Descriptions, time commitment, current athlete members, and recommendations.
Age Group Development
Role: Decide and discuss the best ways to improve and grow the age group swimming programs in USA Swimming. Time Commitment: Meet in-person twice per year; once at Convention and once in the spring. Have monthly conference calls and email conversations as necessary. Athletes: Konnar Klinksiek, Caleb Swanson
Club Development
Role: The committee aims to establish successful clubs all over the country. We review the Flex and Junior Coach membership, look into incentives for swim clubs producing national level athletes, and create opportunities for clubs to grow successfully. Time Commitment: 2 conference calls per year, and meeting at Convention. Athletes: Grace Brown, Kayley Henderson This is a good committee for athletes that are heavily involved with their club team, and are looking to understand how clubs interact with USA Swimming and want to help the sport of swimming grow.
Convention Ed
Role: Strengthens USA Swimming by providing educational opportunities to participants at the annual Convention. Time Commitment: 5-6 conference calls per year, plus one in-person meeting in late winter/early spring. Additionally, at Convention, athletes assist in various workshops, at the Happy2Help Desk, and provide feedback for the USA Swimming website & daily news email. Athletes: Kylie Kelly, Jack Foley This is a good committee for athletes that want to plan workshops at Convention, work with all members of USA Swimming, and provide insight to Convention for all of the membership to see.
Credentials & Elections
Role: Conducts elections at Convention meetings (ex. HOD) and ensure the correct attendees have credentials to vote. Time Commitment: We only meet at Convention. During Convention, we assist with the distribution of credentials (approximately 2-3 hours a day) and during voting years, we count votes & distribute ballots. Athletes: Noah Berryman, McKenna Stallworth This is a good committee for athletes interested in assisting with a major part of the Convention experience. This is not a time demanding committee, so it allows athletes to focus on other workshops at Convention.
Disability
Role: Create and smooth paths that allow disabled athletes to more easily participate in USA Swimming. Time Commitment: 4-5 conference calls per year, and meet in-person twice; once at Convention and once in the spring time. Athletes: Caroline Holmes, Robert Griswold This is a good committee for athletes interested in creating and improving paths for disabled athletes.
Diversity, Equity & inclusion (dei)
Role: Grow the diversity at all levels within USA Swimming and encourage inclusion for those swimmers. We put forth initiatives to help drive this growth and help LSC's develop their vision of Diversity and Inclusion to help better reflect the communities they are in. Time Commitment: Monthly conference calls & emails, and two meetings per year: one during Convention & one in the spring time. Athletes: Noah Wilson, Anisa Nelson This is a good committee for athletes with a passion and interest in bringing recognition and inclusion to the many diverse members of USA Swimming. An athlete that is actively involved and with strong time management skills is well suited for the committee.
international relations
Role: The IRC provides guidance to the BOD around ongoing relationships with FINA, WADA, and other international organizations. Additionally, the committee seeks to ensure that USA Swimming has adequate time to adjust to the shifts in the sports culture & governance by cultivating & maintaining relations with these international governing bodies. USA Swimming has been able to maintain its excellence in elite performance in part by cultivating a positive reputation among the sports decision makers. Time Commitment: The committee meets 2-3 times a year in-person, with meetings lasting approximately 3-6 hours. There are conference calls hosted throughout the year, as necessary. Individual members of the IRC take on specific tasks that require more constant focus & follow-up throughout the year. Athletes: Anthony Ervin, Andrew Gemmell, Maya DiRado This is a good committee for athletes with international swimming experience and an interest in international politics.
LSC Development
Role: The committee works to strengthen LSC’s individual structures to be efficient, effective, and successful. The committee does this by ensuring LSC’s are compliant with LEAP 1, and by guiding LSC’s to reach LEAP 2 & LEAP 3 status. Additionally, the committee puts on workshops for LSC Board Members to provide them with knowledge on strengthening their LSC, and the committee facilitates the Bright Ideas Contest. Time Commitment: Monthly conference calls, one in-person meeting outside of Convention, various meetings & workshops at Convention. There are sub-committees that also have monthly conference calls. Athletes: Jake Simmons, Annika Ruehlicke This is a good committee for athletes that are interested in a hands-on committee that requires high levels of input & collaboration. Athletes should have interests in planning workshops & be able to provide their opinions in front of large groups.
