Reviewed changes to USAS stroke rules: There was discussion about the Breaststroke wording for elbows being out of the water at the turn and finish. The words "may" and "shall" are confusing in this instance, and it was agreed that more clarification was needed.

Reviewed First-time Referee Evaluation form: Everyone agreed that Dick Griffith did a fine job of drafting this evaluation form. It was decided to add a section on use of proper hand signals and whistles. The evaluation form will be used this year and reviewed next summer for effectiveness and/or changes.

Invitation to Become a PVS Referee: The first time Referee clinic may have 6-9 attendees. It will be on Sept. 9 at Boots' home. There was discussion on extending the certification period deadline from 1 to 2 years. This may attract more people who have other time constraints. No decision was made on this.

Upcoming meets: We learned that the Competition Committee was concerned that some clubs do not have enough officials to staff their meet. The discussion that followed concerned whether or not it was a wise idea to have teams holding meets without enough of their own people to staff key positions. Possible solutions were expressed, such as raising penalty fees, but no one idea seemed feasible to everyone. As always, host teams need to supply timers for their meets and may, in the future, be required to provide Marshals as well.

Starter and Referee Evaluator list: The committee removed some inactive names and added new names.

Safety changes: Committee members discussed the "no diving during warm-ups in pools of less that 5 ft. depth" rule. It was clarified that this did not apply to practice starts off the blocks. We also discussed the various local pools, and many of them do not meet the required 5-ft. depth limit. Marshals will have to be vigilant.

Clinics: Bob Richardson checked with MLK and MAC for Maryland clinic dates and times. The Current Referee clinic is scheduled for Sept. 29 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. at MAC. The Stroke & Turn and New Starter clinic will be held the same day at MAC from Noon to - 12:30 p.m. The Hy-Tek and Colorado clinics are scheduled on Oct. 6-7 with time TBA. RMSC will host an S&T clinic at their Invitational at MLK. Virginia clinics will include will include an onsite S&T clinic at the Oct. 13-14 swim meet. Bob Brofft will check into possible sites for VA S&T and New Starter clinics. The Nov. Open will have S&T clinics on Saturday.

Miscellaneous: There was more discussion on topics from the Chicago USAS meeting that Boots attended. Code of Conduct and Decertification were clarified. Decertification issues must go through a certain committee, depending on the nature of the offense. Possible issues would be lack of knowledge or unprofessional conduct. Both involved parties must be protected from prejudice. Retention and Recruitment are also relevant topics for PVS. We need to encourage new parents with younger children to become involved.