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“We admire the immense devotion both groups have to our sport, and we continue to work diligently to ensure that we hear all members’ voices and consider constructive criticism.”
That’s from USA Swimming, which posted a four-page open letter in response to critical letters sent to the USA Swimming Board of Directors by the American Swimming Coaches Association and Coaches Advisory Council. Both groups complained about membership, especially vis-a-vis the AAU, the perceived U.S. performance in Paris and the leadership of the national team, and the national office.
The USA Swimming letter noted:
“We will not use this response to minimize the passion expressed or what we know is a true desire from ASCA and the CAC to improve our sport. We do, however, want to correct some inaccuracies so we can move forward together from the same set of facts. Below we address directly those comments we believe would benefit from further clarification.”
In terms of the issues raised:
● Membership:
“USA Swimming is pleased to share that final 2024 membership numbers exceeded 2023 and continue to display upward trends. Athlete membership increased, with substantial growth in premium athlete membership, a key metric for retention”
and
“[C]oach membership eclipsed 20,000 for the first time since 2019 and for just the second time in history. Membership of our officials hit a post-pandemic high, continuing an upward trajectory and just below all-time highs from 2018. Though membership numbers have not returned to all-time pre-COVID highs, the upward trend, particularly in crucial membership sub-categories, indicates long-term projected growth, not decline.”
A graphic showed that USAS membership hit an all-time high in 2017 at 421,200 and was at 413,800 in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. Then:
● 2020: 365,100 ~ pandemic
● 2021: 333,400 ~ pandemic
● 2022: 396,200 ~ up 18.8%
● 2023: 379,300 ~ down 4.3%
● 2024: 379,800 ~ up 0.1%
As for losing members to AAU clubs, a situation which has impacted multiple U.S. National Governing Bodies, the letter explained:
“We are listening to club coaches and leaders who offer AAU membership to their athletes, but we continue to point out that our club and coach resources, Safe Sport program, and insurance benefits are unparalleled in our efforts to support, protect, and assist.”
● National team performance in Paris:
As far as the performance of the American team in Paris, USA Swimming cited the three key indicators set by the USAS Board:
“1. Win the gold medal count
“2. Win the overall medal count
“3. Achieve the overall medal goal set by the USOPC in its high-performance plan”
All three were achieved, but the eight golds and 28 total medals are levels not seen since Seoul 1988 for gold medals and Athens 2004 for total medals. And almost 70% of the final-round performances at the Olympic Games were inferior to those at the U.S. Olympic Trials a month earlier.
As for coaching staff assignments, they were made by committees, which included the 2024 Olympic head coaches.
● New SWIMS 3.0 database
USA Swimming created the original SWIMS program as a way to keep in touch with membership and then as a database for millions of results from competitions of all kinds. Introduced in 2002, it had become obsolete and had to be replaced. So:
“While the rollout and communication of the new SWIMS database disappointed many, migration to a modern technology stack was essential to our continued operations as a National Governing Body. Compliance with the U.S. Center for SafeSport and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) was difficult with our legacy technology, and failure to implement an updated database would have vastly jeopardized the organization’s standing and long-term sustainability”
The importance of the role of SafeSport in this element is a direct follow-up to the Larry Nassar abuse scandal in gymnastics and an area of high interest to the U.S. Congress, which controversially gave itself the right to vaporize the board of directors of any U.S. National Governing Body in the “Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020.”
There was more, on education programming, member surveys and staffing, which explained the current programs and process. It’s hardly the end of the discussion, but a useful step.
Observed: This was a detailed, forthright letter that will likely neither end or even slow the criticism coming from the two coaching groups. But it presents facts that the coaches letters did not touch on and sets a better context for the future.
At their core, the coaching groups asked for a deeper level of understanding of what USA Swimming is doing and why it is doing it, a comprehensive development plan from Paris to Los Angeles for the athletes and the sport, and a higher level of responsibility for coaches in the organization (of course!).
The USAS letter does not resolve any of these issues, but it sets a better framework for more detailed talks. The sky is not falling, but the challenges to U.S. dominance in swimming, continued development of swimmers amid a rise in interest in AAU clubs and a possible implosion of collegiate sport in the U.S., and the future role of coaches as key decision makers within USA Swimming are issues which are not going to leave any time soon.
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