Attendance - Jim Garner, Chair, Ethan Bassett, John Hirschmann, Bill Marlin, Donald Riedlinger, Bill Stephens, Jim Van Erden, and Greg York. Non-voting Board Members: John Ertter, and Linda Klopfenstein Guests: Erik Collins and Chris Huott.

Call to Order - The meeting was called to order at approximately 6:40 pm by the General Chair, Jim Garner.

Jim had provided the Board with a proposed agenda prior to the meeting and had incorporated additional items into the agenda as a result of input from the Board.

Approval of June BoD Minutes - The revised draft minutes of June 15, 2004 Board of Directors meeting were approved as circulated to the Board on July 26th. It was agreed that minor editorial corrections would still be accepted.

General Chairman -

New PVS Clubs/Organizations -- Erik Collins of the the Maverick Swim Club attended the meeting to inquire about the status of his club's application to be a club in PVS. He stated he had confusing conversations with both Sumie Emory and John Hirschmann regarding the status of his application. He also indicated that he had been told by USA Swimming that his application to join as a new club was in good order and had been approved. He also stated he did not understand why information about his club had not yet been posted to the PVS website. Erik was advised that his membership application form indicated the effective date of membership to be September 1, 2004.

Bill Stephens confirmed that the application of MAV as a club member had been approved by USA Swimming. The application had also been processed and SWIMS shows MAV as a registered club for the 2004 registration year. The Board was advised that its by-laws call for approving new club memberships. The Board then voted to APPROVE the application of Maverick Swim Team (MAV) into PVS. Erik was advised that information about his club would be added to the PVS website as soon as practical.

The Board then reviewed the status of other applications or potential applications. Bill advised the Board that the membership of All Star Aquatics (ASA) had also been approved by USA Swimming and that in contrast to MAV, they had started to compete this summer. Bob Walker is the head coach. The Board voted to APPROVE the application of All Star Swimming (ASA) into PVS.

The Board was also advised that Upper Montgomery County Y was considered rejoining as a club after a three year hiatus. USA Swimming was reported to still be addressing whether they would be a viewed as a new club and have to go through the new club registration process or be grandfathered. Therefore, it would be premature for the Board to take any action on this application.

Bill also explained to the Board why USA Swimming advised J&M Management (JMS) to join PVS as an organization so that they could obtain evidence of insurance coverage from USA Swimming. PVS has paid a $70 registration fee to USA Swimming on their behalf, but our records do not show having been paid a $100 registration fee. John Ertter said he would double check our financial records and Bill Stephens will check with JMS for any evidence they have that they paid.

Some questions were raised as whether such a membership is recognized by PVS by-laws and also whether such an organization was kind envisioned by Section 502.2 2 of the USA Swimming Rules and Regulations. Bill Stephens agreed to get more information about the status of JMS organizational membership, including what privileges they have as a member of PVS -- i. e., the right to vote at PVS House of Delegates, etc.

The Board then discussed in executive session a matter that it had been brought to its attention. The advice of counsel on how to deal with the matter had been sought and as a result of the discussion, it was agreed to seek further guidance from counsel. Based on that guidance, a letter was sent subsequent to the Board meeting by the General Chairman (on behalf of the Board of Directors) pertaining to the matter. The Board returned to meet in open session.

Documents for Attorney Review -- The General Chairman advised that contracts for various services have not yet been sent to our attorney for review. Only the contract with the Controller is currently ready for review.

PVS Eastern Zone 2004 Long Course Team -- Chris Houtt attended the Board meeting to discuss the status of the PVS Eastern Zone LC Team. He had been chosen in January to serve as the Head Coach for the team. It had been expected that Linda Crudup was continuing to assist as Zone Team Coordinator for this meet as part of transitioning responsibility to a successor. Greg York had been asked to contact her at the June Board meeting, but had been unable to do so. Chris H had also been unable to reach her. He was concerned that he has had to assume full responsibility for the team and was not informed of this development ahead of time.

Based on these developments, Chris was assuming full responsibility to making arrangements for team as well as remaining as Head Coach. Dave Kraft has briefed him on his duties, based on his experience as Head Coach for the 2003 LC team.

Concern was expressed that the late posting information about the zone team (July 17th) was an embarrassment to the LSC and would likely reduce the size of the PVS team this year. Information about outfitting for the team has now also been posted. Some teams have advised they will not participate because of the late notice.

