Sierra Nevada Swimming Newsletter: September 29, 2025

Daryn Glasgow

SIERRA NEVADA SWIMMING NEWSLETTER

Welcome to the SNS’s first newsletter of the 2025-2026 season.  Each month the SNS Board of Directors will send out a newsletter to update the entire membership about what is happening.

ATHLETE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations Luca Urlando and Patrick Sammon!

Luca and Patrick remain on the 2025-2026 U.S. National Team Roster and both have been selected to the 2026 USA Pan Pacific Team!

2025 Golden Goggles

This prestigious event honors the top athletes within USA Swimming. Luca Urlando and Patrick Sammon, swimmers that were raised in Sierra Nevada Swimming, were nominated for Male athlete of the year and Relay Performance of the year, respectively. Urlando took home top honors as the lone male swimmer on the team to win an individual event at this year's World Aquatics Championships. Sammon's world record performance on the 400 mixed Free Relay came second to the Women's 400 Medley Relay world record swim. Congratulations to these amazing athletes on their achievements this year.

Congratulations Brody Chandler!                        

Brody was named to the 2025-2026 U.S. National Junior Team Roster.

2025 Summer Senior Travel

SNS issued $26,340.03 to Senior athletes.  By expanding our program, we supported 19 additional athletes!

  • 19 athletes at the Futures level 

  • 5 athletes at the Bronze level

  • 18 athletes at the Silver level

  • 7 athletes at the Gold level

Congratulations to the Athlete Committee on raising over $2,500 by assisting with EGAC apparel sales at Western Zones Age Group Meet.

 

FROM OUR REGISTRAR

Club Registration & Membership Updates:

 

Club Registration Deadline
Clubs must complete registration between now and December 31, 2025. Failure to register by the deadline will result in removal of all club staff access to the Club Portal.

 

Registration Fees

  • USA Swimming renewal fee: $500

  • LSC registration fee: $55

  • Total club renewal cost: $550

 

Athlete & Non-Athlete Membership Fees
No changes this season.

  • Premium Athlete ($95)

  • Individual Season Athlete ($59)

  • Flex Athlete ($30)

  • Non-Athlete (Coach, Junior Coach, Official, Other) ($80)

  • Administrator (Club Board Members and Non-Coach Employees) ($40)

 

👉 Ask your club for this year’s registration link.

 

Athletes Turning 18

  • Athletes must create their own USA Swimming account using their personal email address.

  • Accounts must be created before completing Athlete Protection Training.

 

Membership Compliance

Clubs must ensure that all athletes and coaches are in good standing.

  • Athletes or coaches who are not registered and compliant may not be on deck or in the water.

  • Failure to enforce this rule will invalidate the club’s USA Swimming insurance.

Key Points:

  • Only athletes who have never registered with USA Swimming are eligible for a 30-day tryout period.

  • All other athletes must be registered to practice or compete.

  • Every athlete must have a current Athlete Membership before being entered into a meet.

 

BOARD MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

(for more information from each Chair, review the most recent Board Meeting Materials)

 

FINANCE:  We ended our 2024/2025 Season strong financially.  We remained under-budget, as a whole.  We can always improve how well we budget versus what we spend.  Our investment fund is continuing to grow.  The 2024/2025 End of Year Budget to Actuals was part of the September 18, 2025 Board materials.

COACHES:  

ASCA World Clinic

20 Coaches represented their clubs and Sierra Nevada Swimming at the 2025 ASCA World Clinic from September 2nd - 5th. SNS contributed $13,212.46 in financial aid to support its member clubs in their educational process. 

Coaches had networking opportunities and learned valuable information over the course of the four-day clinic, including the following topics:

  1. Technical progression discussions/presentations

  2. In-water technique analysis from prominent USA swimming coaches

  3. Training physiology presentations

  4. How to improve clubs on the business/marketing side

Napa ASCA Clinic

Mark your calendar for the ASCA clinic to be hosted in Napa from January 9th - 11th, 2026. This is another opportunity for coaches to gather information to bring back to their clubs. More information to follow!

USA Swimming Annual Summit

  • Five SNS Board of Directors members and two athlete reps attended the Annual Summit in Denver from September 25th - 27th. 

  • Billy Doughty was named chair of the National Steering Committee.

 

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT: 

After a successful camp with the In-Depth Swim Academy featuring Olivia Smoliga and Brooks Curry, the Program Development Committee is now preparing for the Age Group camp set for November 1, 2025. This will be an Age Group Development Camp, focused on cultivating growth, connection, and excellence among our developing swimmers.

We are also beginning the early planning stages for the 2025 Sierra Nevada Swimming Awards Banquet, which will celebrate the accomplishments of our athletes, coaches, and clubs across the LSC.

CA/NV SECTIONALS:

Time Standards for the December 2025 meet and the 2026 Short Course and Long Course meets will remain the same.

Sectionals Committee approved 50s of stroke to the 3 1⁄2 day schedule and will use 100 qualifying times

OFFICIALS:   Welcome to the 2025/2026 Swim Season! Thank you to all the officials who worked the various meets throughout the year. As we enter the new season, please ensure that your Officials certification is in Good Standings.

Information for officials and about officiating can be found under the Officials tab on the Sierra Nevada Swimming website.

Current Officials

New Officials:

Please review your USA Swimming Deck Pass to see if you have any of the requirements (Athlete Protection (APT) and Background Check (BGC) that have expired (they will be red) or about to expire and ensure that those are renewed before showing up on deck.  Also for current USA Swimming officials, please remember to renew your USA Swimming membership by 12/31/2025.  You can renew your membership directly on the USA Swimming website.

For new officials (Stroke & Turn Judge (S&T) or Jr. Stroke & Turn Judge (Jr. S&T) (Ages 16-17), please ensure that you follow the steps outlined below:

  1. Register as an Official (non-athlete) Member of USA Swimming.

  2. Take Appropriate Courses/On-line exam:

    1. Courses are available now and can be found at  https://university.usaswimming.org/landing

    2. All new Officials should take the “Foundations of Officiating” course before any additional courses required for S&T or Jr. S&T

    3. “Stroke and Turn Certification Course” for S&T and Jr. S&T

  3. Fill out the SNS New Official  Google Registration Form

    1. Completion of this form will ensure that your apprentice certification is added to your USAS Membership and receive any needed updates from the LSC.

  4. Complete the minimum number of required on-deck training sessions (at least 4 at two separate meets) using the S&T Training form found under the Officials Tab of the Sierra Nevada Swimming website.  Please remember freestyle only sessions will not count towards the required on-deck training sessions.

  5. Complete the required steps of:

    1.  Athlete Protection Training (APT)

    2. Background Check (BGC)

    3. Concussion Protocol Training (CPT) - Please send a copy of your completion certificate to Mark Brown, our SNS Registrar, at  [email protected] .

    4. CA Residents need to also complete CANRA

  6. After all the above steps have been completed, email a copy of your completed on-deck apprentice form to the Officials Chair at  [email protected]