AGENDA HOUSE OF DELEGATES MEETING October 11, 2015, Round Rock TX Approved at the October 8, 2016 HoD meeting

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1 Call to order 8:30am. AGENDA HOUSE OF DELEGATES MEETING October 11, 2015, Round Rock TX Approved at the October 8, 2016 HoD meeting Roll Call Roll call was taken by Mindy The following teams were not present for the HOD meeting. As per South Texas Swimming Policies and Procedures (Section IV (F)) and STSI bylaws ( ), these teams may not host a sanctioned or approved meet until the 2016 House of Delegates meeting: COTA, DRD, FHD, GHAR, HAT, CLAN, CLUB, LTF, MM, NAMS, SAS, UT, WORD, WLOO, WWW. Reading, correction and adoption of minutes of previous meeting It was moved and seconded that the minutes from the 2014 HOD meeting be adopted as presented on the website. The motion PASSED. Reports of officers General Chair Mark Parshall - Jessica Evans received the Excellence in Service Award for her hard work with South Texas Swimming. Mark also congratulated Tim O Brien from Nitro, who was named USA Swimming Junior National Coach. Admin Vice Chair Doug Donofrio South Texas completed its LEAP level 1 certification. We are currently working on LEAP level 2. Senior Vice Chair Janet Risser No report given Age Group Chair Rachel Woodard (not present) No report given Treasurer Didi Byerly Report deferred to budget discussion. Technical Planning Chair Jessica Evans The LSC championship meets were well attended this year and continue to see increased numbers of athletes and swims. Janet and Jessica will be proposing some changes to manage the prelims timelines for the BB Champs and Junior STAGS meets. 1

2 The transition to Team Unify has run smoothly. We are now billing electronically and are one of the first LSCs to manage payments this way. This month we will transact around $250,000, almost entirely electronically. Moving to electronic registrations and payments has simplified the processing of registrations and payments for our member clubs and for the LSC, in addition to providing cost savings and a reduced workload for the LSC. Questions concerning logging into Team Unify can be addressed by Jessica. She will also hold a Team Unify tutorial during lunch for anyone wanting more information about how to use our new online billing. The planning calendar has been updated and is posted on the South Texas website. Please report any changes to Jessica so she can update this document throughout the year. Officials Chair Trey Prinz The number of officials has been increasing each year. South Texas has also increased the number of officials with multiple certifications. Coach Representatives Don Walker, Kay Gerken Don announced Coach of the Year awards. Brendan Hansen (ASC) received small team Senior coach of the year, Doug Russell (ATAC) received small team age group coach of the year, Tim O Brien (NTRO) received senior large team coach of the year, and Elliott McGill (NTRO) received age group large team coach of the year. Athlete Representatives Ellery Parish, Blaine Stapleton (not present), Kaila Byerly Athletes held a canned food drive during the championship meets. The athlete reps also stressed the importance of athletes getting involved with their LSC. They also reminded the coaches that deck changing is not allowed. Coaches should remind their swimmers of the policy. Trustee at Large Annette DuVall No report given Safety Chair vacant position no report Reports of committees and coordinators Adaptive Swimming Chair Kathy Hartman South Texas had two swimmers attend Deaf Worlds, two disabled swimmers attend Zones, and one swimmer attend Can Ams. Awards Chair Leah Woodard (not present) no report Board of Review Chair Ron Zolno There were no admin board of review cases in the past year. Ron suggested that South Texas might want to make this committee a little smaller. Camp/Clinic Coordinator vacant position no report Open Water Chair Tim Byerly Tim reviewed 2015 in Open Water. David Johnson reviewed initiatives by USA-S Open Water Development Committee to include having the 2

3 champion(s) of the 5K at Open Water Zones June 2-5 in Ft Myers qualify for the 2017 Nationals Open Water Championships. Tim O Brien, NTRO, discussed Taylor Abbott s 10K swim at Nationals. David Johnson, AAAA, discussed Zach Yeadon s 5K swim at Nationals. Tim Byerly reviewed top swims from the Open Water Festival trip this past April. Head coach for the Open Water Festival trip Robert Hastings reviewed the trip in depth. For the 2016 the following events or trips are planned: OW Festival Ft Myers April 8-10 USA-S OW Nationals Ft Myers April 8-10 Southern OW Zones Ft Myers June 2-5 Tim thanked the following individuals for their support over the past year for the OW program: Mark Parshall, Head coach open water zones; Rachel Woodard, Open water zones; Robert Hastings, Head coach open water festival; David Johnson, open water clinic; and Denny Ryther, open water clinic. Club Development Coordinator Derek Howorth -- no report Safe Sport Chair Jennie Lou Leeder Jennie Lou gave a summary from the LSC safe sport chairs workshop. She described that the committee is working to create a positive culture. The message is to be simple, relevant, positive, and creative. There are four avenues that USA Swimming is promoting: True Sport, Safe Sport, National Alliance of Youth Sports, and Positive Coach Alliance. TAGS Committee TSA BJ Allenstein TAGS will now have bonus time standards that are one-half percent slower than the TAGS time standards. A swimmer with one or two hard TAGS cut will get one bonus event; swimmers with three or more hard TAGS cuts will not get any bonus events. Deck entries of relays will only be deck seeded so that teams can identify the top eight relays when the psych sheet is released. All Star Committee vacant position -- no report Meet Sanction Chair Lorna Anaya South Texas has issued 97 sanctions to date for 2015 and two meets for The breakdown of the 97 sanctioned meets is as follows: 22 were closed meets, four were for time trials, 63 were open, no open water meets, seven championship meets, and one cancelled meet. Sanctions issued by city/region: five were in the northern part of LSC, 20 in the Austin area, 34 in the San Antonio area, nine in Corpus Christi, one in Mission, and five in Brownsville. The majority of the sanctions are being applied for at least 35 days prior to the meet s start date. The template for sanctions is on the South Texas website. NTV (Observed Meets) Chair Rick Allenstein (not present) no report Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator Cedric Rawls (not present) no report Records Coordinator Heather Bleasdell (not present) no report 3

