To: All FINA delegates From: L A. "Buddy" Baarcke Date: May 1, 2013 Subject: Proposed FINA rule changes. I ask all FINA delegates to vote NO to the proposed rule changes on breaststroke and backstroke: Rule No. SW 7.1: Allowing multiple butterfly kicks after the start of a breaststroke race would completely change breaststroke into a hybrid butterfly-breaststroke, which would not be any better for our sport than the old pre-1953 frog-fly (butterfly arm stroke with a breaststroke kick). This would destroy breaststroke, blurring the distinction between butterfly and breaststroke....

DRAFT ANNOUNCEMENT revised on January 28th for distribution during first week of February Dear General Chairs: re: 2014 Eastern Zone Spring Meeting, Saturday, May 10th, 2014 Hosted by Metropolitan Swimming, Inc. The Annual Spring Meeting of the Eastern Zone is scheduled to return to Fort Lauderdale. Please be sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, May 10, 2014. In the past our Eastern Zone Spring meetings have started at 9:00 AM and have usually concluded sometime between noon and 1:00 PM. Our Spring Eastern Zone meeting will be held in...

Panama Will Host Coaches Clinic May 13-17th PANAMA--The Panamanian Swimming Federation, Federación Panameña de Natación (FPN), will host a coaches clinic on May 13-17. Speaking at the clinic will be Emerson Ramírez. Information on the clinic can be found on the FPN website [in Spanish] here: http://fpnatacion.org/2013/04/clinica-internacional-para-entrenadores-de-natacion-avalada-por-fina-mayo-13-1/

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE The “President’s Message” is a continuing effort on my part to keep the members of USA Swimming informed about current happenings in our sport and our organization. Please feel free to share the message with others. The year 2013 promises to be another great year for USA Swimming. Through April, our year-round athlete membership numbers are up 13.8 percent over last year, and 2013 promises to be our single largest annual increase in recent history. Much of this can be attributed to the success of our Olympic Team...

Brazilian Federation acts to save Júlio de Lamare Aquatic Center from demolition RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL--The Brazilian Aquatic Sports Confederation, Confederação Brasileira de Desportos Aquáticos (CBDA), has joined efforts to save from demolition the Júlio de Lamare Aquatic Center in Rio de Janeiro. The aquatics center along with an Athletics stadium are both slated for demolition tied to renovations being completed on the nearby Maracaña Stadium. The Maracaña is being renovated in preparation of hosting football (soccer) matches during the 2015 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. The aquatics...

Canadian diver Imbeau-Dulac aims high at 2013 Gillette Canada Cup GATINEAU, QUE – François Imbeau-Dulac of St-Lazare, Que., rebounded from a tough preliminary round to reach the men’s three-metre final at the 2013 Canada Cup Grand Prix diving competition being held this week at the Centre sportif. The competition is the third stop on the FINA Grand Prix circuit. Meaghan Benfeito of Montreal also qualified for the women’s 10-metre final. In the men’s three-metre, Imbeau-Dulac struggled on two dives and was 12th in the morning preliminaries gaining the last available...

Maxim Bouchard’s incredible comeback continues at 2013 Gillette Canada Cup GATINEAU, Que - Maxim Bouchard of St-Constant, Que., reached his first career FINA Grand Prix final on Thursday to continue an incredible comeback from serious injury at the 2013 Gillette Canada Cup diving competition. The annual event, being held for the first time at the Centre Sportif, is the third stop on the 2013 FINA Grand Prix circuit. On men’s 10-metre tower, the 22-year-old Bouchard nailed his final two dives to finish third in his semifinal heat and nearly sneaked...

Synchro de Mayo: A Struggling U.S. Sport Throws Itself A Party By RACHEL BACHMAN Getty Images Mary Killman and Mariya Koroleva were the only Americans to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in synchronized swimming. . When people used to routinely mock synchronized swimmers for their peacock makeup and matching nose clips, the nation's top competitors in the sport held a trump card: Olympic medals. But ahead of the London Games last summer, the U.S. failed to qualify as a team in the sport for the first time—a low-water mark for...

Puerto Rican Swimming Federation statement about November elections ýPUERTO RICO--On April 6, the Puerto Rican Swimming Federation, Federaciýn Puertorriqueýa de Nataciýn (FPN), posted a statement related to allegations in the media against the federation related to the FPN's elections held last September. In the statement, FPN clarifies that on November 1, 2012, it responded to an inquiry from the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee (COPUR) about its election, and at COPUR's 2013 General Assembly in March was allotted a brief amount of time to discuss the matter with the COPUR President....

Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport welcomes new board member Synchro Coach Debbie Muir (Ottawa, Ontario – May 1, 2013) – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) welcomes three new members to its Board of Directors. Debbie Muir, Dr. Don McKenzie and Dr. Jack Taunton bring a strong background in sport, medicine, and leadership to the CCES. “Each of the new members is a pioneer in their field and we’re very proud to have them on board,” said Paul Melia, President and CEO of the CCES. “Debbie Muir’s...