a program called "Our Kids"….look for the article in Splash.
Ron Paradis-Administrative Vice Chair:
Not attending due to illness. Barb Paradis gave his report.
Overswims: Barb gave a report on how many overswims there were at each District meet….shouldn’t have overswims at Golds, due to the bonus events. Next year if you overswim at Golds, a fine will be levied for both the gold event and the bonus event, as the bonus is now illegal, since the swimmer doesn’t have a "legal" time for the gold event. Barb has made phone calls regarding the overswims, and has had to fine 2 clubs. For meets this summer, letters with fines due will be sent out, no phone calls will be made.
For those clubs holding invitationals, all sanction guidelines are in your handbook…these are mailed to all club contacts and coaches. Please be sure to follow these directions.
Invitationals held in 2002 will not have sanction numbers issued until USA membership cards are issued for the meet director and meet marshal and copies sent with the meet packet to Ron. Meets will not be posted on the ND website without a meet sanction number.
A club is needed to host Long Course JO’s this summer. Let Ron know if your club is interested.
Barb reviewed the meet calendar for next year. She reviewed what time trials can be used for, and reminded all that the time trials must be sanctioned.
Marci Callan-Senior Chair
Marci reported on Sectionals that were held at Long Island. 60 to 70 swimmers from ND were there. She reviewed the reimbursement process for swimmers who submitted requests. Marci reported that the meet went well…it was different from the Junior National level meet. Changes will be taking place for the next one…the order of events will be different from the winter meet, some cut times to be made faster. These changes are to take place at the National convention. The STAR web page and ND web page have information on these changes.
Marci reported that Stephanie Danner would be swimming in Rome, Italy, at the World Deaf games in 5 events. Good luck Stephanie!
Niagara District held 3 LSC camps in May at Buffalo, Rush Henrietta and Newark. Rush Henrietta’s attendance was a bit light; they will work to increase attendance. A reminder that these camps are free to all swimmers. Thanks to the club hosts: Dave Finger for Buffalo, Patty Terry for Rush Henrietta and Rich Parton for Newark. Thanks to Head Coaches Cheryl Carpenter, Mike Kennedy and Barry Neville and the additional coaches that helped: Brian Striker, Darwin Snow, Deborah Burke, Julie O’Neill, Suzie Ball and Carol Reissig. Thanks finally to the athletes that did so much for all the campers: Gavin Stark, Erik Schwarz, Kevin Joyce, Lindsay Holman, Zach Grogengieser and Martha Whistler.
Marci updated the membership as to what is going on at the National level with regard to the Age Group committee.
A new Junior Athlete representative board member will be elected today.
Steve Snyder-Treasurer
Reviewed the budget report as handed out.
Steve is on the National committee for club membership, he will be getting information regarding support for new clubs…it is thought to be in the range of $5000.00
Dave Finger- Age Group Chairman
Dave reviewed the results from the Short Course Zones…ND was 7th overall. Potomac Valley won the meet. Many records were set. The Top 8 listings will be posted on the ND website from this meet.
Dave also touched on the LSC camp in the Buffalo area that his club hosted. He thanked Eric Schwartz. and Gavin Stark for their help with the swimmers.
A Last Chance qualifier for Zones meet will be held 7/20-22, 2001. The meet packet is in the club hand out envelope.
It’s a gold level and faster meet. Dave encouraged clubs to bring all gold level swimmers. He also noted a correction in the packet…15-18 age group are senior events for sectionals. The Zone cut off is 15 to 18. The change will be noted in Sprints and on the ND web site.
Long Course JO’s….forms need to be filled out. The intent to swim forms must have both sides filled out. Dave gave information on lodging; swimming will be at both ECC and UB.
Dave talked about adding events at upcoming District and Zone meets. He acknowledged glitches with ages and times for top ten listing….these will be corrected.
The Versatile and Go the Distance applications should go to Carol Reissig, as per application information, not to Dave Finger.
Everyone is reminded that these are programs paid for by your dues….take advantage of this program.
Mary Paladino– Secretary
A reminder was given to be sure to have your current club address, phone and contact information to Ruth Whelehan so that accurate labels are run for all district mailings. If you think you are missing any mailings, email Mary at mpaladin@rochester.rr.com or call at 716-352-0986.
