Minutes are subject to approval at the next British Swimming Board meeting British Synchronised Swimming Committee Minutes of Meeting held on Saturday 6 October 2012 At the British Olympic Association, Charlotte Street, London W1 Present: Maria Ramos Chair MR Anne Clark BS Board Liaison AWC Jenny Gray ASA Representative JG Phyllis McLean SASA Representative PM Lauren Smith Athlete Representative LS Biz Price NPD Synchronised Swimming BP Adele Carlsen HPC Manager - Synchronised Swimming AC Julie Thompson Committee Administrator JT Apologies: None Min No 1 Welcome 1.1 MR welcomed all members to the meeting, including Lauren Smith who was attending her first meeting as athlete representative. Action 2 Minutes of last meeting 1 st March 2012 2.1 The minutes of the meeting held by telephone conference were agreed as an accurate record. 3 Matters Arising from the Minutes and not on the Agenda 3.1 None. 4 World Class Programme Update 4.1 NPD Presentation 4.1.1 BP gave a presentation covering both the World Class Programme report for the last 12 months, and the proposed programme and funding plans for next quadrennial 2013-17. 4.1.2 The Presentation included an overview of: - The debriefing process, covering performance, strategy and systems between 2007-12 - Lessons learned, areas of strength and weakness - Objectives and strategy for 2013-17 - Merger of talent development with WCP going forward - a great opportunity in terms of legacy - Expand the successful strategies and system to bridge the gap - 1 -
to the next generation of talent - Potential future changes to FINA scoring system - World rankings overview since 2005 - KPIs all achieved or exceeded - Draft World Class plan for Rio revised post London to be presented to UK Sport on 23 October - Training systems, Performance Clubs - Results trends duets/ teams over last 12 years - Athletes/ Coaches importance of retention - Athlete profiling World / GB trends - Systems evaluation areas for improvement and reasons 4.1.3 On behalf of the Committee MR thanked BP for the informative and comprehensive report on the overall high performance programme, the London Olympic Games, the debriefing process and future plans. 4.2 HPC Selection 4.2.1 BP outlined plans being formulated with regard to the selection process to the HPC for 2013. It was confirmed that there would be no selection at the National Age Groups (NAGs), and that the process would commence in Jan/ Feb 2013. Invitation to the first stage of the trials would be by letter and open competition. Members of the 2012 Olympic team would not be required to attend selection trials in 2013, but would thereafter take part in the selection process as usual. It was agreed that it would be helpful for the selection process, once agreed, to be publicly available before NAGs. Action: BP to define and publish selection policy before NAGs. 4.3 Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) Review 4.3.1 Noted that one meeting had been held but no progress to report since then. Agreed that AC would review and follow up on any actions arising. BP AC 5 British Junior Squads 5.1 Junior World Championships 2012 5.1.1 BP confirmed that a report from Junior Coach, Louise Woolley, was available and would be circulated shortly. It was reported that in terms of the level of performance on display, the standard of competition had been outstanding for Junior level. 34 nations had been represented. 5.1.2 After discussion on some of the benefits and difficulties of attending such a strong competition, members of the committee agreed that it would be necessary to take a strategic view on future attendance on an event-by-event basis, and would be guided by BP on this. 5.2 Junior Programme 2013 onwards 5.2.1 Whilst still under review BP outlined preliminary thinking about the future Junior programme, selection processes, part-time athletes at the HPC, and future participation possibilities in terms of European and World Junior championships for solos, duets, teams. Agreed that it would again be helpful for this to be defined in a published Junior selection strategy/ policy. BP - 2 -
5.2.2 Funding noted that confirmation of the Junior Programme and the appointment of a Junior National Coach was dependent upon confirmation of funding support for this part of the programme. 5.2.3 Development Clubs Committee discussed the role of the five clubs linking in to the HP Programme. Agreed that it would be a good idea to focus on these Clubs and their lead coaches for an article in Swimming Times. AC 6 British Championships 6.1 Date/ Venue/ Officials 6.1.1 Confirmed as 13-14 April 2013, to be held in Sheffield, with training on Friday 12 April. 6.1.2 The committee agreed on the proposed names for Referee and Chief Recorder. Agreed that an Evaluator would be invited if there were international entries. 6.1.3 It was agreed that all A, B and G Judges be asked to ensure they are able to attend the 2013 British Championships. MR MR 6.2 Championship Conditions 6.2.1 AWC referred to the Conditions circulated prior to the meeting. Following a discussion on items 2.4/ 2.5 it was agreed to investigate whether there were any FINA or British Swimming restrictions on the participation of male swimmers in the Championships, and to remove these if and where they existed to ensure that the competition was open to all. Agreed that AC would update the Conditions and that these then be published on the website. AWC 7 Home Country Reports 7.1 Scotland - PM reported on the following: 7.1.1 Scottish Gas Nationals & Age Groups are to be held on 27-28 October 2012 in Glasgow. There is a large entry this year, and good to see that English clubs are competing. All age groups are represented with a total of 126 competitors competing in the figure competition. 