OSI News

The following letter from OSI president Mark Rieniets was sent to OSI club presidents, coaches, parents and athletes who are eligible for travel reimbursement for meets from this past summer.

Re: Partial payment of the Travel Reimbursement

As a result of a decision made at the OSI Board meeting on October 1st, you will find a check attached which reflects 25% of the travel reimbursement which you are currently entitled to.

We regret having to delay payment of the full entitlement, but OSI is currently faced with a short term cash flow deficit in order to meet all our financial commitments.

After deliberation, the OSI Board has chosen to reflect OSI’s commitment to the Travel Reimbursement by making a partial payment now, rather than delay the entire payment until later this year.

During October/November we will be drawing down the level of the OSI travel investment funds, in order to make the remainder of the payments for the travel reimbursement. This must be done as CD’s mature in order to minimize any financial penalties which OSI would otherwise incur.

The OSI Board has put forward a number of initiatives for consideration at the annual OSI House of Delegates meeting later this month in Salem. If these are accepted, we believe we will be able to avoid this cash flow shortage in the future.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours Sincerely

Mark Rieniets
General Chair
Oregon Swimming Inc
Email:  Rieniets@gmail.com

The 2008 Mini Expo will be held at the Willamette University, October 10-12, 2008. 
Schedule:
Friday, October 10, 5:PM-9:PM, Saftety Training for Swim Coaches in the Willamette pool and Currey Classroom (Sparks Center)

Saturday, October 11,

12:00pm - 3:30pm - Kaitlin Sandano clinic - Willamette Pool 

9:00AM - 5:00PM. Coaches clinics in the Currey Class Room (Sparks Cennter) and Koneko Auditorium.
5:00-7:00PM Oregon Swim Coaches Association Meeting
Officials clinics in the Sullin and Walton Halls:
9:00AM-11:30AM, train the trainer clinic room 129
12:45PM-1:30 General meeting for all clinic attendees, Smullin Hall room 129
1:30-4:00PM  clinics for Stroke and Turn, Starter, Referee, Electronic Timing, Meet Director and Referee Recertification.

Sunday, October 12, 2008
8:30AM - 3:00PM, Oregon Swimming Hous of Delegate meeting in the Kaneko Auditorium, Tokyo International University of America

All clubs are required to send a representative to the OSCA and OSI General Meeting

The Oregon Mini-Expo and House of Delegates begins October 11. As in previous years, this year's event includes an athlete's camp featuring Kailin Sandeno, officials and coaches meetings and the annual House of Delegates. Please use this map and the information below to find your meetings.

• The Athletes camp and STFSC are in the pool building 41,
• Officials meetings in Smullin Hall and Walton Hall, building 40 and 47
• House of Delegates meeting in Keneko Commons building 23
• Coaches clinic and meeting in Eaton Hall building 16

To get to Willamette University take I-5 to Salem, take the Hwy 22-Mission St. Exit 253 and travel approx. 2 mi. west on Mission St. to the WU-City Center exit (Hwy 22). The off-ramp will leave you at the southeast corner of the WU campus. Keep to the left as you come down the off-ramp and proceed through the traffic signal one-half block, turning right onto campus into the university's main parking lot. The pool is located at Sparks Center, the brick building immediately in front of you when turning into the parking lot.

Oregon Swimming presents the Dick Parker award annually to an OSI official in recognition of superior service to OSI and/or the sport of swimming. A list of previous recipients can be found here.

If you would like to nominate an official please send the person's name and reason for nomination to Bob McMillan by Friday, October 17.

Oregon Swimming presents the James J Richardson Award to a long term contributor to the sport of aquatics. 

• The John Arlin Adaptive Swimming award to a contributor for athletes with a disability. 
• The United States Swimming Outstanding Service Award to a member of Oregon Swimming who made outstanding contribtions over the last 2 years.

2004 Olympian Kaitlin Sandeno will be running the Athlete Clinic at the 2008 Mini Expo in Salem. This clinic will be Saturday, October 11, from 12:00pm to 3:30pm with pictures and autographs. Swimmers attending will be getting in the pool, where Kaitlin will be demonstrating her favorite drills that helped propel her to the Olympics. There will also be a question and answer session at the end. For a complete bio of Kaitlin, click here.The registration form is available here. The clinic will be open for 50 athletes.

Astoria area athletes will have a unique chance to enhance their competitive swimming skills by working with two swimming champions, Josh Davis and Ben Wildman-Tobriner. The North Coast Swim Team is pleased to announce that that they will host a Mutual of Omaha Breakout! Swim Clinic on Sunday, October 19, 2008 at the Astoria Aquatic Center pool located at 1997 Marine Drive in Astoria.

The Mutual of Omaha Breakout! Swim Clinic is a unique experience developed by Olympic gold medalist Josh Davis and Mutual of Omaha to inspire and motivate a new generation of swim stars. As an official sponsor of USA Swimming, Mutual of Omaha actively supports the sport on all levels, from local clubs across the country to the National Team. Davis, who earned three gold medals in the 1996 Olympics and two silver medals in the 2000 Olympic Games, is a master clinician and motivational speaker.

