Present:� Members:� Ray Grant (SSA), Ray Grant, Jr. (SSA), Thomas Bailey (BOSS), Mariella Allard (UN-NE), Dan Warner (NSSC), Michelle Bernal (BGSC), Bob Gauvin (SCA), Dave LeBlanc (YNS), Kathy Dacey (BGSC), Chuck Batchelor (CUDA).� Guests:� Matt Craven (SAC), Mary Riddell (NE Office), Rick Osterberg (UN-NE).
Secretary�s Report, Kathy Dacey (BGSC):� Minutes from November 9, 2004 meeting were accepted with several small typographical changes.� Motion to accept minutes made by Dave LeBlanc (YNS), 2nd by Dan Warner (NSSC); motion passes.�
Treasurer�s Report:� Treasurer was unable to attend the meeting.
Reimbursement, Mary Riddell (NE Office):� Motion made to reimburse Coach Joe Bernal (BGSC) for Olympic Trials by Mariella Allard (UN-NE), 2nd by Michelle Bernal (BGSC), motion passes.
Technical Committee, Dan Warner (NSSC):� Discussion regarding meet facility fee, called �Swimmer Participation Fee� (SPF).� Changes to the language presented by the Technical Committee were made, and will be sent out in a future issue of Newsletter Plus.� Basically, a team has the option of charging a �SPF� to assist that team in securing the highest quality facility possible for its event.� Such fee must be disclosed on the Meet Entry Sheet and cannot be changed once the deadline for the bid has passed.� Such fees will be noted on the website calendar.� The Calendar Committee maintains the ability to reject, at its discretion, any bid it feels is incomplete or unreasonable.� Facility fees will not be allowed on a meet bid submitted after the deadline or on any sanction or approved meets not listed as a New England Swimming calendar meet.� Additionally, New England Swimming is raising the stipend available to organizations hosting end of season or championship meets, as follows:� 12 & Under�s - $2,500; Open Championships - $3,500; Senior Championships - $4,000; Regional Meets - $1,000.� NES will continue to provide awards for the above-referenced meets.� This policy for the SPF will be in effect for a trial period beginning with the LC 2005 season and will be reviewed within one year by the Technical Committee; the stipends will be in place for 2 years.� The meet bid deadline for LC 2005 is February 1, 2005.� Changes to the �Swimmer Participation Fee� (SPF) will not be accepted after this deadline, nor will late bids be able to charge the �SPF�.� Additionally, Calendar Chairman Bob Gauvin (SCA) will have the flexibility to comment to teams on the effectiveness of the particular surcharge which they have added to their bid form, including rejecting a submitted bid.� Motion made to accept this proposal by Dave LeBlanc (YNS), 2nd by Bob Gauvin (SCA), motion passes.�
Additional discussion regarding distance events and how to assist those teams hosting these events, which traditionally are heavy financial losses for the host team, begin to generate some profit off of these events.
Senior Committee:� will meet on a conference call scheduled for the beginning of next week.� Chairman Ray Grant is looking forward to the report from this Committee.
Age Group Committee, Laura Matuzak (GMA):� no report this month.�
Zones, Laura Matuzak (GMA): �the issue of continuing to attend the Zone Meet has been sent to the Age Group Committee for their review.� Both Athlete�s Representatives at this meeting commented that they had attended Zone Meets in the past, and found them to be a valuable experience for 12 & Under swimmers.
Calendar Task Force, Bob Gauvin (SCA):� looking for people to be on a Task Force to rejuvenate the New England Swimming calendar.� Volunteers should contact the NES Office.
Motion made by Bob Gauvin (SCA) to add the 2005 Open Water Championships to the Long Course calendar.� 2nd by Dan Warner (NSSC), motion passes.
Athlete�s Representatives, Ray Grant, Jr. (SSA) & Thomas Bailey (BOSS):� No report this month.
Officials Committee:� Chairman Ray Grant announced that Official�s Chair Bill Geary (MAG) is unable to continue as Chairman due to professional commitments, and they are working with several other members of the committee to take on the commitments of Chair.
Coach�s Report, Michelle Bernal (BGSC):� Michelle Bernal is pleased to announce that as of last night, the New England Swimming records are now posted on the website.�
Other Business:� Mary Riddell (NE Office) reports that there will no pins distributed at the Regional Meets, just at the Championship meets at the end of the season.� Last year NES had approximately 6,200 members, currently we are 500-1,000 members ahead of where we were last year.� Discussion about ID errors on meet entries, kindly check with My USA Swimming, which has all the team rosters and every meet they have attended.�
The next meeting of the Board will be
Meeting adjourned at
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Dacey, Secretary