Officials
Role: To develop & provide resources for LSC, N2, and N3 officials so that smooth & successful meets are run for athletes. We develop evaluation standards for N2 and N3 officials and run two workshops per year for new referees and Officials Chairs, respectively. Time Commitment: Meet in-person twice per year: once at Convention and once in the spring time. Additionally, there are periodic conference calls and emails. Athletes: Rhys Winter, Shelby Mullendore This is a good committee for athletes who have strong verbal and written skills and are interested in presenting on behalf of the committee at various workshops and meetings.
Open Water Development
Role: To plan the needs of open water swimming in our sport by assisting with the development & planning of Open Water Swimming programs. Time Commitment: Meet in-person twice per year, which includes once at Convention. Conference calls occur periodically as well. Athletes: Jonathan Shaheen, Garret Sims This is a good committee for athletes with strong open water experience and understanding of the sport.
Open water steering
Role: Time Commitment: Athletes: National Team Experience Required
Operational Risk
Role: Reviews USA Swimming policies & procedures for risk management, operational risk and safety considerations. Additionally, the committee develops guidelines & makes recommendations for training, competition and other activities. Time Commitment: Six conference calls per year, with attendance at the two zone workshops every other year. Assigned work to each committee member is usually an hour a month. Athletes: Russell Payne, Marco Greico Any athlete interested in serving on a National Committee would be a fit for this committee. Operational Risk requires a dedicated athlete who will put the time into the committee that is required.
Program & Events
Role: The Program & Events Committee performs all responsibilities for national meets as prescribed in the Rules & Regulations. For the purposes of this committee, national events include Trials Class, national championships, Junior championships, U.S. Open and Pro Series meets. These include both pool and open water events. The members of the Program & Events Committee also oversee the Officials committee and are members of Senior Development and Rules & Regulations Committee. Time Commitment: Athletes: Juli Arazave This is a good committee for athletes with strong national meet experience.
Registration/Membership
Role: The Registration/Membership Committee works to improve and develop USA-Swimming registration policies, while supporting LSC registrars in implementing these policies. The committee also holds workshops to educate registrars on membership policies and software, and discuss current issues or concerns. Time Commitment: Meet in-person twice per year: once at Convention and once in the spring time. Athletes: Annie Kramer, Andrew Rottinghaus This is a good committee for athletes interested in the behind-the-scenes aspects of USA Swimming that athletes may not be aware of.
Rules & Regs
Role: Collect proposed changes to the USA Swimming rulebook and make recommendations on these proposals. Time Commitment: Meet in-person three times per year; once in June, and twice at Convention. Additional conference calls & email conversations will occur as necessary. Athletes: Brad Jacobs, Maria Davila, Matthew Rigsbee, Robert Mitchell, Josie Uerling This is a good committee for athletes with a strong understand of USA Swimming bylaws.
Safe Sport
Role: Plan, implement & coordinate USA Swimming's commit-ment to safeguard the physical, mental, and emotional well being of all its members. Time Commitment: Meet in-person twice per year: once at Convention and once in the spring time, and monthly conference calls. Athletes: Ryan Gibbons, Riana Scott, Sarah Jacobs This is a good committee for athletes passionate about the Safe Sport Movement.
Senior Development
Role: Decides formatting & time standards of Senior Level swim meets and discusses how to encourage faster swimming within all levels of the sport. Time Commitment: Four conference calls per year Athletes: Mark Weber, Grace Ariola This is a good committee for athletes who have competed Senior Level meets & are well informed of common feedback & complaints from swimmers at this level. They should be interested in advocating for athletes from age group state to Olympic Trials, and being a voice for change.
Sports Medicine
Role: Supports the development, implementation, and evaluation of medical and science-based programs for USA Swimming. Addresses and highlights science-related topics relevant to swimming. Time Commitment: 2-3 conference calls per year, and a meeting at Convention. Athletes: Madison Lash, Jack Gillespie This is a good committee for athletes with an interest in sports science,or in specific topics such as kinesiology & nutrition.
Times & Recognition
Role: Assist in the development and implementation of policy for the processes used to store times information in SWIMS, and ensure that the information is processed for entry time verification and performance recognition. The committee handles Scholastic All-American processes and recognizes NAG and American records. Time Commitment: Meeting at Convention and periodic conference calls. Athletes: Rick Mihm, Nicholas Poulos This is a good committee for athletes with a strong interest in swimming analytics and statistics.