As technology improves, we look at new ways to utilize what we have available. As the website became the primary information source and the information in the newsletter was dated, Oregon Swimming decided that newsletter should be scaled back first in it's hard copy form and then discontinued altogether.

The newsletter provided something that the website could not, a place for our board members and general membership to publish articles with relevant information about our sport. And so, we have developed this blog to fill that need.

As we were building this site, one of the key features the board requested was the ability for our membership to subscribe to the various blog topics. You may subscribe to any of the blog topics by entering your email address in the subscription section on the right hand side of the page.  The system will send you a confirmation message with a link to follow.  If you do not receive this email, make sure your spam filters did not remove it.  Of course, you may enter your email address as many times as you want until your email address has been confirmed. By subscribing to the blog, you will receive an email anytime someone posts a new entry for that particular topic.  

RSS feeds have become a very popular way for end users to keep up to date on their favorite websites ... and we certainly hope the OSI website ranks up there with the others. We have provided an RSS feed for each of the topics as well as a combined feed for all the topics.  Click on the on the right hand side of the screen to see a list of available feeds.

As always, we encourage our membership to give us feedback on the site.  If there is anything we can do to improve this site, or something doesn't work as expected, please email Robbert at webmaster@oregonswimming.org.

It goes to reason that each club has at least one pool, whether we have it posted on the website or not. As an on-and-off again competitive swimmer (I'm currently into my fourth retirement) and former coach, I have travelled to a vast majority of pools in the LSC for swim meets.  Whenever I needed to go to a new pool, I used the information on the website to find the pool. I can only assume that I am not the only one. 

It was my trip to Lincoln City a year ago to coach at a meet there that made me realize that there is one piece of information missing for a pool. Nothing against Lincoln City. They have a beautiful pool with a newly remodelled exterior if memory serves.  However, I had a difficult time finding it in part because I didn't know what the exterior looked like.  I'm a very visual person and while the directions got me to the general area of the pool, I drove by it a couple of times before I realized that I was there.

This experience led me to think that having a picture of the facility on the club page would be a nice addition, both on the club page and on the Find Clubs section.  If you look there now, you'll see that I have included a space for a picture of the facility.  Since I have none yet, each pool has a generic No Image Available graphic.

I am putting out a call to get a picture of your team's pool.  A high-quality, exterior shot would be preferred.  However, I will also take interior shots, or both.  Feel free to send me several if you have them. Please send the picture to webmaster@oregonswimming.org.

When clicking on the meets list, all one thousand meets would be listed, making for a very long page and for our non-broadband users, a long download. The page has been split up to show only the meets from a selected season. At the top of the page is a list of available seasons.

I never really liked the way the teams and athletes list was formatted. The page was clunky, took a long time to load and generally didn't look good. I have changed the way the page is formatted, showing the list of teams in the database on one page and the list of swimmers for that team on a second page.

With over 800,000 results in the database from 7 years of swim meets, you can imagine that the amount of data is immense. In the past, you could only see results by division, but I've always wanted to look at all the times for myself in the database in one page. I figured others would be interested in seeing the same, so I modified the top times lists, both by event and by athlete, so that you may select a specific season or all seasons at once.

The final change to the site is the way the search page works. I've included a new, AJAX enabled search feature. Before, you had to enter both a first and last name to perform a search. I have changed the form to include only one field. You may enter all or part of a last name and optionally include the first name. As you type, the site begins to populate the search results as you type. This feature has been tested on FireFox and Internet Explorer 6. If you have trouble, the find button will still work. Also, feel free to send me an email and let me know what browser you are using so that I can get it to on your browser.

I use Team Manager to import results and then use another program to export the results to the website. That's why results don't always show up in the times database the same time they appear in the results section.  We recently upgraded to Team Manager 5, and while the latest updates are installed, when importing results, Team Manager is assigning the unattached swimmers to the incorrect team.

I am working on the solution but it may take a week or so before the problem is resolved.  In the mean time, if you come across a swimmer assigned to the wrong team, please email me the name of the swimmer and the meet. I haven't seen any issues with the times, just the team, so the issue should not interfer with the top times and qualifiers list.

The issues with the times database have been corrected for now.  However, I'm not convinced that the issue will not resurface in the future.  As always, please email at webmaster@oregonswimming.org if you find an error in the times database.

The times database was recently updated but do not include the full results from the Olympic Trials and the Summer Blast #2 meet. I am working to get those updated this weekend.

I keep track of all the searches performed on the website so that I can determine that the content available meets the needs of our visitors.  One of the more common searches performed lately is for Senior Sectional psyche sheets. MHST is posting these on their website.

