USA Swimming Convention Topped Headlines On The Week That Was

Aquatic sports federations in the United States met in Kansas City for their annual conventions, and USA Swimming’s House of Delegates approved a couple of new rules that had lots of people talking. The federation also awarded notable swimmers, coaches and other notable personalities for their work in promoting the sport. The convention produced just two of the top five headlines for aquatic sports, and we’ll recap the top five on The Week That Was.

The Week That was is supported by AgonSwim.com

The Week That Was #5: World Anti-Drug Association release list of banned drugs for 2016

The World Anti-Doping Agency released a list of more than 1200 substances that will be illegal to use in competition or out of it in 2016, giving athletes and coaches advanced warning about the drugs that could mean severe punishment. While WADA did not specify which drugs were new to the list, it did stress that the process involved a thorough investigation into each drug’s role in enhancing performance.

The Week That Was #4: Michael Phelps marks “anniversary” of DUI arrest

One year after his DUI arrest in Baltimore, Michael Phelps posted a reflective message on Instagram that showed his personal growth in the past year.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.
Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.

Those words from poet Rumi pretty much encapsulates Phelps’ journey in the past year, in which he has become more introspective about the effect his life has not only on those close to him, but himself. He’s said he will not touch alcohol while he trains for a spot on the Olympic team and his interviews have carried a philosophical air about them. In any case, Phelps’ popularity has risen and will likely escalate as we get closer to the Olympic Trials.

The Week That Was #3: Singapore leg of FINA World Cup affected by unhealthy haze

The latest leg of the FINA World Cup in Singapore brought several of the world’s best athletes to southeast Asia for more long course racing and the chance to win money. But a massive forest fire in nearby Indonesia brought a thick cloud of haze to Singapore, greatly affecting the air quality. That forced meet organizers to cancel the first night of finals of the World Cup meet as well as the two distance freestyle events that day. The second day of competition went as planned, but the damage had been done. Singapore still had to pay athletes prize money for the races not swum, and had to refund money to spectators who planned to watch the meet the night it was canceled. As a way to perhaps attempt to recoup its losses, the Singapore Swimming federation is now looking to sue the people who started the fire.

The Week That Was #2: USA Swimming honors the best of 2015

Each year at the banquet near the end of the annual convention, USA Swimming hands out multiple awards to athletes, coaches and volunteers for their hard work that year. In 2015, a lot of noteworthy events took place that got noticed by the federation. For the fourth-straight year, Katie Ledecky won the Phillips 66 Performance of the Year award, this time for her world record swim in the 800 free final at the world championships. Ledecky’s 8:07.29 helped her win one of five gold medals at the meet, which was a major reason why she was given the Athlete of the Year honor.

Other luminaries received awards. Tim O’Brien was named developmental coach of the year for his work at Nitro Swimming in Austin, while longtime junior national team director Jack Roach was given the Athletes’ Appreciation Award. As one of the sport’s most recognizable ambassadors, Rowdy Gaines was given the federation’s highest honor, the USA Swimming Award, for his tireless work in many areas of bringing excitement to the sport.

Haley Anderson and Jordan Wilimovsky earned the open water swimmer of the year awards, while Jessica Long was given the Trischa L. Zorn Award as the nation’s top swimmer with a disability.

The Week That Was #1: USA Swimming adopts new laws, including restrictions on coaching suspended athletes

The House of Delegates meeting that concluded the USA Swimming convention brought more than 20 rule proposals forward. All but three were adopted, and two of the new policies affect coaches of athletes suspended for anti-doping violations.

Under new rules, USA Swimming member coaches would not be able to work with an athlete currently under suspension for a doping violation. This applies to American and foreign athletes training in the United States. A coach who gets paid a bonus from USA Swimming for an athlete’s performance that is later voided due to a positive drug test must return that money to the federation.

Other rules adopted included language to include transgender athletes in exclusions for swimwear rules, and disallowing American and U.S. Open records to be set on leadoff legs for the mixed medley and free relays.