United States Aquatic Sports Convention
If you didn't know, one of our very own is an Athlete Representative for Sierra Nevada Swimming. Tim Lee recently had the opportunity to attend the United States Aquatic Sports Convention in Missouri. Read his report about what he experienced at the convention. :) Great having Tim represent Sierra Nevada and the Vacaville Swim Club!
United States Aquatic Sports Convention Report
The USAS (United States Aquatic Sports) convention, held this year in Kansas City Missouri, was a great experience. The convention consisted of 4 full days of meetings, workshops, and voting conferences. On the first day we were introduced to the athlete oriented committees, some including famous swimmers such as Peter Vanderkaay, who is a three time Olympian. These committees were involved with sports medicine and athlete disability as well as many others. As the day went on we had a few icebreakers and we became acquainted with the other 80+ athlete representatives from all over the country. We, the athlete representatives, make up 20% of the vote to insure accurate representation at the National level. At the Zone level, we make up 1/3 of the vote. Each LSC must provide athlete representation in order to maintain a full vote on any legislation.
One of the main points we focused on the first day was to discuss how we could improve inclusion and communication within our zone. The second day we focused on workshops and the importance of inclusion and diversity. An LGBTQ sensitivity seminar helped us get an understanding of how to support people from all walks of life as well as have a solid back ground on how to vote on legislation that involves issues such as transgender equality. The second workshop was based on how to promote swimming as a fun and important sport. The I Swim campaign is focusing on reaching all people not only to prevent drowning but also to keep people involved in the sport. One of the final meetings we had was learning about the Roberts Rules of Parliamentary Procedure. This is so that we knew how to correctly discuss legislation being passed at the Zone level and the National level when the time came.
The official meeting at the Zone level involved new legislation concerning the rules of running a Zone Championship Meet such as how many timers must represent their respective team. The House of Delegates meeting involved all Zones in an effort to pass bylaws affecting all swimmers and coaching staffs. Overall it was a full, extremely informative, and very fun trip. I wasn’t aware of the magnitude and complexity of USA Swimming until I had experienced what really goes on beneath the surface. I was exposed to all types of people from all over the country and it really helped me get an understanding of why all of this is in place.
If you have any questions or comments regarding my position or any ideas on ways to improve the team/LSC feel free to email me: [email protected]
L to R: Tommy Granat, athlete representative from NSA (Northern Sierra Aquatics), Tim Lee, and Elizabeth Fugit from STAS (Spare Time Aquatic Sharks).