4 Registration and Membership Mindy Donofrio A registration comparison was given for the past five years. Registrations for 2015 were up compared to To date, 4,883 athletes, 67 outreach athletes, 159 non-athletes, and 15 life members have been registered for Mindy went over the new paperless registration process. All documentation should be ed. Athletes are being processed as they are cleared. Batches are not held if there is an issue with another athlete in the same batch. Club transactions are billed to the clubs via Team Unify. Invoices are generated on the 1 st of each month and payment is due by the 10 th business day of the month. Clubs only need to send in one check a month to cover all fees to South Texas Swimming. Late fees will be accessed to teams not paying by the 10 th business day of the month starting in November. There is a new athlete protection course for renewals. The 120-day transfer rule now begins from the last day an athlete represented a USA Swimming club in an open competition. Webmaster Mindy Lewis (not present) no report Presentation and approval of the annual budget Treasurer Didi Byerly South Texas has revised the registration process. We take ACH (preferred method), check, and direct bank transfers for payments. Didi presented the current budget along with 2014 budget had income of $339K and expenses of $286K for a net profit of $53K. To date in 2015, projected expenditures are $211K. We are projected to operate in the black for Mindy has processed over 4,400 registrations already for the 2016 season, which is half of the annual total registrations. Didi also went over cost reductions. South Texas no longer pays rent to its employee, and has only one employee (reduced from three employees last year). South Texas has rented a storage unit. South Texas changed the conference line and phone services for a cost savings. The Board of Directors approved the funding for reimbursement of the 2015 Futures meet, with a cap of $7,000 total and $300 per athlete. We have also seen growth in the number of swimmers attending national meets. South Texas will need to move funds around to cover the increase in national reimbursements, including reimbursements for more officials who attended national swim meets. Didi reminded the House that only dividend and interest earnings from the investment account can be used to pay for national reimbursements. It was moved and seconded to move money from Swimposium to cover officials reimbursement for national meets. Motion Passed Didi Byerly also reminded the House that South Texas has regional SWIMS users. All meet recons and results should be sent to the regional SWIMS user. Didi Byerly covers Corpus and the Valley, Angella Woodard covers San Antonio, and Jessica Evans covers Austin and teams to the north of Austin. 4

5 Presentation and approval of the semi-annual audit pursuant to Section 608.5, when applicable A motion was made and seconded to postpone the start of 12/31/14 audit to after October 31, 2015 but no later than November 16, 2015 with a completion date of December 31, Motion Passed Standing rules Mark went over the standing rules (attached) for the remainder of the meeting. Votes were counted by Janet Risser, Trey Prinz, and Christopher Hasson (athlete). Schedule of meets for The planning meeting was held on Saturday, October 10 and is posted on the STSI website. Any changes should be sent to Jessica Evans. The following bids were awarded by vote for the 2016 LSC championship meets. All bids were passed by the HOD. Team alignments for the 2016 BB meets will be the same as Short Course B Champs January 9-10, 2016 AAAA at SA Natatorium in San Antonio; same meet format as last season. Short Course BB Champs South February 5-7, 2016 Streamline at UIW San Antonio Short Course BB Champs North January 29-31, 2016 LCA at Killeen Boys & Girls Club pool (location tentative) Short Course STAGS February 12-14, 2016 CBA at Corpus Christi ISD Natatorium Long Course STAGS July 14-17, 2016 TXLA at University of Texas Austin Long Course Jr STAGS - August 12-14, 2016 CCAA at Corpus Christi ISD Natatorium Proposed Legislation #1 Proposed Legislation: STSI SC STAGS Meet add 1000 Free Event Rationale: This event is important to our swimmers with collegiate aspirations. Also, it s a qualifying event for Open Water Nationals. STAGS is the last LSC championship prior to Open Water Nationals. Sponsor: Tim Byerly Motion was made and seconded. Tim Byerly presented proposal for change. There was discussion for and against proposal. Proposal FAILED 5