Finally, updates to the website will be a bit sparse for the next three weeks while I, along with my fiancée, finish up plans for our wedding and go on our honeymoon.  The OSI office will be monitoring my email and uploading results to the USA Swimming database.  Results and the OSI times database will be updated after I return.

I just recently posted the preliminary Top 10 list from USA Swimming.  USA Swimming decided to create single age group Top 10 lists instead of the old dual age group Top 16 lists. Please take a moment to go through the lists and send corrections to me at robbertv@oregonswimming.org.  I will make corrections to USA Swimming's times database as the errors come in.

The Oregon Top 5 lists will be produced in the coming week and posted in the Top 5 section in the times database.  While we maintain our own database, Top 5 uses the USA Swimming database. Only swims produced while competing for a USA Swimming club or All Star team will be included on the list.  High School times will not be included as in previous years.  Just as the Top 10 list depends on your corrections, so to does the Top 5 list.  The Oregon Swimming office manager, Coby, updates this list once it is posted, so please send corrections to her at swim@oregonswimming.org.

The medallion honoring Howard Jones was presented to his wife, Brenda, during the first annual Howard Jones Memorial Invitational.

Howard was born Dec. 20, 1945, in Clovis, N.M., to Rodman and Georgia (Hatch) Jones, and died Sunday, Jan. 13, in Portland. He married Brenda Failor on August 1, 1970. He was educated in New Mexico and received his master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of New Mexico in 1968. He served in the Army, reaching the rank of captain. He worked for more than 40 years with the federal government and received numerous awards and commendations, including the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service and the Superior Civilian Service Award. In 1987, he moved to Gresham and was employed with the Army Corps of Engineers on the Bonneville Lock and Dam.

He was an official in Oregon Swimming for more than 20 years. He served as a mentor and inspiration to us all. He presented numerous clinics over the years to start interested individuals on the road to become stroke and turn, starter, and referee officials. He continued to mentor and counsel officials throughout his carrier. He officiated at all levels of competition from local BC through National Championship meet. He was also a trusted friend of many of us.

Howard we will miss you, but you will always be with us in spirit, and especially at the Mount Hood pool which you so deeply loved and worked endlessly to improve to the world class facility it is today.

I'd like to take this opportunity to encourage anyone with a vested interest, parents, coaches and swimmers, to review the Top 5 again and let us know if there are still errors.  I'm encouraged that the number of errors this year has been small but at the same time worried that the lack of corrections is caused by everyone assuming that the computer cannot be wrong.  If you find any errors, please contact the office.

As we move forward into the next season, I want to restate my annual request that as you, the parents, coaches and swimmers, attend meets, take a few minutes out of the day to review the results that are posted on the walls.  These results are posted not only to let you know how a swimmer has placed, but also to provide a means to review results.  There's nothing more frustrating that to receive a set of results, upload them to the various database, only to get an email a few days later that there is an error in them.

While at the meet, double check your swimmer's name, and if possible their birthdate and USA Swimming number.  These values are used to match a swimmer's result with the swimmer in the USA Swimming registration database.  Errors can result in delays in getting the meet posted as well as potentially having the result deleted all together.  Also, double check the results from relays and make sure that the order of swimmers is correct and that all four swimmers are listed.  USA Swimming will not accept relay results if not all four swimmers are listed with the result.

Taking a few minutes out of the day to review results at the meet will help us all get results posted accurately and in a timely manner.

The Oregon House of Delegates voted to allow any athlete who qualifies for Tier I or Tier II funding, but does not attend the respective national meet to still receive the current Tier III funding amount ($250) to assist them to go to any meet of their choice.

Following a recommendation from the OSI Board, and numerous discussions about OSI's current cash flow deficeit, the membership approved the following fee increases:
1.) Increase the annual registration fee by $5.00, effective for the 2010 season.
2.) Increase the current athlete meet surcharge from $1.50 to $3.00, effective January 1, 2009.
3.) Increase the current OSI Championship surcharge from $4.00 TO $10.00

Addittional cost cutting measures approved by the HoD are:
1.) Reduce the Zone team travelling to Hawaii this year to a maximim of 8 athletes per age group/sex
2.) Reduce the number of coaches travelling with the Zone team by one.
3.) Reduce the number of chaperones travelling with the Zone team by one.
4.) Reduce the amount of reimbursement for OSI delegates travelling to the USA Swimming convention each year by a graduating percentage based on the position held by the delegate within OSI.