The event is a four hour in-water stroke technique clinic from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. for ages, 8 to 18 year olds. The cost is $50 per swimmer. The swimmers will hear inspiring messages from Olympians Josh Davis and Ben Wildman-Tobriner. Immediately following, they will hit the water with Davis and Tobriner for in-water demonstration and instruction on swim strokes and techniques. Some participants may even have a chance to test their strokes in a race against the Olympic champions. Concluding the event, the swimming champions will be available for autographs and photos.

Registration for the Mutual of Omaha Breakout! Swim Clinic is currently open. To register, contact Jo Christie by phone at 503-298-7934 or E-Mail ncsc97103@yahoo.com or send payment with registration form below. Deadline is Oct. 10th, 2008.

About Josh Davis

In 1996, Josh Davis made history as the only man in any sport from any nation to win three gold medals at the Atlanta Olympic Games. Davis made his second Olympic appearance in the 2000 Games in Sydney, where he was elected captain of the USA Men's Swim Team and took home two silver medals. He went on to break the American record three times in the 200-meter freestyle. After two Olympics and five medals, Josh has established himself as an ambassador for the sport and is pioneering the road for the next generation of professional swimmers.

About Ben Wildman-Tobriner

At the 2006 Nationals, Wildman-Tobriner, finished second in the 50-meter freestyle to earn a spot on the 2007 World Championships, where he went on to earn his first World Championship title in that event. Wildman-Tobriner also took gold in the 400-meter freestyle relay at Worlds and at the 2007 Nationals, he earned gold in the 50-meter freestyle and silver in the 100-meter butterfly. He is currently ranked among the world’s fastest freestyle sprinters.

About Mutual of Omaha

Mutual of Omaha is a full-service, multi-line organization providing insurance and financial products for individuals, businesses and groups throughout the United States. For more information about Mutual of Omaha, visit www.mutualofomaha.com. For more information on the Mutual of Omaha Breakout! Swim Clinic, visit www.breakoutswimclinic.com.

Photo and video opportunities will be available during the clinic. Davis and Tobriner will be available before/after the clinic for interviews.

Click here for the registration form.

Officials Clinics

Willamette University Smullin & Walton Halls

09:00AM - 11:30PM Train the Trainers

12:45PM - 1:30PM General meeting for all clinic attendees

1:30PM - 4:00PM Breakout to Separate Clinics

• Stroke & Turn - for the beginning deck official
• Starter - for officials who have been certified as S & T for one year or more
• Referee - for officials who have been certified as Starter for one year or more
• Referee Recertification
• Meet Director - no prerequisites
• Electronic Timing - no prerequisites

Note: There is no charge or membership requirement for the clinics.  Attendees not already members of USA Swimming must join prior to beginning on-deck training. Clinics run concurrently, therefore you may attend only one clinic.

Morgon Henderson-Kunz of THSC was named to the National Junior team today.  His performance in the 50 and 100 freestyles at the Olympic Trials qualified him for the team. Morgon joins the small group of Oregon swimmers who have competed for the Junior National Team, a group that includes recent members Logan Storie (2005-2006) of Corvallis and Tori Simenec (2007-2008) or BearCats.

According to USA Swimming, members of the 2008-2009 National Junior Team were selected based upon their achievement of a National Junior Team time standard at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, the 2008 U.S. Open and/or the 2008 Speedo Junior National Championships. To be eligible for the Junior Team, females (17 and under) and males (18 and under) must not be attending college prior to the scheduled international competition.

Morgon Scroggy of THSC has been named to the 2009 World University Games team in Belgrade, Serbia. The swimming portion of the will run July 5-11, 2009. Morgon was named to the team based on her performance at this Summer's US Open where she placed 4th in the 200 free, 5th in the 100 free and 7th in the 200 back.

Swimming World Magazine has the complete story.

Many USA Swimming members who are subject to background screening requirement will need to renew their background screen during the 2008-2009 swim year.  The first group needing to renew their screen will be that group of members that participated in the pilot program in October, 2006. These screens expire on October 31, and must be updated prior to that time. Screening expiration dates are noted on all Coach member cards in the same area as the safety certification expiration dates.

Important: USA Swimming strongly encourages all members to update their screening at least by the first week of the month in which their screen expires. The process will typically take only 3-4 business days, but several factors can cause the process to take longer. Please allow plenty of time for your screen renewal to be approved before your current screen expires.

In order to facilitate the renewal process, USA Swimming has created a renewal link on the USA Swimming Background Screens page www.usaswimming.org/bgscreen. This link takes members to a series of screens designed for the renewal process.  Anticipating that most members will not remember their username and password from two years ago, this series of screens will help them access and update their TC logiQ account.

The annual Oregon Swimming Top 5 lists have been posted.  Please take a moment to review the list and send corrections, along with where we can find the meet results to the office.  Please note, for High School aged athletes, Top 5 does not include High School District or State championships.

Click here to view the lists.

USA Swimming has released a preview of the 2008 Long Course Top 10 listings.  Please review the documents and send corrections to Robbert van Andel.

