USA Swimming Blogger X Day 3: CWLA's Presentation

The USA Swimming Blogger X Blogs are a series of journal entries from an anonymous coach at the USA Swimming convention. He is checking in daily by e-mail with me to give these reports:

Wednesday started off with a fizzle and pop. The CWLA was host to the
Athlete Welfare Education Presentation in which we heard a mass of
statistics, definitions relating to neglect, abuse, and the signs of
each. A majority of the time was spent educating everyone on these
facts and the CWLA finished with what it will take to stop these
numbers from rising. The message was the way to combat this problem
was to educate people to the signs and report occurrences as they
arise. The CWLA, despite being a USA Swimming driven discussion, would
not go into exactly what USA Swimming was prepared to do or the
specifics of policies that were put in place due to there mention in
the legislation.

The room opened up to a Q&A session that started slow and finished
with a flurry of people with concern in regards to protecting
athletes. Many people showed a great deal of frustration listening to
the Q&A and participating. The two biggest statements that stood out
in my mind was the first question and one of the last. The first was
in reference to a slide of the statistics from 2010 where 88% of all
cases are not reported, combined with a 2005 study where 70% of
children didn't report the abuse. Assuming that from 2005 to 2010
those numbers shore up together, we are looking at 10% of all cases
nation wide with in the child welfare system being reported and
nothing was being done. The question asked, given this fact, what is
going to happen to get this to change, assuming USA Swimming is in the
same boat. The CWLA told the crowd the answer is education, there is a
problem that needs to be fixed, but ultimately the theme was
education. I later ran into the deligate who asked the question and if
she felt she got the answer she was looking for, her reply was, "no
and I'm not surprised".

The second question was to the effect of the timeline. The information
handed out to voting members had some general timelines as to
implimentation of policies. The CWLA and President Jim Wood spoke
about education materials including DVDs and pamphlets and a reporting
system. The answer to timeline was to be up a running, 100%
functional, by September 2011. As parts of the plan become available,
they will be put into use. We were told those pieces could be in place
by Spring 2011. Handful of coaches around me were in disbelief of the
timeline. It was the overwhelming opinion that just isn't fast enough,
especially a reporting system. This meeting concluded at 11:30,
practices start less then six hours away. We go another day without a
simple and readily available reporting system for USA Swimming. Kids
maybe afraid to call the police or tell their parents, but tell a
friend (who could then report it) or the anonymous tip line. One can
only hope that the easiest means of stopping these problems come
before September 2011.

My second stop was the Age Group Chairperson workshop. We listened to
John Wingfield, USA Diving, speak about peak performance in athletes
and the planning that goes into reaching your potential. It was more
abstract way to getting to our position, what we can do to optimize
our board position and ultimately make our LSC the best it can be.

After the 75 minute presentation, there was a 5 minute break in which
the head coach of SBSC and Colorado Stars had a Q&A in regards to
maximizing your teams internal resources, fostering fun & excellence
and your relationship with your LSC. As a coach this was a very
informative and comforting session in which these successful coaches
share some of the same ideals and frustrations as I do.

Our day finished up with our Central Zone Business Meeting. If you
have ever been in a boards business meeting, there is not much to
discuss here. One big point that was not discussed but was on people's
minds was the Senior Zone meet we have. It was brought forward as a
means to give another opportunity to qualify for juniors and a final
meet of the season. 118 athletes went to this meet last month. To put
that into perspective, Missouri Valley Swimming brought 117 athletes
to the Zone Championship. Something that was championed by only a few
has fallen flat, to the point where there was no one offering to host
this meet next summer or in 2012. It's the hope of many, given the
lateness in the season for many and the number of meets at the end of
a summer season, that this meet falls off the map.

As the days progress, you will see more facts and some opinion stated.
It's my intention to provide a weekend report after all is said and
done in regards to my first USAS Convention. Tomorrow will continue
with the coaches meeting (expect more protection talk but of a
different nature) as well as zone and delegate voting.