6 #2 Proposed Legislation: STSI Junior STAGS Meet Format Sponsor: Jessica Evans & Janet Risser Rationale: The Junior STAGS meet is currently set up as a prelims/finals meet, and occurs the first week of August. Prelims are currently seeded by time, age group, and gender, in a circleseeded format. The meet timelines have become too lengthy for reasonable breaks between sessions as the size of this meet has increased (2013: 1519 splashes; 2014: 2905 splashes; 2015: 3116 splashes). To adjust the meet size and timeline, we are proposing the following changes: 1. Change to a timed finals format to be seeded by age group and gender. 2. Swim distance events on Friday evening, seeded only by time and gender (and not by age group). 3. Events will be conducted in morning sessions only on Saturday and Sunday. Afternoon time trials will be at the discretion of the meet host. 4. Use a qualifying time period of March 1 of the previous year to the meet date (ie, for the August, 2016 meet, the entry qualification period would be March 1, 2015 to the meet date in August, 2016). 5. Entry limit is seven individual events total, with a maximum of three individual events per day (unchanged from current format). 6. Relay events will be seeded by time and gender only (and not by age group). Change to Policies and Procedures Section XI F Motion was made and seconded. Jessica Evans presented proposal for change. There was discussion for and against proposal. Proposal PASSED. #3 Proposed Legislation: STSI SC BB Champs Meet Format Sponsor: Jessica Evans & Janet Risser Rationale: The SC BB Champs meet is currently set up as a prelims/finals meet, and occurs late January/early February. Prelims are currently seeded by time, age group, and gender, in a circle-seeded format. The meet length has increased as the size of this meet has increased (2013: 4395 splashes; 2014: 4886 splashes; 2015: 4748 splashes). By combining age groups in prelims and seeding by gender and time, the prelims timeline will be shorter. Finals events will still be conducted by age group. Change to Policies and Procedures, Section XI F Motion was made and seconded. Jessica Evans presented proposal for change. There was discussion for and against proposal. Prelims events will be circle seeded. Proposal PASSED. 6

7 #4 Proposed Legislation: STSI Championship Meets: Awards and Banners Sponsor: Jessica Evans & Janet Risser Rationale: STSI currently requires clubs hosting championship meets to pay for all awards and banners associated with the meets. The awards for championship meets and the meet format are determined by STSI, and not by the meet host. STSI collects splash fees on all swims at a championship meet, which is also an expense of the meet host. A championship meet is more expensive to host and run than a regular meet, with a tighter profit margin. This proposal is to change the awards and banners to a STSI budget item to be paid for by STSI through splash fees, instead of making it a cost passed on to the meet host. Splash fees income received from championship meets in 2015 was approximately $24,100 (per estimate from SWIMS) Awards/banners costs for championship meets in 2015 was approximately $5,500 (per budget) Change to Policies and Procedures, Section XI Motion was made and seconded. Janet Risser presented proposal for change. There was discussion for and against proposal. Proposal PASSED. #5 Proposed Legislation: STSI Financial Policy Sponsor: Jessica Evans Rationale: STSI does not currently have a policy with regard to members who pay for large, budgeted expenses from their own accounts and seek reimbursement. In accordance with best financial practices, members with signing privileges on STSI accounts should not write checks directly to themselves and sign the checks on behalf of STSI. In addition, the practice of paying for budgeted items on behalf of STSI and seeking reimbursement should be strongly discouraged in favor of STSI making payments for budgeted expenses directly from the STSI financial accounts. This practice should include, but not be limited to, Zones, Open Water Zones and other open water events, HoD expenses, USA Swimming convention expenses, Swimposium expenses, and other expenses that are budgeted in advance. Change to Policies and Procedures, Section XXIV B Motion was made and seconded. Jessica Evans presented proposal for change. There was discussion for and against proposal. Proposal PASSED. #6 Proposed Legislation: STSI Reconciliation Reports Sponsor: Jessica Evans Rationale: Our Policies and Procedures currently state that the monthly reconciliation statements are completed by the Treasurer and reviewed by the General Chair. The Board of 7

8 Directors is tasked with making financial decisions throughout the year but is not provided with monthly reconciliation statements. The Board of Directors should also receive monthly reconciliation statements so that the complete financial status of the LSC can be reviewed by multiple parties and especially by those making decisions about expenditures. Change to Policies and Procedures Section XXIV, B, 9a 9. The general bank accounts of STSI shall be reconciled by the Treasurer on a monthly basis. a. The monthly reconciliation (statement) will be reviewed and signed by the General Chair, or his or her designee, and sent to the Board of Directors for review. Motion was made and seconded. Jessica Evans presented proposal for change. There was discussion for and against proposal. Proposal PASSED. #7 Proposed Legislation: STSI Policies and Procedures Sponsor: Jessica Evans Rationale: Many sections of the Policies and Procedures repeat information that appears in the 2015 USA Swimming rulebook. This information is redundant in our Policies and Procedures and can serve to cause confusion when inconsistencies arise over time. I suggest removing the following sections of the STSI Policies and Procedures based on this redundancy: STSI P&P Section Action Where Duplication Occurs/Reason Section XIV (Timing Discrepancies) and XIII D Remove entire section Section of 2015 USA Swimming rulebook Section XV (Administrative Officials) Remove entire section Section of 2015 USA Swimming rulebook Section XVI (USA Remove entire Content appears in Appendix N Swimming Registration) section Section XVII (2010 Registration Legislation) Remove entire section Sections and of 2015 USA Swimming rulebook Section XIX (Background Checks) Remove entire section Section of 2015 USA Swimming rulebook. Information about reimbursing certified officials for their fee appears in the Policies and Procedures Governing Officials, Section XX (Legislation Affecting Club/Team Employees) Section XXV (Recruiting) Appendix K (Splash Fee Summary) Remove entire section Remove entire section Remove entire appendix and can also be added to Section XXIII, G, 1. Section of 2015 USA Swimming rulebook Section of 2015 USA Swimming rulebook This document is no longer in use and has been replaced by electronic billing 8

