IOWA CITY EELS
Contact: 351-3336 or swimice@aol.com website: www.iceels.org December 2004
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Thanks to our corporate
sponsors: A.W. Welt Ambrisco, the Coral Fruit Market, Hills Bank, Hodge
Construction, Iowa State Bank & Trust, The New Sycamore Mall, Oral B
Industries, Scheels All Sports and Universal Climate Control- their generous
support helps keep our Club in the water!
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Coming up:
1/8-9: Winter Splash, Bettendorf
1/9: Sign-up deadline for DASH
Pentathlon- January 16th
1/10: Board of Directors Meeting- 6:30 PM
Mercer
1/15: ICE bills due
1/15-16: All-Stars, Lawrence, KS
1/16: Dash Pentathlon
1/21-23: Winter Blast, Cedar Falls
1/25: Boy’s HS swim meet NO PRACTICE
at Coralville on this night.
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COACH’S
CORNER
High School and Collegiate Swimming in the Hawkeye State
High school swimming is a major step in the development of great swimmers. Some kids will outgrow the usefulness of their respective high school team rather quickly but for most swimmers this time is a point of each school year that provides a team atmosphere, frequent competition, and consistent training that they can use as a springboard for improvement. This holds true in our state but there are problems that pop up that are unique to Iowa as well as epidemic in other states.
One area of concern among club, high school, and college coaches is the fact that Iowa High School swimming for both boys and girls does not provide a classic championship meet format with a full slate of prelim/final events. Most college and club coaches concede that kids from Iowa are cheated out of a great meet with the timed final meet format that currently exists. At every other level of competition after the age-group setting swimmers are expected to compete in prelim/final formats. All three college divisions, all junior college championship meets, all USA-S National Champs, and the Olympic Trials are prelim/final meets. Almost every other state in the country has their high school state meet conducted under a prelim/final format.
What we have in our state is a system that has 3 main problems. Problem #1 is that we never, in any case, see the fastest 8 swimmers in any event compete in the same water at the same pool in adjacent lanes. This system allows for too many variables to take effect (pool depth, cool down areas, water temp, gutter design, meet management, etc.) and there are always apparent problems when the heats are seeded after the regional meet weekend. Problem #2 is that our high school swimmers are not expected to train for prelim/final meets and therefore some programs reduce training volumes to a degree that athletes stagnate at a certain level for some time period and have trouble adapting to normal training cycles later on in the swim year and in college settings. Problem #3 is that this system makes it more difficult to market our best kids to college programs due to the historical trends. We always have the elite kids who compete year round and get notice by Division 1 programs (all states will have some stars) but the borderline kids from Iowa are at a disadvantage to those from nearby states if they produce similar results but do not get prelim / final training and meet experience on a consistent basis. They may not be ready for a college season of training that entails this type of training.
Some of the best swimmers in the country never swim at the high school setting and go right to college or pro careers (like Michael Phelps and Megan Quann – both of whom did not take a stroke of high school or college swimming and became Olympic gold medallists). Most great swimmers however have to hone their skills at the high school and club level to gain entry into college competition and that is the height of their career. The truth of the sport is that most of us will not end up at the Olympic Trials or Nationals or NCAA Div. I championships. A college conference championship is the fastest level most club swimmers will eventually compete in during their career. These meets mirror the excitement of the state high school meets and add to a team atmosphere but do so at a more intense and intimate level. The times are faster, the crowds are sometimes the same size but most the time a little smaller, and the experience is intense. The NCAA championship level meets have greater crowd sizes and are very intense with the focus of the meet always coming back to the team title race.
If you are looking for a college swimming experience in the state of Iowa there are a few options. Most plentiful are those opportunities at the NCAA Division III level. Loras College, Coe College, Grinnell College, and Luther College all offer swimming as sport for both Men and Women. Simpson College in Indianola offers only a women’s program. Most of these schools require certain standards to be on their teams but there are no scholarships and there are fewer requirements on the time commitment of the athletes than at the Division I level. There is no Division II programs in Iowa (and not many in the Midwest) but quite a few swimmers from Iowa compete at this level nationally. Most notable is the Div. II program at nearby Truman State University (which Eels and former City High member Katie Funk competes with) who has won the Div. II NCAA title for women four years in a row. Iowa offers quite a few Division I opportunities for women with all three state universities (Iowa, Iowa State, and UNI) offering competitive teams. For men there is only one remaining Div. I program here and that is at the Univ. of Iowa. Both Iowa State and UNI dropped their programs in the past four years; part of national trend that has been mimicked in the Big 12 and Missouri Valley. For boys in the state swimming Division I in the Midwest is becoming a dream that is slipping away. There are over 200 less spots in the Midwest and over 700 less places to swim nationally for males at the Division I level. While the game for boys is becoming more elite and very selective, the Division I setting for girls is quite stable and diverse.