Jim Bowen – Web Master
Jim answered questions about the website. He reminded people to let him know about any corrections needed to posted information. Rick Aronberg asked about information posted in both Meet Manager and Team Manager format. Jim will check this out.
Ruth Whelehan-Registration:
Ruth reported that there are 18 board members and 31 clubs in attendance, for a total of 49 votes today.
For the next season, all registrations will be changing.she will be getting information at the Convention. All registration will be done by disk or email. She will be notifying clubs how to do it. The information will need to be in the Hy-tek program.
Checking swimmers registrations: it is up to the club hosting a meet to check for verification of registration and club affiliation. Ruth will have the program available to send out The list of swimmers participating in the meet will need to be verified against Ruth’s membership list. Any swimmer not registered will not be allowed to swim.
Steve Root- Coach Representative
Barry Neville resigned from Coach Alternate; the new representative will be Roy Staley. Steve encouraged the membership to contact the representatives about issues at the upcomming Convention and give feedback.
Mike Cahill- Technical Planning
Not attending
Barb Paradis giving the report today.
The following changes will be made to District Meets:
Bid calendar in packet.
There was a discussion on the difficulty with scheduling the Gold District meets and Sectionals in March 2002. …problems with splitting families, coaches and officials. Any proposals for improvements should be submitted as per procedure.
Jamie Adams- Junior Athlete representative
No report.
.
Mike Baines-Finance Chair
Reviewed budget for 9/01 to 8/02 as per handout. Motion and seconded to increase swimmer travel line by $10,000- approved.
Motion to accept the budget as changed and seconded, budget passed.
Eric Schwarz: Senior Athlete representative:
Eric spoke to combining Senior and 14 and Unders at a Gold meet…. not a good idea…. coaches are split, there are not enough officials, and it can get too crowded. He felt that incentives for Seniors to go to Zones should be looked at as it is not very popular lately as swimmers get older, it’s the same swimmers, it can get boring…perhaps changing cut times would improve the meet.
Eric thanked the District and Board for their support over the past 2 years, and for his experiences at Conventions.
Kathy Derrick-Sprints
The budget for Sprints shows that the copying costs vary…but mailing costs are usually static. Please email information to her for upcoming issues. She can be reached via the ND web page.
Nothing for Board of Review.
Bruce Derrick- Officials
Bruce gave information on the Maxwell award…it recognizes a local LSC official. Andy Kelly of Syracuse is the recipient of this award. If you want to nominate anyone for that award, let Bruce know.
Bruce indicated that he is trying to make an accurate official list as clinics are taking place. Thanks to area contacts for the clinics given…15 to 20 a year.
ND still needs officials….please encourage involvement.
Bruce highlighted the change in the current rulebook…. the no recall false start is now used in all meets, not just if mentioned in the meet packet
Sectionals and Empire Games are the same weekend this summer…officials are needed for both. Please mention this to your club. Jeff Vanburen is the contact at Empire games. They are being held at Colgate this year.
Sectionals….all starters and referees were mailed an application by Bruce.
Recertifications are given out in 3-month cycles to do away with a month-by-month expiration, and make it easier to schedule clinics. A request was made for the schedule of upcoming clinics to be posted on the web. Bruce reminded everyone that all you have to do is call if you want a clinic.
June Mundt- Swim a Thon, Open water swimming
If you have a swim a thon, contact the National office
June mentioned 3 open water swims coming up: - Canandaigua, Hamburg Town Beach and Silver Creek.
Gary Karl- By laws and legislation
A proposal for a change in district surcharges, caps on event fees and support for Gold District meets will be discussed under new business.
Gerry Lofthus- Awards
. Gerry spoke to the shortage of silver and gold pins for meets. This is the first cycle of using pins, and she will increase the amounts for upcoming meets.
Mike Ross – Outreach
Not attending, no report
Keith Shields- Safety
Safety training for swim coaches continues to be available from Keith. If anyone else is also teaching this, please give the information to Sprints and for posting on the website, so people can contact someone in their area. Keith is getting phone calls…he offers it at Victor each morning for the challenge level only.
No new issues on safety. The Red Cross will be updating the course.
Martha Beck- Marketing / Equipment
At a wedding
Kathy Derrick to give report
Official’s shirts are available. See the order form in Sprints. Pins are also available
Bob Matlack- National Cut Times officer (former OVC)
There is no more OVC terminology. Be sure that people in each area are approving the necessary meets.