9 Motion was made and seconded. Jessica Evans presented proposal for change. Proposal PASSED. #8 Proposed Legislation: STSI Policies and Procedures: Athlete Registrations for Meets Sponsor: Jessica Evans Rationale: The Policies and Procedures includes a clause requiring athletes to be registered with USA Swimming prior to the meet entry date. This requirement is an artifact of paper-based registrations and payments due with registration paperwork. STSI now registers athletes and invoices clubs for these fees electronically. This clause should be amended to indicate that the athlete must be registered by the meet start date, and not the meet entry date. Change to Policies and Procedures, Section XIII A 5 5. Athlete registrations MUST be received completed by the STSI Office prior to entering a meet and all athletes must be registered prior to the meet entry deadlinestart date. Motion was made and seconded. Jessica Evans presented proposal for change. There was discussion for and against proposal. Proposal PASSED. #9 Proposed Legislation: Annual Meeting Date Sponsor: Jessica Evans Rationale: TSA has changed its annual meeting date from October to coincide with the Long Course TAGS meet. Section IV B of our Policies and Procedures specifies that the STSI Annual Meeting of the HoD shall take place at a similar time as the TSA meeting. Because these two meetings are no longer linked on the calendar, I suggest revising the STSI Annual Meeting of the HoD date to be independent of the TSA meeting. B. The Annual Meeting of the HoD shall take place in September or October subsequent to or coincidental with the annual meeting of the Texas Swimming Association (TSA). No swim meets shall be scheduled within the LSC on the weekend of the Annual Meeting. When the TSA meeting is held within STSI, there will be no swim meets scheduled within the LSC. Formatted: Font color: Red Change to Policies and Procedures Section IV B Motion was made and seconded. Jessica Evans presented proposal for change. There was discussion for and against proposal. BJ Allenstein proposed an amendment to state that the meeting can be held in September or October. Amendment PASSED and Proposal PASSED. 9

10 #10 Proposed Legislation: Updated Officials Reimbursement Policy Sponsor: Ron Zolno Rationale: A decade ago, STSI did not really support officials efforts to officiate at National- Level Meets. However, over the past few years this has changed, and more STSI officials are interested in working these meets than ever before. In particular, at this summer s Juniors and Nationals in San Antonio, there were 11 and 6 STSI officials, respectively. In addition, 4 STSI officials worked Winter/SC Juniors or Nationals in With one of the SC Junior meets being held in Austin in December, and 2016 s meets being held in various cities across the country, it is anticipated that numerous STSI Officials will work those meets as well. This participation is advantageous for STSI for numerous reasons: 1. Officials receive advanced training/learning, especially relative to rule clarification, protocols and procedures, that can be utilized at a local level to improve STSI meets. 2. Provides officials an exciting experience, that is likely to interest them in extending their careers as Officials. 3. Provides a contact point at these National-Level meets, especially for Coaches. 4. Provides STSI Athletes with a comfort-level related to seeing familiar faces on the pool deck. Currently STSI supports officials efforts to work National meets at a very limited level one meet per year. It is recommended that officials be supported in a manner that parallels the support provided to coaches and athletes. However, as with athletes, assistance with officials travel expenses relative to working National- Level meets should be provided by STSI only to those officials who also work meets on a local basis. This assures that this National-Level experience is brought back home. Therefore, I respectively submit the following for consideration. In addition, it is recommended that the STSI budget be adjusted to account for this. (Anticipated increase of approximately $10,000, annually.) Change to STSI Policies and Procedures Section XXIII C XXIII Reimbursements: D. Officials Travel for Covered National-Level Meets 1. STSI may provide travel assistance for officials. Officials may receive assistance for one (1) meet per year. The HoD will allot a separate budget item for official s travel assistance. a. Officials requesting assistance must have participated as an official for at least five (5) sessions at STSI Sanctioned or Approved meets during the season immediately preceding the meet for which assistance is sought. 2. Request for assistance must be approved by the Officials Chair in advance. 3. Officials holding an annual USA-S and STSI registration are eligible for the maximum assistance as follows: a. 25% of adjusted, eligible expenses for eligible meet(s) after 365 days of registration in STSI. 10

