Fundamental changes were also made in how United States Swimming will conduct its National level championship meets. The major change is that the Speedo Junior Championships (both spring and summer) will not be held after the Year 2000. It will be replaced in the Sectional championships in 2001. Each zone is expected to conduct up to four sectional championships in both the SC and LC season. Each sectional is to have at least 400 swimmers.

The Zone is responsible for defining the boundaries within the zone for each sectional, determining dates of the meets, locations, order of events, qualifying times, etc. This is a major assignment, which is still ahead of us. The Zone Technical Chairman and Coaches Representative are charged with starting this planning process. There may be a special meeting in January of the LSC's within the Eastern Zone to advance this planning. Plans for the 2001 Sectional meets are to be completed by April 1, 2000.

With the forthcoming absence of the Speedo Juniors, the Eastern Zone will presumably also be addressing how this impacts the qualifying requirements for the Eastern Zone Championships.

The National Club Championship proposal that had been planned to begin in March 2001 was also defeated. The Spring National Championship will continue to be conducted. In 2001, it will be the selection meet for the FINA World Championships to be conducted that summer in Japan. The National Team Director has also announced that this meet will occur between March 27 and April 2, 2001 (in contrast to the third weekend of March - which was the planned date for the Club Championships.)

As a result many other proposed changes to championship process were withdrawn, tabled, or defeated. Therefore, PVS will remain at Southeast Juniors in 2000

All these changes to the championship level meets came as a bit of surprise. They were not part of the legislative package distributed in August, but to those of us in the Washington area who are used to watching Congress at work, it should not be a totally unfamiliar phenomena. As one close observer of the scene remarked, it was "fascinating, fervent, frustrating, fluid, fragmented, and, ultimately, fruitful."

In the words of the same observer, the chief arguments for the proposal were "about team, preparation and progression:

1. Team - Instead of breaking up your team at the end of each season and sending swimmers to a variety of meets (regionals, zones, juniors, and nationals) in a variety of taper states. Teams will send all their senior swimmers to these new sectional meets, either fully tapered to make nationals or at least somewhat tapered because they have cuts. Less accomplished team members can watch and compete with their more accomplished teammates in the same meet. We should see much more excitement at these meets.

2. Preparation- Coaches can be with their entire team at a critical phase of training. No longer will national swimmers be at home with an assistant coach the week before nationals, while the SR or Head coach is off at juniors. No longer will coaches be juggling numerous taper phases simultaneously.

3. Progression- Instead of only three juniors we now have more meets. The progression path is enlarged and streamlined. Developing swimmers today often do not see or compete against national champions (at least in a tapered or partially tapered state) until they qualify for nationals. In the new format, this won't happen any more."