WHAT IS DASH?

WHY SWIM?

Dubuque Area Swimmin' Hurricanes (DASH) is a non-profit educational corporation, whose primary focus is to provide a high quality, competitive swimming program for the youth of Dubuque and surrounding areas. Founded in 1991 to establish a year-round competitive swimming program in the greater Dubuque area we are a member of USA Swimming and affiliated with both Iowa Swimming, Inc. and USA Swimming. DASH trains its swimmers according to age, gender and ability with encouragement to compete in swim meets throughout the year. DASH is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors which are elected at a yearly meeting held in September.

DASH swimmers and coaching staff are members of USA Swimming which is the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States. USA Swimming is divided into 59 Local Swimming Committees (LSC’s), which administer USA Swimming activities in smaller geographical areas. Iowa Swimming Inc. is the LSC that serves as the governing body of USA Swimming for the State of Iowa.

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USA and IASI Swimming

USA Swimming is a 300,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. USA Swimming membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport and Achieve competitive success. USA Swimming’s mission is to administer competitive swimming in accordance with the Amateur Sports Act by providing programs and services for members, supporters, affiliates and the interested public. As members of USA Swimming, each swimmer receives a membership card and has both liability and secondary medical insurance coverage. In addition, each household receives a copy of "Splash,” the official USA Swimming magazine. USA Swimming is the ruling body of sanctioned swimming meets in the United States. The meets are designed to protect the swimmer, provide fair and equitable conditions of competition and promote uniformity in the sport so that no swimmer shall obtain an unfair advantage over another. Its website is www.usa-swimming.org

USA Swimming is divided into 59 Local Swimming Committees (LSC’s), which administer USA Swimming activities in smaller geographical areas. Iowa Swimming Inc. is the LSC that serves as the governing body of USA Swimming for the State of Iowa, with the exception of the extreme western portion of the state. Iowa Swimming, Inc. consists of group members (swim clubs) who registered annually with ISI and USA Swimming. ISI is governed by a House of Delegates made up of representatives from each Group Member (swim club) in the LSC and a Board of Directors with officers elected by the House of Delegates who meet twice each year. Each swim club is represented at each meeting. In addition to serving as the local governing body for USA Swimming, IASI sanctions competitions, registers swimmers and clubs, trains and certifies officials, conducts championship meets, provides swimmer recognition and travel funds, publishes a newsletter, maintains records and generally promotes, encourages and supports competitive swimming at all levels in the state. Most directors, officers, delegates, club officials and meet officials serve Iowa Swimming, Inc. and USA Swimming on a volunteer basis and all persons interested in competitive swimming are encouraged to join their efforts in maintaining a strong program for swimmers in the state of Iowa.

The objective and primary purpose of IASI is the education, instruction and training of individuals to develop and improve their capabilities in the sport of swimming. IASI promotes swimming for the benefit of swimmers of all ages and abilities, in accordance with the standards, rules, regulations, policies and procedures of FINA, USA Swimming and ISI and its Articles of Incorporation. Its website is www.isiswim.com

Age group swimming builds a strong foundation for a lifetime of good health by teaching healthy fitness habits.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Many physicians consider swimming the ideal activity for developing muscular and skeletal growth. Why do doctors like it so much?

• Swimming develops high quality aerobic endurance, the most important key to physical fitness.  Unlike other sports, where an hour of practice may yield as little as 10 minutes of meaningful exercise, swimming practices provide sustained aerobic conditioning.

• Swimming provides proportional muscular development by using all the body’s major muscle groups.

• Swimming enhances children’s natural flexibility at a time when they ordinarily begin to lose it by exercising all of their major joints through a full range of motion.

• Swimming helps develop superior coordination because it requires combinations of complex movements of all parts of the body, enhancing harmonious muscle function, grace, and fluidity of movement.

• Swimming is the most injury-free of all children’s sports.  

Swimming is a sport that will bring fitness and enjoyment for life.  Participants in Master’s Swimming programs still train and race well into their 80s.

INTELLECTUAL COMPETENCE

In addition to physical development, children can develop greater intellectual competence by participating in a guided program of physical activity. Learning and using swimming skills engages the thinking processes. As they learn new techniques, children must develop and plan movement sequences. They improve by exploring new ideas. They learn that greater progress results from using their creative talents.

PREPARATION FOR LIFE

One of the great values of swimming as a sport is that it prepares one for life. The total swimming experience is made up of people, attitudes, beliefs, work habits, fitness, health, winning and losing, and much more. Swimmers learn to deal with pressure and stress, success and failure, teamwork and discipline.

Swimming is a self-achievement activity. There is only one person in the water in a given lane in any race. The responsibility for performance ultimately lies with the individual. How well the individual has prepared physically and mentally to a large degree determines the performance level.

By learning how to handle frustration and disappointment, swimmers gain confidence. They learn dedication and commitment. Through perseverance, swimmers learn to overcome adversity.  All of these experiences tend to develop individuals who are better able to handle life’s hardships and face problems.

**Swimmers must learn that not all people are born with the same natural talents. They learn to emphasize their given talents and skills. Swimmers learn that if they do their best, then there are no failures. They learn to set realistic goals for themselves which they will achieve through hard work.