11 b. 50% of adjusted, eligible expenses for eligible meet(s) after their second year of registration in STSI. c. 75% of adjusted, eligible expenses for eligible meet(s) after their third year of registration in STSI. d. 100% of adjusted, eligible expenses for eligible meet(s) after their fourth or more years of registration in STSI. 4. STSI registered officials, satisfying the noted eligibility requirements, may receive travel expense assistance for the following: a. Olympic Trials b. Short and Long Course Junior National Championships c. U. S. Open d. Short and Long Course USA-S Senior Nationals e. USA-S Open Water Championships f. Can-Ams and Junior National (Disability) g. Other meets as approved by the Board of Directors 5. The total dollar amount to be allotted for the each of the above meets will be determined by the HoD. a. With the exception of the Olympic Trials, officials may receive financial assistance for up to two meets per season. b. Officials who participate in two or more of these meets during a single season will be eligible for assistance as follows: 1. Calculations for assistance will be done for both meets and payment will be made for the meet where assistance is greater. 2. For the meet where the lesser assistance is provided, a stipend of not to exceed $500 will be granted. 3. The $500 stipend cannot be greater than the actual expenses incurred. 6. Travel assistance in the form of transportation and overnight accommodations will not be allowed for meets conducted in the official's registered home city or if an official's permanent residence is located within 50 miles of the competition site. Per diem will be paid to an official within 50 miles of the competition site. 7. All requests for assistance of travel expenses must include receipts for all claimed expenses unless otherwise noted. 8. If an official claims an individual expense (other than per diem) in excess of the actual expenses incurred, the entire assistance request will be disallowed and STSI will have no obligation for any reimbursement. 9. For any assistance request to be accepted for payment, the dates that the official worked at the National meet must be annotated on the request form. 10. All requests for assistance of travel expenses must be signed by the official. 11. Assistance checks will be issued to the official. 12. Each calendar year there are TWO (2) request-for-assistance deadlines for each calendar year by which time complete documentation must be submitted as stated on the Financial Assistance form. a. Requests must be RECEIVED by the STSI Treasurer no later than midnight of the January 31st following the previous short course season. 11

12 b. Requests must be RECEIVED by the STSI Treasurer no later than the September 30th following the previous long course season. c. Requests for Can-Ams, Junior National (disability), and other meets as approved by the Board of Directors are due 30 days after the last day of competition. d. Incomplete requests will not be processed until they are completed. 13. Financial assistance checks will be issued twice each calendar year: 1) After the short course season and; 2) After the long course season for the previous short and long course seasons, respectively. a. The total dollar amount budgeted by the LSC for National official s assistance will be divided between the two seasons. If the entire amount allotted for short course is not expended, the balance of the allotted amount will be used for the long course season, if needed. 14. Each year, the LSC attempts to fund 75% to 90% of expenses as follows: a. Travelers are responsible for making their own travel arrangements. Travel expense will be covered, based on the lesser cost of the three-week advanced purchased airline tickets, or the standard mileage rate (as determined by the federal government) multiplied by the number of miles driven if a personal operated vehicle (POV) is utilized. If traveling by POV, a MapQuest mileage calculation shall be provided with the assistance request. Assistance will be calculated based on 80 percent of this uniform expense. One piece of baggage will be covered under this policy when accompanied by a receipt. b. Any fee for a change and/or cancellation to an issued airline ticket is the responsibility of the traveler, unless such change is at the request of STSI. c. Rental cars contracted at the official s home site to travel to the meet and gasoline cost (receipts required) will be covered as long as the cost does not exceed the three-week advanced airline ticket cost. All receipts must be provided for consideration of travel assistance. d. Rental cars rented at the site of the meet will not be covered unless approved in writing by the STSI Treasurer and General Chair. e. Parking costs will not be covered unless the rental car and associated parking was approved in advance by the STSI Treasurer and General Chair. f. Lodging expenses are calculated using current per diem rates found on the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) website at Officials are strongly encouraged to seek double occupancy accommodations. Lodging expenses will be paid for the duration in days of the official works at the meet plus one day. g. In lieu of meal costs, a per diem will be paid for the duration in days, of the days the official works at the meet, plus one day. The per-diem rates are taken directly from the website, which specifies the maximum per-diem rate allowed without treating any reimbursement or assistance as wages for income tax purposes. The publication specifies variable meals and incidental (M&I) rates that are location-dependent and account for cost-of living differences in various area of the country. 12

13 1. Receipts for meals should not be submitted for official s travel assistance for National meets. The motion was withdrawn by Ron Zolno. #11 Proposed Legislation: STSI Board Member Affiliations Sponsor: Jessica Evans Rationale: Section of the STSI bylaws includes a requirement that no more than three individuals from a single club can concurrently serve on the STSI Board of Directors. This stipulation is in place to ensure that the Board is comprised of members who represent a variety of clubs and to ensure fair and balanced leadership to the geographical areas of our LSC. As we currently have unattached individuals serving on the Board of Directors, and additional unattached individuals on the nominations slate for election, we need to establish a policy to ensure that the individuals elected to the STSI Board of Directors represent the diversity of leadership required by our bylaws. Change to the Bylaws, Section LIMITATIONS - No more than THREE (3) coaches, athletes, or individual members affiliated with any given club or team shall serve on the Board of Directors at the same time. In addition, no more than THREE (3) unattached individuals shall serve concurrently on the Board of Directors at any time. In those instances where teams or clubs have multiple sites, no more than TWO (2) coach, athlete, or individual members from each site shall serve on the Board of Directors at the same time. As of its effective date (October 7, 2012), any presently, elected member of the Board of Directors is exempt from this limitation through the duration of their currently elected term, i.e. currently elected incumbents are grandfathered. An individual s club affiliation shall be the affiliation in SWIMS as of the nomination date. Motion was made and seconded. Jessica Evans presented proposal for change. There was discussion for and against proposal. Proposal FAILED. #12 Proposed Legislation: STSI Board Members & Nepotism Sponsor: Jessica Evans Rationale: Section of the STSI bylaws includes a requirement that no more than three individuals from a single club can concurrently serve on the STSI Board of Directors. This stipulation is in place to ensure that the Board is comprised of members who represent a variety of clubs and to ensure fair and balanced leadership to the geographical areas of our LSC. We need to establish a policy to ensure that the individuals elected to the STSI Board of Directors represent the diversity of leadership required by our bylaws. This diversity cannot be accomplished when multiple individuals serving in our leadership are from the same family by way of blood and/or by marriage. 13