It is unfortunate that after many years of holding our fees levels the same, we are now forced to increase them as the economy takes a pause. It was only after previous cost cutting initiatives failed to reduce our expenditure below the level of our income that these measures became necessary. As we move forward the OSI Board will continue to work with our membership to find other ways to increase the level of service and competition we provide to our athletes, while reducing the cost to provide those services.

I will comit to post an update on this blogg after every OSI Board meeting in order to ensure everyone has an opportunbity to stay abreast of the news and current events within OSI.

Yours in swimming
Mark Rieniets

The motion which was passed at the HoD for the Zone team was to send 60 swimmers. There was no limitation on the number of swimmers from each age group, as it will be left to the Zone Coach and Team Manager to pick the best and strongest team available to represent Oregon.

Sorry for any confusion or anxiety I may have cuased.

On the times database webpage, a tab directs you to a page similar to top times. You can enter your search parameters similar to the times database. You may notice that the list of seasons goes back as far as the top times lists do. I will fix that in the future. For now, just realize that the times database will include relays only from this season forward. The list of relays will include the team name, time, members and meet. Each swimmer's name is a hyperlink to the swimmer's individual top times for the season. Scroll to the bottom to see the swimmer's relays.

I had debated on including the relays on the individual's top times page because of concerns about incorrect data, as relays are the cause of most correction requests sent to me. In the past, corrections were typically needed because the relay's lead off swimmer was incorrect. I can only imagine that now that all four relay swimmers will be known, this may compound the problem. Please be aware that I cannot change results. What I put into our database comes from USA Swimming's SWIMS database which gets its data from the meet results submitted to Oregon Swimming. I hope this will encourage everyone, parents, swimmers and coaches, to be more observant of the results before they are finalized. As I have mentioned in previous blogs and news articles, I want to encourage everyone to look at and correct the results as they are posted on the walls of the pool before you leave the meet.

As I mentioned, the data going into our times database comes from SWIMS. USA Swimming will not allow us to import results from a meet when one or more relay swimmer is unknown. If you notice a relay is missing from the list, the cause is most likely due to a missing relay swimmer from the results. Again, this can be resolved if the results are corrected before they are sent to Oregon Swimming. USA Swimming also does not recognized 100yard relays, and so they will not be included in our database either.

 As more of the OSI investment CD's become due we will continue to draw down the balance of OSI's investments until the full travel reimbursement amount has been paid. 

 The board also agreed to review any outstanding balance from travel reimbursement at the January board meeting in Portland. If a combination of our income and CD's maturing do not permit us to pay the remaining balance of the travel reimbursement, then the board will examine the possibility of incurring the cost and cashing in some of the CD's invested early in order to fully meet our commitment.

As the increase in splash fees and surcharge take effect on January 1st, we are hopeful that we will move past the current cash flow deficit, but a number of measures are being taken by the board in order to allow us to more closely monitor our expected cash flow in a more forward looking and less reactionary manner.

After some discussion, it was also agreed that due to lack of attendance, the OSI Board would no longer meet in Eugene twice a year. Beginning next year the OSI Board will meet in Eugene in May, with the remainder of the meetings taking place in the Portland area.

A number of changes to OSI policy and procedures were agreed to which will clarify the OSI reimbursement policies.  The intent and/or the reimbursement practices will not change, but the OSI Handbook will now contain clearer verbiage on a number of reimbursement entitlements when it is available early in 2009.

The committee of coaches continues to review and discuss a proposal for adoption by the OSI board to document and formalize the meet development hierarchy for our swimmers with the Oregon Swimming area. Once this review has been completed and adopted, we will be in a stronger position to determine if our travel funding and reimbursement are in alignment with our development strategy for our athletes.

Last but not least, our OSI Top 5 Awards ceremony will be in Canby on November 23rd. The invitations for this have gone out from the OSI office this week. If you believe you or your athletes should have received an invitation and did not , please contact the OSI office immediately.

Yours in swimming

Mark Rieniets

Just wanted to start this blog out by letting you know that in 2 short months Oregon Swimming will be attending the West Coast All Star Meet in Federal Way. It will be held at the King County Aquatic Center January 10-11, 2009. This meet is for 11-14 year old swimmers. 11-12 year olds must have achieved at least one 12 yr old Age Group Sectional time to apply, and 13-14 year olds must have achieved at least one 14 yr old Age Group Sectional time to apply. Click here for the time standards. There will be 8 boys and 8 girls in each of the age groups chosen to represent Oregon at this meet.

Cost to swimmers will be approximately $100 to attend the All Star meet. The application form is now posted on the Oregon Swimming website. The deadline for applications will be Monday, December 15th at 12:00 noon. The All Star staff is looking forward to a great trip with Team Oregon... don’t be late on those applications!

