USA Swimming
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USA Swimming is the National Governing Body of competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team, and any other teams which officially represent the United States, as well as the overall organization and operation of the sport.
- Note: USA Swimming was originally called United States Swimming. Thus, there are several terms used to described the organization at different times. All of these refer to the same organization at the same time. These terms are: USA Swimming, USA-S, United States Swimming, USS, US Swimming.
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History
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) was the official organization responsible for the running of all amateur sports in the United States, established by an Act of Congress in 1888. The AAU was officially charged with the organization and operation of many sports in the US. During this time, swimming was one of the committees in the organization and was not an independent governing body.
In 1978, The Amateur Sports Act of 1978 was passed. This act made each sport set up their own National Govering Bodies (NGB's) that would now be solely responsible for their own sport. Each of these governing bodies would be part of the United States Olympic Committee, but would not be run by the committee. Thus, United States Swimming was born. From 1978 to 1980, the official responsibilites of governing the sport was handed over from the AAU swimming committee to the new United States Swimming. Bill Lippman, the last head of the swimming committee in the AAU, and Ross Wales, the first president of United States Swimming, worked together to make this process smooth. This process was made more interesting because the United States boycotted the 1980 Olympics and, during this time, the leadership of the sport was in flux.
The AAU still holds several aquatic events, but it is no longer the official governing body of the sport.
Presidents
- Bill Lippman - Head of swimming committee in the AAU
- Ross Wales (1979-1984) - First true president of USA Swimming
- Sandy Baldwin (1984-1986)
- Carol Zaleski (1986-1990, 1994-1998)
- Bill Maxson (1990-1994)
- Dale Neuburger (1998-2002)
- Ron Van Pool (2002-present)
Chief Executives
- Ray Essick (1980-1997)
- Chuck Wielgus (1997-present)
Today
Location
When it was part of the AAU to 1981, USA Swimming was located in Indianapolis, IN. In 1981 USA Swimming moved to its present day location at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. At the time of the 1981 move, it had four staff members.
In 1997, work was completed on the official USA Swimming Headquarters at the training center. This now serves as the official home of USA Swimming for the forseable future.
USA Swimming can be reached at the following address:
USA Swimming 1 Olympic Plaza Colorado Springs, CO 80909
Organizational Structure
There are several parts and levels that make up USA Swimming. There is the National Governing Body (national) level, the Zone (regional) level, and the Local Swimming Committee (local/state) level.
The National Governing Body
The National Governing Body (NGB) of United States Swimming is an extension of the United States Olympic Committee. While all of the separate swim teams, LSC's, and Zones do not officially make up the NGB, they are all members and are subject to the laws of the NGB.
The NGB is made up of both staff members of USA Swimming and volunteer members of the board. The office of the President is the head of the board and is responsible for the overall direction of USA Swimming. The chief executive is the head of the staff located at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. The chief executive is responsible for the day to day operations of the organization at the national level.
The NGB is responsible for nearly all aspects of USA swimming, and swimming in the United States in general. Its most important responsibility is to set the rules for the sport in the United States. These rules are guided by the international governing body for aquatic sports (FINA). FINA makes the rules that are to be followed at all international level meet. USA Swimming follows accordingly to make the rules of United States swimming match the rules of FINA, however it does not have to. In theory, the NGB of US Swimming could make the its rules whatever it wanted and have all national level meets and below follow those rules, but it would not have juristiction over international level meets held within the borders of the United States, and such a meet would have to follow FINA rules.
The Zone
The Zone is a relatively minor part of the organization. The zone does not make very many policy or procedural decisions that affect the members of USA Swimming. Its primary task is to operate Zone and Sectional meets and facilitate conversation between Local Swimming Committees (LSCs) in the same national region. It is also a way for the LSCs to create a bigger regional voice.
Zone Meets and Sectional Meets are further explained in the Meets section.
