USA Swimming’s Proposed Legislation for United States Aquatic Sports Convention Later This Month

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, September 12. THE House of Delegates will meet at the United States Aquatic Sports Convention held in Anaheim, Calif., from Sept. 25-30 to vote on this year's proposed legislation packet, which can be seen here.

While many of the proposals are fairly routine maintenance issues, several of them piqued Swimming World Magazine's interest.

Proposal R-6 (proposed by the Rules and Regulation Committee) eliminates the requirement that the fastest time for each competitor be used for entry into an event, which has drawn the recommendation from the Rules and Regulations Committee for approval. Similar to the NCAA's system of seeding, this will allow coaches the opportunity to use strategy based on the performance level of each swimmer at the point of competition.

Proposal R-14 (proposed by the Board of Directors) would give the Board of Directors sole authority to approve the annual budget of USA Swimming, rather than the House of Delegates. This proposal has drawn the recommendation of the Rules and Regulations Committee for approval. The proposal further states that instead of presenting the annual budget to the House of Delegates for adoption, USA Swimming's Treasurer would only need to present and explain the budget to the House of Delegates. This eliminates a level of checks and balances between the Board of Directors and House of Delegates, which could be a cause for concern or be seen as streamlining the process.

Proposal R-24 (proposed by Treasurer Peter Carney on behalf of the Board of Directors) would eliminate the Program Endowment Fund, originally developed to provide financial benefit and support for new and existing USA Swimming programs. The justification listed is that the "current budget process coupled with the dues increase has made this endowment obsolete." The current fund would then be converted into unrestricted usage for the Board of Directors.

What are your thoughts about some of these key issues, as well as the other proposals posted by USA Swimming? Respond via Reaction Time!

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