• Individual
• 11-12 and 13-14 Relays
• 15-16 and 17-18 Relays

Club Leadership and Business Management School classes will be conducted in the Western Zone through year end.  This course is a requirement for new clubs before they can register for their second year, and is also required as part of Level 2 Club Recognition.  This course must be attended by the Head Coach and it is suggested that a minimum of your Club President and/or Treasurer attend as well.  It is open to all, usually free of charge.  It is a great education opportunity for your club.

The closest class will be in Seattle on November 1st. To register contact Colleen Buchanan (253)852-0680 or office@pns.org. Registration ends 10/20/08. For more information on the class or for more locations, contact the OSI office.

Both Aaron Paulson and Alice Luo swam the 100 Breast yesterday at the 2008 Paralympics. Both qualified for the finals with Alice dropping 11 seconds to get in the finals. Then in the evening finals both dropped 2 seconds from prelims to finish 6th.

At this year's clinic we will have two sections that coaches can choose from. Coaches can move back and forth between the speakers to best gain knowledge that will help them at their home clubs. One of the sections will focus on senior level swimming and how to train and plan for this level of athlete. The other section will have talks about Age Group Swimming, speed development, and membership recruitment. We will all come together at the end to listen to the last speaker and conclude the clinic.

REGISTRATION: 9-9:30am

SENIOR SWIMMING:

• 9:30-10:30am- Dave Gibson- Senior Head Coach – Brophy East Swim Team (Arizona)
  Season planning and workouts for senior level swimmers]
• 10:45-11:45am- Doug Rusk- Senior Head Coach- Salmon Bay Aquatics (Washington)
  [Utilizing water time effectively / training distance swimmers]
• 11:45-12:30- LUNCH BREAK
• 12:30-1:30pm- Dave Gibson- Senior Head Coach – Brophy East Swim Team
  [Motivating and educating high school aged athletes / creating a team atmosphere]
• 1:45-2:45pm- Doug Rusk- Senior Head Coach- Salmon Bay Aquatics
  [Season planning and getting athletes to perform at their best when it counts]
• 3-4pm- Larry Liebowitz- Head Coach- Oregon State University
  [Helping athletes in college selection process]

AGE GROUP SWIMMING, RECRUITING, AND SPEED DEVELOPMENT:

• 9:30-10:30am- Jennifer Gibson- Head Age Group Coach- Brophy East Swim Team
  [Progressing from Novice to Senior]
• 10:45-11:45am- Coley Stickels- Head Coach- Lake Oswego Swim Club
  [Speed and Power development]
• 11:45-12:30- LUNCH BREAK
• 12:30-1:30pm- Jennifer Gibson- Head Age Group Coach- Brophy East Swim Team
  [Skills, Drills, and Age group workouts]
• 1:45-2:45pm- Jim Bowe- Head Age Group Coach- David Douglas Swim Club
  [Innovative recruiting ideas for small and medium sized clubs]
• 3-4pm- Larry Liebowitz- Head Coach- Oregon State University
  [Helping athletes in college selection process]

OSCA COACHES MEETING: Meeting will start at 5pm

Matthew Rankin, head coach of the YMCA Westside Silver Fins in Arizona and former MAC standout, is extending an invitation for teams to come and train at their 50 meter swim facility during the Winter holiday break. Pool rental would include lanes, weight room facilities and meeting rooms. There will be an opportunity to participate in a USA sanctioned meet hosted by the Silver Fins. The meet will be long course for senior events and short course for age group events. Please contact Matthew Rankin at 602-615-4438 or email mrankin@vosymca.org.

The 2008 Oregon Swimming Mini expo is October 10-12 at the Willamette University in Salem this year. There will be Safety Training for Swim Coaches on Friday evening, coaches and officials clinics and Meet Director clinic on Saturday.

Officials clinics will be offered for: Train the Trainer, Stroke and Turn, Starter, Referee, Referee re-certification, Electronic Timing.

The camp committee is working on an Athletes clinic on Saturday. 

Coaches meeting is on Saturday evening and the Oregon Swimming House of Delegates meeting on Sunday

Remember that your team is required to send a representative to the coaches meeting and the OSI House of Delegates meeting

Nominations for this years awards can be send to the Oregon Swimming Office for: James J Richardson Award for long term contributions to Oregon Swimming, Jon Arlin Adaptive Swimming, United States Swimming Outstanding Service Award for contributions to Oregon Swimming with emphasis in the last 2 years, and Media Award for outstanding Support to Oregon Competitive Swimming. Remember, you must bring samples of your newspaper in order for them to be considered.

Athletes and coaches of the year’s nominations should be sent to Kyle Kimball.

Special Olympics Oregon is in need of officials and volunteers for the Regional and State meets.
Sunday, October 12, Regional meets in Gresham (MHCC) and Corvallis (Osborn) and Saturday November 22, State Games in Beaverton (Tualatin Hills Pool).
If you are interested contact:

Joann Stoller, Director of sports, Special Olympics Oregon at jstoller@soor.org, or 503-248-0600 x31, 800-452-6079 x31.