Clubs play a vital role in Iowa by training future swimmers on both teams, keeping those swimmer’s skills sharp year round, and providing a consistent level of activity and fitness for swimmers who choose to compete in high school and college. Some towns and cities have teams that are based more with YMCA or local Rec. leagues but it is the USA-S clubs who have the fastest swimmers training in the greatest number on a consistent basis. Most the qualifiers at the high school state meet are current or former club kids. Almost all of those who swim in college have club experience as well. While the level of completion and varies in all three settings (club, high school, and college) Iowa does offer us a decent outlet for each level. USA-S club swimming compliments what an athlete can do for their scholastic swimming teams and in the best case it will enhance it in the long run.
Iowa High School Girls State Swimming Results – ICE was well represented at the meet in November with the following swimmers placing for their respective schools:
Lauren Talman – 200 Free 6th, 500 Free 8th
Ashley Lawler – 200 Free 3rd, 500 Free 2nd
Chelsea Hartman – 200 Free 12th, 500 Free 6th
Andrea Schubert – 100 Back 7th, 100 Fly 10th
Taryn Rosenquist – (former ICE member) 200 Free Relay
200 Free Relay 20th, 400 Free Relay 6th
Taylor Seemuth – 100 Back 23rd
Ashley Matteson – 200 Free 21st, 500 Free 20th
Jenny St. John – 100 Back 12th
Stacia Johns – 100 Breast 5th, 200 IM 4th
Jacqueline Astor – (former ICE member) Relays
400 Free Relay 15th, 200 Medley Relay 11th, 200 Free Relay 21st
Congratulations on a great season and for representing the Eels so well!
Don Spellman
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Entry cards: Do try to get
your blue entry cards turned in by the posted date. Late entries are a hassle for everyone- our coaches as well as
the host club’s meet personnel. Some
meets are closed to any late entries. In the event your late entry is accepted
you may be charged extra fees and you will run the risk of being placed in open
lanes only. As of this posting, the
folder for the DASH Pentathlon (January 16th) is ready for entries
with a deadline of January 9th.
Scheduling changes: Most of
the Boy’s HS meets at Coralville have already been completed. However, on Tuesday, January 25 there will
be no practice at Coralville due to a Boy’s meet. Frost and Cubes are encouraged to come to Mercer for practice on
that date.
Weber 2004: First off, thanks
to everyone who helped make the 2004 Irving B. Weber swim meet the success that
it was. The 430 swimmers in attendance made for a busy two days but overall we
received a good review from our visitors. Going into this meet most everyone
involved knew things were going to be a little crazy and chaotic but after a
few missteps early on the meet ran relatively smoothly. With so many athletes
and entries the occasional mistake was bound to occur. There are some changes
we can make so that next year’s Weber Invitational will be even better. Meet operations are an ongoing educational
experience for us all.
The financial report is not yet finished (some of the information is
not yet available) but it appears that we will do a bit better than 2003’s
$6,300.00 figure.
The turnout for meet workers was very good. We covered nearly all of our slots and only had to ask for help
with timing on rare occasions. The need
for more trained individuals to assist with the operation of the console,
computer, and scoreboard remains but in general the meet was well staffed.
Despite all of the positive news there were problems. On Sunday afternoon (sometime after 3:30 PM)
someone made a nasty mess in one of the Boy’s locker rooms. The clean up of this mess did not set well
with the City’s maintenance staff. They
were justifiably upset about the state of the locker room. When we rent the building from the City for
our meets we do accept some degree of responsibility for it’s care. We will have to institute measures to try to
insure that this sort of thing does not happen again. We may have to consider
some sort of locker room monitoring program. Other teams do this for their
meets (some even do this for their practices).
This action will further drain our meet work staff but may be an
inevitable consequence of the poor judgment exercised by a few.
ICE BOD openings: It takes a
lot of work to keep any parent run organization going. ICE is no different in that respect. How well our club continues to function is
directly related to the level of commitment our parents are willing to make. If
you choose to become a Trustee you will be asked to serve a two-year term. Trustees take an active hand in Board
operations generally overseeing such things as fundraising, communications,
social, and meets. Trustees also
generally serve as the pool from which Board officers are drawn- President, Vice-President,
etc. You need not be a member of the
ICE Board of Directors to contribute to the team’s operation and in fact the
ICE BOD encourages everyone to consider helping out in an area in which they
have special interest or expertise.
Each year ushers in changes to the BOD and the people who take a hand in
running the club. Experience with team
operations is valuable but fresh ideas and new perspectives also serve the
interests of the team. If you have any
questions or wish to be considered for next year’s BOD please contact ICE
president Sara Hartman
(SHartman@cr.k12.ia.us) or Kelly Eyanson (keleyn@inav.net).
Annual Recognition Dinner: We
are planning on having our Annual Spring Recognition Dinner on Sunday, April 3rd.
The exact time and place have yet to be determined. Do keep this date in mind,
as this is generally one of the highlights of the year for our swimmers.