There was discussion about how to avoid this occurence in the future. It was also noted that the Board had discussed earlier asking Breanne Smith to start to become involved with learning the process of the being the PVS Eastern Zone manager. However, these arrangements had not been finalized. The possibility of having somebody assist Breanne with these duties was also raised - there was concern expressed about having the duties divided as distinct from having somebody serve as an assistant with one person clearly in charge.

A MOTION was made to approve reimbursing the six PVS Eastern Zone coaches for air fare to/from Buffalo, hotel, meals and any needed car rentals. Chris indicated because of the location of one pool relative the hotel being used, only one vehicle may need to be rented. The motion was APPOVED.

The coaches will also receive the normally authorized stipend for serving as a zone coach.

It was agreed Ertter will provide Huott with a cash advance to meet the above type of expenses for the zone team so can take care of expenses in the same manner as Linda Crudup has done in the past. He was reminded he was expected to support all disbursements with receipts and reconcile with John Ertter after the meet is over.

Questions were raised as to the basis for the $60 fee that had been posted as the fee for an athlete to participate on this year's team. Garner noted he had reduced it slightly from last year based on the fact there would be less outfitting this year as part of the standard package. It was noted that even for an athlete entering six events (cost $24) and the outfitting being provided would not exceed $60. For those entering less events, the difference would be greater. It was proposed that a rebate be made after the meet to refund the fees collected to the extent they were in excess of actual needs. Others commented that this would put a major burden in terms of check writing on the Controller and that the fees were coming form the various clubs, not directly from the athletes - thus any rebate might not get back to the swimmer.

It was also noted that expenses for the coaches were already budgeted for by PVS, PVS was in better financial shape for the fiscal year than it anticipated at the House meeting in May, and that PVS had a major unexpected cost savings in connection with Spring 2005 Zone team. Also, PVS had not served its athletes well by posting information regarding how to participate on this year's team very late. Therefore, it was moved and APPROVED by the Board that the entry fee for being on the 2004 PVS EZ LC team be waived. Any checks for $60 that are received would be returned.

The Competition Committee in May had recommended in May that the 6th PVS Eastern Zone coach be selected based on which coach had the most athletes on the team, based on the application forms submitted. Since no application form had been posted to the website and the initial posting to be on team was only posted on July 24, Chris Houtt requested permission to have Angela Richard serve as the 6th PVS Eastern Zone coach. The Board APPROVED this request.

Chris Huott advised the Board that he had also been approached by a coach about being added to the PVS zone staff as an additional zone coach. His team currently does not have a coach on the staff. Each LSC may have up to 8 coaches representing their LSC. The Board voted not to add a 7th coach.

The notice on the website currently states that outfitting for the Zone team can be picked up at River Falls on August 9th from 2-4pm. Greg indicated this could be expanded to allow pick-up after that at River Falls from 10am-9pm with it emphasized that outfitting must be picked up there - it will not be transported to Buffalo.

Riedlinger indicated he will explain what happened that caused late organization of the PVS Eastern Zone Long Course team if the matter arises at the Fall Competition Committee or under similar circumstances.

Riedlinger also asked that something be added to the current website posting related to entering swimmers with a disability. This was added to the website the following day.

Treasurer/Finance Division - Information on the financial status of PVS as of June 30, 2004 and the revenue and expenses associated with PVS and club sponsored information had been provided to the Board in advance of the meeting. PVS's current assets on hand as of June 30, 2004 were $511,520 including $4,463 in the Dave Davis fund.

The status of several receivables that have been past due for extended period of time were reviewed with the Board. They relate primarily to the rental of PVS equipment and paying meet entry fees for PVS sponsored meets. The Board was advised that some items were in the process of being resolved and what steps were taken to pursue other items.

The insurance policy for PVS's equipment for 2004 has finally been issued.

The Board members confirmed for the Controller that CTS invoice for getting a System V loaner and not returning it is probably in error. The Controller advised he would contact CTS to confirm this. [Note: Subsequent to the meeting, the Controller was able to confirm the invoice was issued in error.]

Concerns were brought to the Board's attention about the late billing by the Equipment Manager for equipment used at or delivered at club sponsored meets -- well after the accounting on the meet had been closed and funds disbursed. It was noted the Board had agreed at the June Board meeting to advertise the position of Equipment Manager. The Webmaster indicated he had expected to get material to post by July 1, but to date he has not received anything to post.

The Board was also informed the radios at the recent Age Group Championship Meet would not take a charge and therefore did not work. It was requested that the Operations Division Chairman be informed of this.