Shelly Rawding

Just a reminder – All Star Applications are due by noon on Monday, December 15th. Late application forms will not be considered.

Please read the application form very carefully, and fill it out completely. The form can be found HERE.

Be a part of Team Oregon All Stars!

Many of the emails I've received concern the All-Star meet held on January 10th in Federal Way, Washington.  This meet has not been added to our times database but will as soon as possible.  Our times database is derived from USA Swimming's SWIMS database.  All the results I import into our database is first imported into USA Swimming where results are cleaned up, and swimmers are validated against the registration database. Each LSC is responsible for uploading results into SWIMS as soon as possible and only the host LSC can upload results from their LSC.

As of this morning, Pacific Northwest Swimming, the hosts of the All Star Meet has not uploaded the results from All Star meet nor the Senior Circuit meet held the first weekend of January.  I will continue to monitor SWIMS for the addition of these meets and will also continue to email Pacific Northwest Swimming to get a status of these meets.  Eventually, these meets will get imported and we'll get them added to our database. 

In the mean time, I want to thank everyone for their patience.

The 2009 Zone packet is now posted online. Something new this year – if you apply by June 1st, you will receive an extra t-shirt (free!) if you are chosen for the team. To apply early, please fill out the form completely, and send the complete form in with a $200 deposit check to the Oregon Swimming office. The balance will be due in July. The $200 is refunded if you are not chosen for the team, but it is non-refundable if you change your mind and do not wish to attend.

Please note that we need the application completely filled out. List all times accurately, and be sure to circle your top 6 events. Note that we will be double checking times in the USA Swimming and Oregon Swimming databases to ensure accuracy of the applications. Time may be updated by FAX for applications that are sent in early. See the Zone packet for details.

The chaperone application is on the last page of the packet. Chaperones will be chosen the weekend the team is chosen in mid-July.

The Zone packet explains the process of applying and attending the Zone meet. If at any time you have additional questions after you have read through the posted information, please don’t hesitate to email me at hrvst.coach@gmail.com or our Zone manager Heather Thomas as coach.heather@hotmail.com We will be happy to answer any questions you may have on the trip or the application process for our Zone trip to Hawaii.

Aloha!
Shelly Rawding

Thanks for all the zone applications!!  We have a great group of swimmers who have applied for the team. The entire zone staff is looking forward to bringing a strong contingent of Oregon athletes to Hawaii next month, that's for sure.  The team will be chosen this Sunday, and the names will be posted by Monday on the OSI website. 

Thanks also for all who have already sent me the middle name of your athlete if we had asked for it.  In order to have everything in order come Sunday we have had to do some groundwork ahead of time for all the athletes.   If you have questions on how to fax in the updated times achieved this coming up weekend, be sure to ask.  The fax number is in the zone packet.  You can also contact me at hrvst.coach@gmail.com or 509-637-4051 if you have questions on the process.

Aloha!

In 2 short months Oregon Swimming will be attending the West Coast All Star Meet in Cerritos, California. This meet is for 11-14 year old swimmers. 11-12 year olds must have achieved at least one 12 yr old Age Group Sectional time to apply, and 13-14 year olds must have achieved at least one 14 yr old Age Group Sectional time to apply. There will be 8 boys and 8 girls in each of the age groups chosen to represent Oregon at this meet.

Cost to swimmers will be $200 to attend the All Star meet in Cerritos on January 9-10, 2010. This includes all transportation from Portland to and from the meet, hotel, meals, meet fees, t-shirt & patch. The application form is now posted on the Oregon Swimming website. The deadline for applications will be Monday, December 14th at 12:00 noon. The All Star staff is looking forward to a great trip with Team Oregon... don’t be late on those applications!

Shelly Rawding

Coby van Andel

	Saturday	Sunday
Warm-ups	2:30pm-3:30pm	8am-9am
Competition Begins:	3:45pm	9:15am

Directions to Holiday Inn Gresham from HWY 26:

1. Follow signs for US-26 E/Portland and merge onto US-26 E
2. Keep right at the fork, follow signs for I-405 S/US-26 E/The Dalles/Salem and merge onto I-405 S
3. Merge onto I-5 N
4. Take exit 300 to merge onto I-84 E/US-30 E toward Portland Airport/The Dalles
5. Take exit 16 for 238th Dr toward Wood Village
6. Turn right at NE 238th Dr
7. Continue onto NE 242nd Dr

Destination:
Holiday Inn Portland East Gresham
2752 Northeast Hogan Drive
Gresham, OR 97030

I look forward to meeting all of you!!!
 
Cheers,
Nina

Cheers,
Nina