President's Message
From Duke Zielinski, President USSS; April 2009
I have been quite busy since my last letter as we have already entered our competitive season. Two national championships have been completed thus far, and we are quickly heading into the U.S. National Championships at Stanford University next weekend.
The U.S. Collegiate Championships, hosted by the University of the Incarnate Word, were a success in San Antonio. Meet hosts Melodie Wallace and Emily Van Vleck did a terrific job. The Ohio State University regained the Collegiate National title after Stanford University claimed the crown the previous four years. While at the event, Executive Director, Terry Harper and I spoke to athletes, coaches and judges, sharing my vision for our sport to move into the 21st century.
Christine LaBounty and Gina Craig along with the Pacific Northwest Association (PNA) hosted the Speedo Junior National Championships in Federal Way, Wash. PNA hosted a well-run meet that was attended by nearly 200 athletes. The event was an exciting display of the depth of talent in our Junior athletes. Five events were contended and champions from five different clubs were crowned: New Canaan Aquianas, Troy Sharkettes, Riverside Aquettes, Walnut Creek Aquanuts and the Santa Clara Aquamaids. In the figure competition, the top seven finishers were from seven different clubs!
Team Trials for the Senior and Junior National Teams are currently underway. Phase 3 for both levels will be held in May. The National Team Coaches for both Teams have been recommended by our National Team Director, Sandra Mahoney, and approved by both the International Relations Committee and the Board of Directors. Our National Team I will compete in the FINA World Championships in Rome this summer and will begin training in May. Our Junior National Team will be attending the UANA Pan American Junior Synchronized Swimming Championships in Huntersville, N.C.
Betty Hazle, the Olympic International Vice-President, has spent an enormous amount of time planning for the UANA event which includes the competition and a FINA Developmental Clinic, the first to be conducted after the new figures and elements will be finalized in Rome. You can find competition and clinic information along with housing packages on this website under the Events tab. (The FINA Technical Synchronized Swimming Committee will meet and finalize the figures and elements during the World Championships. Ginny Jasontek is our representative and is Secretary of the Committee.) We would love to have many of you attend the competition and support our Junior National Team as well as attend the clinic for new information on the figures and elements. I would also like to thank Betty Hazle for her the work load she assumed when the National Team Director search was taking place. She ran Phase 1 of the Senior National Team Trials in January and helped set the procedures for the Junior Trials among many other tasks.
On that note, I would like to congratulate Sandra Mahoney on being named our new National Team Director. Sandra has previously been the head coach of the New Canaan Aquianas and a member of our National Team Coaches Pool. Most recently, she was an assistant coach for our Junior National Team at the 2008 FINA Junior World Championships. Sandra has been very busy since her first day on the job with coaching selection, team selection procedures, training sites, a USOC sponsored training symposium and much more. We are fortunate that Sandra has such an extensive background and that she was able to jump into the job.
We have also been contacted by organizations looking for synchronized swimmers to perform beyond the competitive scene. La Reve will be hosting an audition on Saturday, May 2 at Santa Clara International pool (following the U.S. National Championships). Louanne Madorma, the casting director for La Reve, will be hosting the audition. In addition, representatives from Norwegian Cruise Lines will have a representative at the U.S. National Championships. They are seeking performers for a spectacular new show involving diving and the trampoline. (Go to the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) website, ishof.org, to see more information. Click on the Video Archive link, then the Special Interest tab, and finally the Aqua Theatre link.) Also on the ISHOF site is a list of the 2009 Honorees. Congratulations to Judy McGowan for her induction into the Hall of Fame as a Honor Contributor.
Finally, I would like to thank our past Presidents for their advice and guidance. I have created an Advisory Committee of our past presidents to help with long range planning, to assist with international relations, and to integrate some of their ideas and visions into our current plan. Their experiences and history with the sport can provide me with greater insight as we move forward.
I look forward to seeing all of you at the meets this year and always welcome any questions or suggestions you may have to continue the growth of our great sport.
All the best,
Duke Zielinski