Senior Division - Don Riedlinger advised that he had no items as Senior Chair that required the Board's attention.

Administrative Division - Bill Stephens indicated he would like to review the proposed Registrar's contract with the Compensation Committee. He advised that Lynn Hellman is now prepared to serve as Assistant Registrar whenever needed.

Bill Stephens briefed the Board on steps he is taking to identify a possible Administrative Assistant for PVS. The General Chairman advised that he was aware of other potential candidates. It was also suggested that an effort be made to identify what specific duties Board members feel should be transferred to the recreated Administrative position so the appropriate set of skills can be sought.

Bill Stephens reported that he is making plans for a Seminar on Sunday Sept 26th. He is planning on a 9:00am meeting for Club Registrar's, a 10:30am with Meet Directors and a 12:00 Noon meeting of the Competition Committee meeting.

He expects that registration should go much more smoothly this year as the clubs are much more familiar with the process. The biggest challenges may arise if USA Swimming makes any changes in the software or the process and working with any clubs that change their Registrars. The Meet Director's meeting will be new this year and will serve to make sure they are familiar with the meet reconciliation process.

There was also discussion regarding how to implement the guidance from the House of Delegates meeting. Most felt the guidance had been to implement again the C-9 of PVS Policy and Procedures on Verification of Athlete Registration. This includes assessing fines when called for in that policy.

Board representatives also sought assurance that the material presented at the Registrar and the Meet Director's clinic be consistent with the PVS Policies and Procedures and not communicate new procedures or policies that have not been approved by the Board or the House as appropriate.

It was also noted the current policy was adopted in July, 2000 and probably needs some revision for the software being used, the exact schedule to be followed, etc. They felt this could be done and still be consistent with the objectives and philosophy of C-9.

Bill also briefed the Board on the USA Swimming Splash Tour that came thru last year. Arrangements had been made for their single PVS appearance to be at the NVSL relay carnival. They arrived later than had been planned and thus could no longer access their originally assigned area and left earlier than planned due to handing out all the material (enough for 500-600 swimmers) that they had brought. He also observed that the material they brought along was aimed more at younger swimmers than were making use of the visit.

Athlete Representative - Bill Stephens reported that no election for new Athletes Representative to the PVS Board had been held. No nominations had been made at the House of Delegates meeting as provided for in PVS's by-laws. As a result, the General Chairman announced he would accept nominations until July 13. Only one nomination was received - Trevor Basil of SDS. The Administrative Vice-Chairman in consultation with the General Chairman determined under these circumstance it was not necessary to hold an election.

The Board voted to ACCEPT Trevor Basil as the new Junior Coaches Representative to the PVS Board of Directors. His term of office will be from September 1, 2004 to August 31, 2006.

Ethan Bassett discussed briefly with the Board his experience of being at Olympic Trials - including how it differed for him compared with going to Indianapolis in 2000 for those Trials. He indicated he found the 2004 trials to be a very different experience for him than the 2000 trials. This included the very different venue, much larger crowds, less competitors this year and how he approached this year's Trials differently than he did in 2000.

Age Group Division --- Greg York had nothing to report. He apologized for the delay in starting to organize the Eastern Zone Long Course team.

Coaches Representative - Bill Marlin submitted a written report to the Board just prior to the meeting which is attached to these minutes. Bill stated he continued to be interested in exploring the possibility of using an underwater video camera at PVS meets in order to help evaluate an athlete's performance. This proposal had been discussed previously at that June Board meeting and some concerns pertaining to implementing it had been raised then.

The Board basically indicated it would be receptive to considering the proposal once these concerns were addressed. It was noted that the camera would not be available for use in all lanes and this would complicate seeding at most meets. It was thought it might be practical to consider using it at a dual meet where there would be more flexibility regarding lane assignments.

Ethan Bassett indicated as the athlete representative that he thought it would be useful and he had benefited from its use during his training.

Bill Marlin indicated he was no longer planning to attempt to award the 14/U Coach of the Year with recognition by ASCA this year. Since the criteria and the application form to apply and compete for the award are not ready, it can not be publicized in time to allow all coaches to have a fair chance to compete for it. He indicated he had nearly completed it and hoped to finish it shortly so it would be ready in plenty of time for next year.

Finally, Bill reported that the 14/U PVS Long Course Meet had run very well, though there had been a trainee on Hy-Tek Sunday night which had caused some problems with finalizing that evenings results. Bill had completed doing so Tuesday afternoon and noted Chris Huott's assistance in helping with this effort. One impact is that 10/U age group winner had changed. It was noted it was important the PVS policy of not using trainees at championship level meets be followed.