Long course season: The 2005
Long Course (spring/summer) season will begin on Monday, April 4th. Registration materials will be available at
the Recognition Dinner and online at our website. LC season practice schedules
will be posted when they are known.
Swimposium: On Saturday,
April 30th ISI will be hosting a Swimposium at Coe College in Cedar
Rapids. The Swimposium is a USA Swimming program aimed at energizing and
engaging the swimmers, coaches, and parents with the goal of strengthening the
sport at every level. For the swimmers
there will be former Olympians on hand to conduct a mini-camp. There will be workshops for coaches and
officials. Parents too are encouraged to attend meetings on a variety of
subjects. The final details have yet to
be announced by ISI but information will be posted when available.
Last month I discussed the general philosophy of swimming officiating. In this installment I will discuss the responsibilities of the head meet official – the Referee.
At any Iowa Swimming, Inc. sanctioned swim meet, you will see several officials on the deck – the Starter, two Stroke Judges, and usually three or four Turn Judges. In charge of them all is the Meet Referee. In fact, not only does the Meet Referee have full authority over all the officials, he or she is in overall charge of the conduct of the meet during that particular session. In other words, the Referee is responsible for ensuring that the meet is conducted in accordance with USA Swimming and Iowa Swimming rules and that safe, fair, and equitable conditions apply to all the competitors. While it is possible to get by with fewer Stroke and Turn Judges, a meet session may not begin until a qualified Referee is assigned and on deck.
Because the Referee has overall responsibility during a meet session, the training and experience requirements are the most stringent of all the officiating positions. To be certified as a Meet Referee, he or she must pass all the sections of the USA Swimming Officials Test, have been certified as a Stroke & Turn Judge for at least one year, attend a Referee’s clinic, and apprentice on deck for at least six swim meet sessions at three different meets with at least two different Referees.
During the meet, the referee stands next to the Starter and with whistle blasts, signals the swimmers for each heat. The Referee will blow a series of 4 or 5 short whistles to signal the swimmers in the next heat to get ready. This is usually done when the last swimmer in the heat in the water passes under the backstroke flags. When the previous heat is completed, the Referee blows one long whistle to signal the swimmers in the next heat to step up on the blocks or to step in the water in the backstroke events (also in the backstroke events, the Referee will blow another long whistle to have the swimmers return to the starting position and place their feet on the wall). The Referee then turns the swimmers over to the Starter’s jurisdiction.
Both the Starter and the Referee observe each start, as both must confirm that a swimmer moved before the starting signal in order to issue a disqualification for a false start. Most meets now use the “No-Recall” procedure that allows a race to continue even when there is a false start. The reasoning is that recalling a race for a false start penalizes the other swimmers and slows down the meet.
As noted above, the Referee has full authority over all the other officials. This means that he or she can overrule any other official on a rule interpretation; and can overrule any disqualification by another official that the Referee personally observed. For example, if a turn judge calls a disqualification on a backstroke turn, but the Referee, after investigation, does not agree, then he or she can overrule the decision. The Referee is also the final decision authority for protests against the judgment decisions of the Starter, Stroke and Turn Judges, and Relay Take-Off Judges. For each protest, the Referee will ask the official in question three questions about their call.
First, where was the official positioned? An official needs to be in a position that allows him or her to clearly see a violation. Recall that an official may only disqualify a swimmer if he or she is 100% certain there was a violation, giving the swimmer the benefit of the doubt. Positioning is critical to being able to satisfy this requirement.
Second, what did the official see? An official needs to be able to clearly describe what the swimmer did or didn’t do that violated the rules. Being 100% certain means an official knows what he or she saw and can describe it.
Third, what rule was violated? An official needs to be able to point to a specific rule violation that matches what he or she saw.
The Referee must then decide whether to uphold the disqualification or not. The swimmer, remember, always gets the benefit of the doubt. Again, for protests of judgment calls, the Referee’s decision is final and cannot be appealed.
For other protests not involving judgment calls such as swimmer eligibility or meet operation, the Referee will normally use a Meet Committee made of a coach, the Meet Director, a swimmer, and another official to consider the issue and make a decision. Unlike judgment call decisions made solely by the Referee, a Meet Committee’s decisions can be appealed.
During a swim meet, the Referee is responsible for ensuring the meet runs safely, fairly, and in accordance with the rules. Next month I will cover the role of the Starter.
If you have any questions about officiating or are interested in becoming an official, please call me at 354-9005 or email me at blawler@universalclimate.com. Sufficient numbers of qualified and dedicated officials are a must to ensure we provide the best competitive swimming experience for our young athletes.
Final note from communications: As
the short course season moves into full force please try to keep up with the
team by checking your e-mail, the bulletin boards, and the office door at
Mercer. Inevitably there will be
practice changes due to weather, split warm-up times at crowded meets, and
other such announcements which may save you some time and trouble later. As
always, if you are not receiving this newsletter via e-mail and would like to
do so simply contact Kelly at keleyn@inav.net.