14 Add to the Bylaws, Section Effective for the 2016 elections, no member of the Board of Directors shall be related to another member of the Board of Directors through blood and/or by marriage. The motion was withdrawn by Jessica Evans. #13 Proposed Legislation: STSI Athlete Board Member Representation Sponsor: Maya Imperial (athlete member, Brownsville Aquatics) Rationale: Historically, the legacy and tradition of this great nation is that of equal representation. Furthermore, the voices of all who believe and live among the minority are guaranteed due process and equal protection (against the popular majority). Our LSC boasts a rich, textured landscape of diverse communities and swim teams, from the southernmost tip of the state Brownsville at US/Mexico border to the capital city, Austin. The swimmers from this vast geographic LSC are diverse in every possible criteria race, ethnicity, religion, culturally, linguistically, geographic region, and socio-economics. It is on this premise that I propose that South Texas Swimming is representative of that diverse LSC and therefore must exhibit equal representation among the athlete representatives/swimmers within South Texas. Swim teams within the LSC vary in geographic location as well as coaching and resources. As a result, swimmers join USA Swimming from diverse backgrounds. In the southern part of the LSC, there are about 7 teams Brownsville Aquatics, Harlingen Aquatics, McAllen Swim Club, CBA, CCAA, Laredo Nadadores, and Laredo Tritons. Please excuse me if I missed any. The geographic perimeter from Southern San Antonio City limits to Laredo to Brownsville to Corpus Christi and finally returning to southern San Antonio City limits is greater than 1000 miles. Juxtapose this fact: that the remaining 31 teams in South Texas are contained within a much smaller geographic region (San Antonio, Austin and the region north of Austin City limits). The balance of the 31 teams are more conveniently contained within a driving range of miles. The geographic area of south city limit Austin to San Antonio is a geographic driving distance of 127 miles. Swimmers who represent each of these isolated and populous regions must present their experiences, issues, and concerns to the LSC so that decision can benefit ALL swimmers of the LSC. Second the community demographics of each of the three regions as defined are quite distinct. Again, the southernmost geographic swimmers come from families and communities that are rural, isolated, and of limited socioeconomic means (living below US federal poverty levels). The voices and issues of these swimmers need to be represented as it pertains to the unique realities and community resource deficiencies. The central and northern regions boost demographics of higher socioeconomic means, educational attainment, an abundance of pools, and many who offer their expertise in the sport of swimming. This includes coaches from collegiate and Olympic backgrounds (as coaches or swimmers themselves). In addition, multiple pools indoor, outdoor, and elite natatorium access along with shorter geographic distances (and costs) for travel to swim meets and practice are distinguishing characteristics of these areas in the LSC. 14

15 I have created a unique picture of our diverse LSC. It is imperative that one athlete is elected to be a voice and represents the swimmers from their own respective geographic region. This will create equal representation for all swimmers within the entire geographic area of South Texas. It will terminate the politicized" and "popular representation of the most verbose. South Texas LSC is diverse and therefore must exhibit equal representation among the athlete representatives/swimmers within the LSC. The end result is 3 athlete representatives one from the south, one from central, and one from the northern area of the LSC. I will conclude by proposing the following change to bylaws, Section 605.3, as follows: ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVES - Three (3) Athlete Representatives shall be elected, (two in one year and one in the following year) for a two-year term, or until their respective successors are elected to serve on the Board of Directors. One athlete representative shall be elected from the northern section of the LSC (from South city limit of Austin to the North border of our LSC); one athlete representative shall be elected from the central section of the LSC (from South city limit of Austin to the South city limit of San Antonio); and one athlete representative shall be elected from the southern section of the LSC (from the South city limit of San Antonio to the South border of the LSC). At the time of appointment, each Athlete Representative must (a) be an Athlete Member in good standing; (b) be at least sixteen (16) years of age or at least a sophomore in high school; (c) be currently competing, or have competed during the three (3) immediately preceding years, in the program of swimming conducted by STSI or another LSC; and (d) reside in the Territory and expect to reside therein throughout at least the first half of the term. The election of the Athlete Representative shall be conducted annually during the STSI House of Delegates meeting. The balloting shall take place at a meeting called for that purpose by the Senior Athlete Representative or the Athletes Committee, or failing that, at a time and in a manner designated by the Board of Directors. The Athlete Representatives shall be determined by a majority of the Athlete Members and seasonal athlete members in good standing present and voting who are thirteen (13) years of age or older. Motion was made and seconded. Christopher Hasson presented proposal for sponsor. There was discussion for and against proposal. Proposal FAILED. #14 Proposed Legislation: STSI Board Member Limitation Policy Sponsor: Eddie Lary Rationale: We should seek to avoid monopolies from one team, one city, one family, etc. What we should seek is diversity of leadership. You see this everywhere the City Council has districts, the state legislature and Congress have districts, and even the school board has 15