If your swimmer gets a time out of our area, send the offical signed document to Bob. Also, have the time put on the National web site so it is posted, and available immediately at these National meets.
Paul Bartlett- Adapted Swimming
The Disabled National Championships are to be held June 22-24, 2001 in Phoenix, AZ. Niagara swimmers attening include Kate Pavlacka, Andrea Clarke and Jeff Thompson.
World Deaf Games: Stephanie Danner will be swimming in Rome, Italy as part of the US team.
Paul noted that the USA Swim web site – Adapted swimming page - has drafts of brochures for swimmers, parents, coaches, officials, meet directors and LSC’s, emphasizing inclusion of all swimmers abd not coddling disabled swimmers.
Henry Heppner- Records / Top 16
New District records include 6 relay records in sc, 12 individual in sc and 14 Top 16 qualifiers
16 individuals in Top 16.
Henry’s new email address: hheppner@adelphia.net. Don’t use any other address.
Long Course and Short Course record files are updated and will be sent to Jim Bowen for posting on the web. Let him know if there are any mistakes.
Top 16….Henry is still awaiting old certificates; he’s working with the new national coordinator on information.
Due to a computer problem, Henry needs to rebuild his data base…if meet directors have information from meets from the past few years…email him what you have on a com link or team manager file.
Old Business:
None
New Business:
Nominations are needed for the nominating committee for positions for the November 2001 election.
Nominated were Andy Kelly, Erik Schwartz, Royce Daley, Bob Sarcizizan, June Mundt, and Jim Gufstason
Those wanting to be considered for a position should contact Mr. Karl or go to the web site for job duties. They should also talk to the current people in the position they are considering. If you want to be considered, let the nominating committee know.
After the nominations were closed, a move to vote by acclimation was made for these 6 people. Voted on and passed.
Election of Junior Athlete Representive.
Zach Grobengieser from GRSC gave his biography and asked to be considered for election.
New Bid Calendar:
Barb reviewed the meet schedule. Ithaca offered to host the Bronze districts in their area. The calendar was approved and passed.
Gary Karl:
Gary reviewed the proposal to adjust the fee structure for surcharges as per handout in meeting notice packet.
Mike Baines reviewed a hand out to illustrate what the changes look like, gave an example for a timed final, prelim and final meet.
Discussion centered on the impact of this proposal on low-income families…. There was concern that an increased event fee may result in swimmers not swimming as many events.
Kathy Derrick spoke to the cost affecting younger swimmers swimming multiple events…she stated that she also could understand the deck fee impact on someone swimming only one day. She asked if something could be looked at -fees vs. deck fees.
Willie Wiese- not worried about income, but worried about impact on swimmers families….also % due to ND, with timed finals format.
Kendra Bush- worried that small clubs cannot afford to charge more $, will not get the entries needed, will not have the $ for club activities for the clubs. Patty Terry- concern for clubs that don’t have the facilities to even host the district meets.
Barb Paradis indicated that deck fees were charged for 18 out of 43 meets this past season. Mike S. noted the proposal speaking to the Gold meets, but it affects all the meets.
Gary K. called the question:
In favor as submitted: Motion defeated.
Awards:
Niagara District Scholarships: $500 each awards
It was reported that 24 seniors applied; with 8 chosen for the scholarships…it was a very difficult choice with many qualified applicants. Thanks and good luck to all who applied.
Scholarship recipients were:
E.J. Amyot – GRRR- plans to attend the University of Maryland
Laura Eastmer-STAR- plans to attend the College of Charleston
Lindsay Holman- FAST- plans to attend North Carolina State
Seth Johnson-STAR- plans to attend St. Bonaventure
Lisa Ranzenhofer – UBAM – plans to attend Cornell
Tommy Seay- STAR – plans to attend Ohio State University
Gavin Stark- FAST- plans to attend East Carolina University
Erin Walsh - SHAK- plans to attend SUNY Geneseo
Andy Wilson Scholarship award
Mrs. Wilson awarded two scholarships in honor of her late husband, who officiated for Niagara District for a number of years.
A committee of 6 people decided the awards. They go to:
Laura Easmer of STAR and Tommy Seay of STAR. Congratulations.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m.
Respectively submitted,
Mary Paladino,
Secretary