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MARCH/APRIL 2018
STREAMLINES for Volunteers

Spring has sprung! April is right around the corner, which means you, your club, and your LMSC still have an opportunity to participate in April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month.

Swimming for Life,
Your Friends at U.S. Masters Swimming
April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month!
Help adults in your community learn to swim
More than a third of adults in the United States cannot swim the length of a pool, putting them at risk of being one of the 10 people who drown every day in this country. USMS aims to improve this statistic, and you can help.

USMS clubs, certified adult learn-to-swim instructors, and Swimming Saves Lives Foundation grant programs around the country are offering low- and no-cost swim lessons in April as a way to both raise awareness to the problem of adult drowning and give back to the sport and activity that they love.

If you have an April event planned, we want to hear about it. Or if you want to help with an April program, let us know, so we can help connect you to one. You don't have to be a certified instructor to participate in an April program, or to teach someone to swim. Check out the April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month page on usms.org to get ideas, and to download helpful templates and lesson plans.

We think once you teach an adult to swim, you'll be hooked. Check out the ALTS instructor certification program, and consider applying for a USMS Swimming Saves Lives Foundation grant. These grants can give an existing program a boost, or, in some cases, can be used to start a program from scratch. The application for the 2018 grant cycle will open in May.

Love the cause, but don't have the time to get involved this year? We get it. Please consider a donation to the USMS Swimming Saves Lives Foundation. You can do it online, at any time. SSLF is a donor-funded charitable organization, and your tax-deductible donation goes to provide swimming lessons for adults around the country. Let's help more adults learn to swim. 
LMSC Minutes and Financials Due
Submit this info by April 30
big-bills-money.jpg
LMSC Annual Meeting Minutes
Per USMS Rule 502.3, each LMSC is required to hold an annual meeting that is open to all individual members of the LMSC. Your LMSC is required to take minutes at that meeting and, per Rule 502.7, send a copy of your 2017 minutes  to Onshalee Promchitmart  by  April 30, 2018.
 
LMSC Annual Financial Statements
Per USMS Rule 502.7, each LMSC must submit an annual financial report to the National Office. Instructions for creating the report can be found in the  USMS Guide to Operations . Please submit your report to Onshalee Promchitmart  by  April 30, 2018.
At-Large Director Nominations Open
Elections information for At-Large Directors
elections
U.S. Masters Swimming will hold elections for At-Large Directors at its Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates on Sept. 26-30, 2018, during the  United States Aquatic Sports Convention in Jacksonville, Fla. The nomination period lasts until  April 30, 2018, and nomination packets may be obtained from the  Election page of the USMS website or by contacting Elections Chair  Cheryl Gettelfinger.
 
We're looking for energetic volunteers with a desire to help lead USMS. If you're interested in leadership and service at our highest level, or you know someone who would be willing to serve, please let us know.
 
To place your name in nomination for an officer position,  download the nomination packet and election guidelines or request them by email from  Cheryl Gettelfinger. Please read the entire packet, including the election operating guidelines, and return the Candidate Questionnaire/Consent-to-Run form to the elections chair by April 30, 2018.
 
To be eligible for nomination, candidates shall meet the following requirements: 
  • Be members in good standing of U.S. Masters Swimming for the year when the election is held; 
  • Have attended two or more USMS Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates in the preceding five years; and
  • Plan to attend the annual meeting of the House of Delegates for the election year in which they are standing for election, and plan to attend all House of Delegates meetings during their tenure  
If after reading the materials, you have questions about the role of any USMS officer position or the nomination and election process, please contact  Cheryl Gettelfinger.
2018 Volunteer Service Awards
Nominate a deserving volunteer today
USMS presents a number of awards annually to members who have excelled in various areas. The details and recipients of each type of award may be found on our  Awards page Send in your nominations today for Speedo USMS Coach of the Year, Dorothy Donnelly Service, June Krauser Communications, and others.  See all the award categories on the Awards page Nominations for all awards are due  July 1  (except the Capt. Ransom J. Arthur Award, which was due on March 15).
Peer-to-Peer Calls
Why reinvent the wheel when you can learn from others?
Need to Know
Mark your calendars for the next peer-to-peer teleconference call.
  • Top Ten and Recorders:  Wednesday, April 11, 5:30 p.m. PDT | 8:30 p.m. EDT
Teleconferences will each take approximately 1 hour. Email invitations are sent to those in each role in advance with dial-in information. Contact the  LMSC Development Committee for more information.
 
The goal of these facilitated calls is to provide an opportunity for you to converse with your peers, pose questions, get answers, discuss challenges, and share successes related to your LMSC volunteer role. In turn, the LMSC Development Committee can use the information shared to help build a repository of best practices for each of our volunteer positions.
Bids for LD/OWS Champs Open
Want to host a national championship event in 2020?
Open Water, swimming, swimmers, race, 1v1, Tropical Splash
Want to host an ePostal or open water or long distance national championship in 2020? The bidding process is open to events that have run successfully for three years in a row before bidding. Hosting a national championship provides lots of national exposure, which can help your event grow substantially. Bidding information is available on the  Long Distance Championship pageBids are due  July 1, 2018. 

Selection will be based on the overall suitability of the bid received and, in the case of open water, the committee will also be considering the area in which the event is to be held, safety, and the annual event schedule as a whole. For more information and detailed instructions, check out the  Championship Bid Information page. Applications for both ePostal and open water events can be completed online.
Important Note Regarding Meets
Make sure meets are following proper USMS rules
Effective Jan. 1, 2017, USMS rules for calculating official times changed to follow FINA rules. Many meet hosts are unaware that Meet Manager defaults to the old rules. If the setting is incorrect, USMS rules are not being followed. 

Please make sure your meet hosts have this setting in the meet set up: Time Adjustment Method needs to be set to "FINA rules" instead of "USA Swimming rules prior to 1 May 2016." This MUST be done prior to the meet in order to work. Changing it after the meet has been run will mean manually correcting times where adjustments had to be made. 
Quick Links

About U.S. Masters Swimming
U.S. Masters Swimming  encourages adults to enjoy the health, fitness, and social benefits of swimming by providing more than 2,000 adult swimming programs and events across the country, including open water and pool competitions. USMS's nearly 65,000 members range from age 18 to 99 and include swimmers of all ability levels. USMS, a nonprofit, also trains and certifies coaches and provides online workouts, a bimonthly member magazine, monthly eNewsletters, and technique articles and videos at  usms.org .

U.S. Masters Swimming is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions to the USMS Swimming Saves Lives Foundation are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. U.S. Masters Swimming's tax identification number is 31-0999051. You can find out more about us on guidestar.org under United States Masters Swimming, Inc. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE. 1- 800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) OR  www.FloridaConsumerHelp.com. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE." FLORIDA REGISTRATION CH33301
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