16 districts. A board of directors from one district is biased, no matter how hard it works to serve its delegation, and gains unreasonable power from that situation that impacts the representation of the group. Current Policies: Section (bylaws): Section LIMITATIONS - No more than THREE (3) coaches, athletes, or individual members affiliated with any given club or team shall serve on the Board of Directors at the same time. In those instances where teams or clubs have multiple sites, no more than TWO (2) coach, athlete, or individual members from each site shall serve on the Board of Directors at the same time. As of its effective date (October 7, 2012), any presently, elected member of the Board of Directors is exempt from this limitation through the duration of their currently elected term, i.e. currently elected incumbents are grandfathered. The USA Swimming bylaws and the South Texas bylaws, even the USA Non-Athlete Registration Form do not require affiliation. It does not state anywhere that an Individual Member of USA Swimming must state their affiliation. (Example, any unattached USA Swimming member may swim at any USA Swimming sanctioned meet with no team affiliation.) Officials, USA Swimming Board members, Life Members are not required to list or have an affiliation with a team either. I believe we have gotten off track from the Limitation Policy. Non-coaches and Non-Athletes may list their affiliation but do not have to if they choose not to. But this will not exclude them from running for any office. The contention is with monopolies and representation. STSI Board Members and Representatives are all volunteers and have worked hard and for countless hours to support STSI. Most South Texas teams are run by volunteers and part-time coaches with such busy schedules that STSI Board Membership is not a reasonable possibility. I think the problem lies in equal representation. Each area of South Texas Swimming has its unique problems and desires for their local teams. This is not a new problem, in fact we have solved it once before. The separation/division of BB Championships (maybe B Championships?) is close to the same situation. We can use districts and boundaries to limit the number of officers by geographical location of their listed residency. It is not perfect but it does give us more equitable representation to all teams. I know that we have several Officials and other USA Swimming & South Texas Swimming members who do not have children swimming anymore and are not or do not wish to be associated with any particular team but still wish to assist STSI in its mission. All Board Members and Nominees are volunteers and should be encouraged to assist us with our mission to educate, and promote swimming in the governance of the LSC. By separating the number of allowable board members by area we can give more voice to each area and their distinct needs and desires from administration. Therefore, I do not believe we need to completely re-write the Limitations Policy or define Affiliated, just add phrasing that limits the total number of Board Members form any of the following four areas to allow for more appropriate representation of elected members of the 16

17 STSI Board of Directors. The counties used are those as defined by the United States Office of Management Budget. Change to the Bylaws, Section LIMITATIONS - No more than THREE (3) coaches, athletes, or individual members affiliated with any given club or team shall serve on the Board of Directors at the same time. In addition, the following representative limits and geographical district areas shall be the binding limits. District One; Four (4) representatives from the Austin metropolitan area (including the counties of Bastrop, Caldwell, Travis, and Williamson); District Two; Four (4) representatives from San Antonio metropolitan area (including Bexar county); District Three; Three (3) representatives from the Corpus Christi metropolitan area (including the counties of Aransas, Nueces, and San Patricio.) District Four, Three (3) representatives from the Valley and all other areas (including the counties of Cameron and Willacy and all other outlying cities not included in the counties listed in districts one, two, or three.) In those instances where teams or clubs have multiple sites, no more than TWO (2) coach, athlete, or individual members from each site shall serve on the Board of Directors at the same time. As of its effective date (October 7, 2012), any presently, elected member of the Board of Directors is exempt from this limitation through the duration of their currently elected term, i.e. currently elected incumbents are grandfathered. Motion was made and seconded. Eddie Lary presented proposal for change. There was discussion for and against proposal. Proposal FAILED. #15 Proposed Legislation: Policies & Procedures, XXIII, Reimbursements Sponsor: Annette DuVall Rationale: Athletes, coaches, and officials move from our LSC geographical boundaries on a regular basis. Our financial support should benefit only those members of the LSC that live in the LSC. If we allow individuals who live outside of our geographical boundaries to be eligible for financial assistance, the LSC is vulnerable to receiving financial requests anyone from any area to become a member of our LSC and seek financial support. In addition, giving financial support to members who do not live in our LSC limits the funding for STS members who actually live in the LSC. Proposed: XXIII. Reimbursements: (HoD 10/07/12) The intent of the financial assistance program is to provide financial assistance to members of South Texas Swimming whose permanent residence is within the geographical boundaries of South Texas Swimming. The HoD and the BoD reserve the right to intervene on specific circumstances that are not clearly spelled out in this policy or 17