7.1.2 Courses PM reported on some concerns over various courses, and difficulties running courses due to a lack of Presenters. Scottish Swimming has provided funding of 2000 to re-train Judges and Senior Assessors but other courses urgently required are Basic & Advanced Skill Assessor Courses, and a Scorers Course. JG advised that there was currently a delay whilst the course content was reviewed and confirmed by ASA/ BS, and new procedures established for running courses at Regional/ National levels; noted that information would be available shortly. 7.1.3 UKCC - Scotland currently looking for a UKCC Level 2 coaching - 3 -
course for a current Tutor to attend, to then enable that Tutor to hold UKCC Level one courses in Scotland. Any information to be forwarded to PM. All 7.1.4 Hero s Tour PM commented on the poor communications in advance of this event, as many coaches, committees and the Synchro community had been unaware that it was taking place and it was felt that an opportunity had been missed to follow on from the enthusiasm created in Scotland by London 2012. 7.1.5 London 2012 PM thanked British Synchronised Swimming and LOCOG for her selection to the Olympic Games 2012 as a Technical Official, and commented that it had been a wonderful experience and an honour to be able to represent GB at this prestigious event. 7.2 England JG reported on the following: 7.2.1 Officials Courses a new course approval process had been introduced from 1 September 2012, this was to ensure consistency and quality of courses being delivered to discipline officials in all the aquatic disciplines. All qualifications will in future be promoted under the banner of British Swimming, and must have been through the approval process in order to be badged as British Swimming. In Synchro, this process had involved a review of the full content of all courses, including delivery plan, presentation and any associated handouts. National Courses, to be organised and administered through the ASA TSSC, will be for National Judge, Referee, Chief Recorder, Senior Assessor and Presenter. Regional/ Home Countries courses, to be organised locally, will be for Scorer/ National Scorer, Basic Assessor, Skill Assessor, Advanced Assessor and Basic Judge. 7.2.2 Licensing of Competitions a new strategy for the prioritisation of competition and the Licensing of Synchro events was in the process of being produced, this work was linked to the LTAD for Synchro. The intention is that this will start in 2014, following consultation over the coming months. 7.2.3 Licensing of Officials from 2013 all Officials attending National events must be licensed; licences will need to be renewed on a 4- yearly basis. 7.2.4 UKCC JG reported on ongoing concerns regarding the UKCC Level 1 course and whether it is meeting the needs of Synchro, and is attempting to initiate a review with ASA Workforce. - 4 -
8 Judges/ Officials 8.1 Judge Appointments Review of 2012 8.1.1 MR reported that it had been a challenge over the past two years 2011-12 to get all existing Judges to relevant competitions in order to get the necessary assessments and to show that they remained active at international judging level. It was agreed in future be necessary to take a more strategic approach to appointments and to target individuals over 1-2 years. In further discussion also agreed that it would be beneficial to stage a Judges Clinic, with input from BP, MR and JG and incorporating mentoring for all Judges. MR to action. 8.2 Appointments for 2013 8.2.1 The Committee reviewed the international competition schedule for 2013 for potential judging/ evaluation opportunities for British Judges. It was agreed that, following on from the earlier discussions, MR would draw up a strategy to set out priorities for 2013 and beyond, and then progress appointments, subject to availability. MR 8.3 Judges School 8.3.1 Noted that all FINA/ LEN/ British Swimming Judges would need to attend Judges School during 2013 in order to re-qualify from January 2014 onwards. 9 Clinics 9.1 Possible date for a Coach Education clinic identified as 16/ 17 March 2013, linked to the launch of the LTAD. AC to action. AC 10 LEN 10.1 LEN Bureau Minutes of 25 May 2012 noted 10.2 LEN Clinic Luxembourg, November JG attending. 11 FINA 11.1 FINA Clinic, Istanbul, October JG attending. 12 Other Business 12.1 LEN/ FINA Awards agreed that there were no nominations. 12.2 AWC announced that she would be stepping down from the BS Board in November, so would no longer attend the BSSC in a discipline liaison capacity. On behalf of the Committee MR expressed appreciation for Anne s invaluable contribution and expertise, and commented that her support and guidance had been essential for Synchro not just over the past five years, but during the decades of support AWC provided. 13 Correspondence 13.1 None. 14 BS Board 14.1 Minutes of the meetings held 23 June and 15 September were noted. - 5 -
14.2 AWC reported that at the most recent meeting, the BS Board had congratulated BP and the Synchro team for their performance at London 2012, and for meeting their performance targets, and had asked that their congratulations be passed on to all. 14.3 Noted that the BS Board was currently reviewing the future role of the technical committees in all the Olympic disciplines. 15 Date of Next Meeting 15.1 To be confirmed. - 6 -