USA Swimming’s annual business meeting is set to run Thursday through Saturday, September 23-25, in Colorado Springs (with some virtual offerings) after holding an exclusively virtual event in 2020.
Committee Chairs, the USA Swimming Foundation Board of Directors and the USA Swimming Board of Directors will be present in Colorado Springs, and the rest of the participants can attend via live streams online and Zoom.
The meeting’s primary events will be the Annual House of Delegates meeting, USA Swimming’s Board of Directors’ Meeting and the Special House of Delegates Meeting.
A total of 16 legislative items have been proposed for amendment.
Among the legislative proposals is to include personal care assistants as members of USA Swimming (not just if they are a coach), including the preceding Olympic Open Water head coach as a member of the National Steering Committee, and adding the DEI Chair/Coordinator as a member of the LSC Board of Directors.
Find the full list of proposals up for amendment from the USA Swimming Rules & Regulations below:
Recommended for approval by R&R (Rules & Regulations):
- To remove the definition of bullying from the Rulebook.
- To align the definition of Personal Care Assistant with the U.S. Center for SafeSport Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy.
- To reassign responsibility of the Policy Manual from the Board of Directors to staff and to further specify that the Policy Manual contains operating policies.
- To align the term “assistant” with the defined term Personal Assistant.
- To give swimmers alternatives related to swim-offs consistent with previous practice/interpretations of the Rules and Officials Committees.
- To use “athlete first” language when referring to athletes who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- To remove reference to personal (care) assistants only being required to be a member of USA Swimming if also acting in a coaching capacity. A Personal (Care) Assistant who meets any of the provisions of Corporate Bylaw 2.6.6 is required to be a non-athlete member of USA Swimming.
- To use “athlete first” language when referring to athletes who have cognitive impairments.
- To reflect current practices and the Times and Recognition Policy Manual.
- To reduce the number of swimmers at two-course meets in order to address frequent overcrowding at Sectional meets.
- To add the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Chair/Coordinator as a member of the LSC Board of Directors.
- To include preceding Open Water Olympic Head Coach as a member of the National Steering Committee.
- To ensure all non-athlete members of USA Swimming receive annually a printed copy of the Rule Book as a benefit of membership.
No recommendation:
- To specify the events to be contested in Development competitions.
- To specify the minimum number of officials required for development competitions is the same as that of dual and intra-squad meets.
- To specify Development Competition program as part of the Age Group Program.