18 do not meet the intent of this policy. If athletes, coaches, and officials are receiving funds from other sources (USA Swimming, Conoco Phillips, etc.) for the same meets that they are requesting financial assistance, they must declare the reimbursement or expected reimbursement. Under no circumstances will reimbursement from other sources combined with financial assistance from STSI exceed the total cost to the athlete, coach, or official. The motion was withdrawn by Annette DuVall. #16 Proposed Legislation: Bylaws Sections 607.3, , , , , , , , NOTE: Item #16 requires a motion to be heard under New Business because it was submitted without the required 20-day notice per Bylaws Section Sponsor: David Johnson Rationale: Amend paragraphs as shown below to align with the model bylaw changes made at the USAS Convention: MEMBERS AND EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS OF STANDING COMMITTEES -Except as otherwise provided in these Bylaws or by the Board of Directors, members of each standing committee shall be appointed by the General Chair with the advice and consent of the respective division vice-chair and the Chair of the committee. Athlete members of each committee shall be appointed by the General Chair with the advice of the Senior Athlete Representative. Athlete membership is required on all committees. All committees shall have athletes appointed to make up at least 20% of the committee. Four committees Finance, BOD, BOR, and Investment have a minimum age of 18 years. For all other committees, the minimum age is 16 years; i.e., division vice-chair shall be an ex-officio member (with voice and vote) of each standing committee within the respective division. The ex-officio members and other designated members of certain standing committees shall be as follows: BUDGET COMMITTEE -The members of the Budget Committee shall be the General Chair, the Treasurer, who shall serve as Chair, the Administrative Vice-Chair, the Senior Athlete Representative, the Senior Coach Representative, the Age Group Vice-Chair, and the Senior Vice-Chair, and a sufficient number of athletes appointed so as to constitute at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting membership of the committee COACHES COMMITTEE -The members of the Coaches Committee shall consist of the Coach Representatives and such additional Coach Members as may be determined by the Coach Representatives and a sufficient number of athletes appointed so as to constitute at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting membership of the 18

19 committee. The Senior Coach Representative shall be the Chair of the committee FINANCE COMMITTEE -The members of the Finance Committee shall be the General Chair, the Treasurer, who shall serve as Chair, the Administrative Vice-Chair, the Senior Athlete Representative, the Senior Coach Representative, the Age Group Vice-Chair, and the Senior Vice-Chair, and a sufficient number of athletes appointed so as to constitute at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting membership of the committee INVESTMENT COMMITTEE The Investment Committee shall be the General Chair or his/her designee, the STSI Treasurer, and one to three additional members appointed by the General Chair and approved by the Board of Directors and House of Delegates as appropriate, one of which must be an athlete member.and a sufficient number of athletes appointed so as to constitute at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting membership of the committee OFFICIALS COMMITTEE -The members of the Officials Committee shall be the Officials Chair, who shall serve as Chair, and at least four other members, each of whom shall be a certified official of STSI, plus one athlete representative. and a sufficient number of athletes appointed so as to constitute at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting membership of the committee. The four additional members who are certified officials shall represent different geographical areas of the LSC MEET DIRECTORS COMMITTEE -The members of the Meet Directors committee shall be any STSI meet directors who have directed at least three (3) competitions within the previous twelve (12) months and a sufficient number of athletes appointed so as to constitute at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting membership of the committee. The Chair shall be appointed by the General Chair CHAMPIONSHIP MEET EVALUATION COMMITTEE -The members of the Championship Meet Evaluation Committee shall be the Age Group Vice-Chair, who shall serve as Chair, the Administrative Vice- Chair, the Senior Vice-Chair, the Safety Coordinator, the Officials Chair, and the Meet Directors Committee Chair, and a sufficient number of athletes appointed so as to constitute at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting membership of the committee SAFE SPORT COMMITTEE The members of the Safe Sport Committee shall be the Safe Sport Committee Chair, who shall serve as Chair, and at least four additional members; at least one shall 19

20 be a Coach Member, at least two shall be at large non-athlete members, and at least one shall be an athlete member a sufficient number of athletes appointed so as to constitute at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting membership of the committee. Motion was made and seconded. David Johnson presented proposal for change. There was discussion for and against proposal. Proposal PASSED. #17 Proposed Legislation: Bylaws Section Sponsor: David Johnson Rationale: Amend paragraphs as shown below to align with the model bylaw changes made at the USAS Convention AUDIT COMMITTEE -The members of the Audit Committee shall be the At-Large Board Member, who shall serve as Chair, the General Chair, and a sufficient number of athletes appointed as to constitute at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting membership of the committee. and the athlete representative. Three additional members from the LSC will participate on the audit committee. Three additional members from the LSC will participate on the audit committee. Formatted: Font color: Red Motion was made and seconded. David Johnson presented proposal for change. There was discussion for and against proposal. Jessica Evans made an amendment to restore the last sentence regarding having three additional members from the LSC on the Audit Committee. Amendment PASSED and Proposal PASSED. #18 Proposed Legislation: Bylaws Section NOTE: Item #18 requires a motion to be heard under New Business because it was submitted without the required 20-day notice per Bylaws Section Sponsor: David Johnson Rationale: Amend paragraphs as shown below to align with the model bylaw changes made at the USAS Convention. Brings Personnel Committee membership into alignment with model bylaws and STS bylaws, which delegate the day to day oversight of the STS to the General Chair and Treasurer PERSONNEL COMMITTEE -The members of the Personnel Committee shall be the At-Large Board Member GENERAL CHAIRGeneral Chair, who shall serve as Chair, the At-Large Board Member, the Administrative Vice-Chair, and the Treasurer, and a sufficient number of athletes appointed so as to constitute at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting membership of the committee. 20