Others suggested that PVS needs to provide training on the advance features of Hy-Tek, such as those features you need when running a prelims or finals meet, scoring, etc.

It was observed that many of officials working the meet did not have swimmers in the meet while those who did have swimmers in the meet did not always volunteer to work the meet. Van Erden reported that the Sunday morning session at PVS 14/U Age Group Champs was very well attended with many officials volunteering to work.

Boots sent word as chairman of the Officials Committee that staffing for the three PVS Long Course Championship meets had been very thin this summer. There was a brief discussion of things that could be done to get more officials to volunteer to officiate. This included contacting potential officials on an individual basis rather than through general e-mails, reviewing who Is entered in a meet and contacting parents of swimmers who are also officials, resuming posting the assignment sheet on the website so people know of unfilled needs, etc.

There is a general need for outreach to get more officials to work. The question was raised whether having the meet at UMD was discouraging participation since swimmers on the VA side of the LSC were reluctant to attend.

The possibility of collecting on data on which officials are actually working meets was discussed. It was also indicated the Officials Committee has initiated a newsletter to go to its officials.

It was generally observed that there was a low level of enthusism at the meets held at UMD. Senior Champs had no music for warm-ups and no announcer. The spectatator attendance at Junior Championships was noted to be very light.

It was noted participation at the PVS LC Junior Championship meet was down significantly from last year. As a result there was no need to do positive check-in this year while all events were checked in last year. It was suggested it would be useful to find out why so many swimmers did not go to Junior Champs in contrast to last year. Entries by club from the two years could be compared and an effort made to contact to the clubs with a major change in participation to find out why.

Don Riedlinger briefly shared some data with the Board that indicated that attendance at the summer LC championship meet was much smaller than the spring championship meet and that of the Tom Dolan meet. The data were assembled for other reasons, but obviously if the meets are lightly attended, the number of potential swimmers to come from the parents of swimmers declines as well.

Operations Division - Ron Whalen was not in attendance at the meeting. John Hirschmann reported regarding the status of renting pools for long course meets during the summer of 2005. PVS has recently been formally advised what had been rumored for quite a while - namely that GMU will be closed for the summer of 2005. He reported that other venues that would be good choices for the 2005 PVS LC Championship meets have yet to commit whether their pools would be available for rental. Fairfax County Park Authority has committed to make Lee District available for Senior I/Age Group I on June 12 and Senior II/Age Group II on June 26. He stated he is not concerned about being able to rent a second pool for those dates for the second venue.

Strategic Planning -- It was reconfirmed the Board would meet on Sunday August 29th to have a working session to discuss strategic planning issues at 9:00am. The location remains to be announced.

Old Business - None

New Business - Garner brought to the Board's attention an invitation he had received from Chuck Wieglaus and Rowdy Gaines pertaining to gala awards banquet sponsored by USA Swimming that will be held in New York City in mid-November. All USA Swimming Olympians are being invited to attend. PVS (as were other LSC's) has been invited to consider purchasing tickets to attend - Cost would $8000 for table seating 8 with an Olympian also in attendance. The Board took no action on this opportunity.

Don Riedlinger noted that in a recently weekly report from Ron Van Pool it was noted that USA Swimming was assembling copies of all the LSC's updated records. This was a result of the May 2004 USA Swimming BOD meeting in which the USA-S Policy and Procedures Manual was reviewed and questions were raised on how current some of the LSC and other reporting materials were. He inquired whether PVS had received such a request. Nobody present at the meeting was aware of such a request having been received.

Linda K briefly summarized for the Board arrangements for attending convention. She stated she needed to have final information this week on who was attending in order to avoid paying an additional registration fee. Linda agreed to contact the recently elected new Junior Athlete Representative to see if he wished to attend convention.

An inquiry was made as to who got at-large votes at the USAS Convention. Jim advised the Board that he had submitted four names for consideration. John Hirschmann was the only one selected to get an at-large vote.

Riedlinger urged that the posted Policy and Procedures manual be updated soon to reflect the change in convention reimbursement policy that the Board adopted at its June meeting. He was anxious to make sure that any non PVS Board members who might wish to attend would know what that policy is.

Next Board Meeting -- The Board agreed to have its next meeting on the Wednesday after the Fall Competition Committee meeting. This will make the date Wednesday, September 29th. Garner will determine the location and exact starting time and advise the Board.

Adjournment - The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:25pm.