Open Water Swim Camp
Ozark Swimming is holding an open water swim camp on Wednesday, July 1st, at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC), in Carbondale, Il.  The camp will be led by Rick Walker, Head Coach of SIUC and United States Swimming Open Water Staff, Jason Cravens, Head Coach of FAST, and Steve Franklin, Head Coach of GATR.  If you'd like to attend, your application is due by June 24th.  The registration fee is $10.00.

Zones Registration Packet and Information Available
The athlete registration packet and coach registration packet are now available. If you are planning to attend zones, registration will be accepted until July 29th, 2009 at 8:00 PM.  Please contact Erik Strom with questions.

Parkway Swim Club Seeks Coach
The Parkway Swim Club is looking for a full-time age group coach.  A job description and application instructions can be found by following the link.

USA Swimming Adopts Revised FINA-Approved List (6/23/2009)
Attention Athletes, Coaches, and Officials: Based on FINA's ruling Monday, USA Swimming will adopt as legal in general competition, all suits included on the revised FINA-approved list.  The list published Monday includes an additional 198 suits, which have been added to the original 202 that were approved.

Read the complete article at USA Swimming's website.

USA Swimming amends rules regarding swimsuits (6/1/2009)
Attention Athletes, Coaches, and Officials: Effective June 1, 2009, swimmers competing in USA Swimming-sanctioned or approved competitions will be governed by the following rules.

Only swimwear approved by FINA, as reflected on its published list of approved swimwear, may be worn in any USA Swimming sanctioned or approved competition.

Additionally, since the FINA-approved list only addresses “new model” swimsuits submitted by swimsuit manufacturers, swimmers will, until otherwise directed by FINA, also be able to wear traditional swimsuits provided the suits meet the following criteria:

1. For female swimmers, the swimsuit shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulders or past the pelvis, and

2. For male swimmers, the swimsuit shall not extend above the navel or below the knees.

There are currently 202 suits on the FINA-approved list. If and when FINA approves additional suits, those suits will also be allowed in USA Swimming competition.

Read the complete article at USA Swimming's website.

Swimwear Interpretation (102.9) - Approved Suits
Attention Athletes, Coaches, and Officials:  On May 19, 2009, Article 102.9 was amended as follows:

102.9.1A: Only swimwear approved by FINA, as reflected on its published list of approved swimwear, may be worn in any USA Swimming sanctioned or approved competition.

(Existing subsections A, B, and C of Article 102.9.1 shall be redesignated as subsections B, C, and D, respectively.)

Since the FINA approved list only addressed new model swimsuits submitted by swimsuit manufacturers, swimmers will, until otherwise directed by FINA, also be able to wear traditional swimsuits not on the FINA approved list as long as the swimsuit meets the following criteria:

1. For female swimmers, the swimsuit shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulders, or past the pelvis, and

2. For male swimmers, the swimsuit shall not extend above the navel or below the knees.

Swimwear Interpretation (102.9) - One Swimsuit
Attention Athletes, Coaches, and Officials:  Based upon an interpretation of FINA rules, USA Swimming has issued an interpretation of rule 102.9, governing swimwear, effective immediately. The interpretation states, 'For purposes of Article 102.9 of the USA Swimming Rules & Regulations, Swimwear, the use of more than one swimsuit at a time during any USA Swimming sanctioned or approved competition is prohibited.'
Further clarification of restriction on wearing more than one swimsuit can be read by clicking on the link.

Some Sad News
Gussie Crawford's husband of 55-years, Wayne, passed away in his sleep on Friday, 5 June 2009.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 50 Crestwood Executive Center, St. Louis, Mo. 63126 (314.729.1846).

New Treasurer
Debbie Catani is the new treasurer of Ozark Swimming, replacing Priscilla Zenk.  Please contact Debbie at DCatani@aol.com.

Short Course Meet Bids
Technical Planning is accepting meet bids for the 2009-2010 short course season until June 15th, 2009.  The Instruction / bid form can be found at the following links: [MS Word] [PDF].

2008-2009 Scholastic All America Team Applications Being Accepted
Think you have what it takes?  Find out by filling out and submitting an application with a postmark not later than 1 August, 2009.

Make-A-Splash
The Make-A-Splash program is having a big impact on youngsters who wouldn't otherwise learn how to swim throughout the United States.  Information about how your club can become a local partner in the Make-A-Splash program can be found in the following documents: [Application Checklist for the Local Partner Program], [Local Partner Program Application Form], [Local Partner Application Information], and [Make-A-Splash Local Partner Program Information].

Teaching Racing Starts - Amendment to Article 103.2.2 of the USA Swimming Rules - Effective 5/1/2009
Effective May 1, 2009, USA Swimming's Board of Directors has modified the racing start rule, 103.2.2 (which already provides that racing starts should only be taught in at least six feet of water) to further clarify that racing starts should only be taught under the direct supervision of a USA Swimming member coach, and to expand the definition of teaching racing starts to make clear that no swimmer who has not been certified as proficient by their coach should be performing racing starts into less than six feet of water.

Several documents were provided that should explain the amendment to rule 103.2.2.  They are (1) Racing Start Amendment Cover Letter; (2) USAS Safety Notice to Parents; (3) USAS Certification FAQs; (4) USAS Racing Start Certification Checklist with Attached List; and (5) USAS Safety Memo to Clubs and Coaches.

All Coaches - Please Read - Regarding Coaching Assistants
Effective 1 January 2009, the rules for coaching assistants have changed, based upon legislation passed at convention.  Please read the memo being fielded by USA Swimming to make sure your team is in compliance.

Background Check Renewal
Many USA Swimming members who are subject to the background screening requirement will need to renew their background screen during the 2008 - 2009 swim year.  Those who participated in the pilot program need to renew now.  Read more about the renewal process...  And here are some screen shots that may help (USA-S BG Screen Page, USASRenewalScreenShot_Introduction, USASRenewalScreenShot_1, USASRenewalScreenShot_2, USASRenewalScreenShot_3, USASRenewalScreenShot_4, USASRenewalScreenShot_5, USASRenewalScreenShot_6). Please contact Gussie Crawford, registration chair, with additional questions.

Approved Coach Safety Courses
Changes from convention are presented in this email from Cathy Durance, Member Services Coordinator, USA Swimming.

2009 Ozark Time Standard Available
Both the PDF and importable versions of the new Ozark time standard are now available. This version took effect on 1 September.

Printable version PDF (2pp)

For download into Team Manager STD. Note that sometimes "left clicking" on an STD file causes it to be displayed (which is useless). If this happens "right click" and choose "Save target as" (or whatever your browsers equivalent is) to download the file.