CalM Advisory Board Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
In attendance:
Steve Washburn, Chair, Ben Swiggett, Officer (Meet Director), Sid Levy, Officer (Social/Membership), Laura Feeney, Board member (at large), Deb Kory, Board member (at large), Gaku Ito, Head coach, Tryn Riley, Coach, Sara Ye, Swim Club at Berkeley, Sun Hajela, Swim Club at Berkeley, Rishabh Roy, Swim Club at Berkeley, Nils Gohlke, Swim Club at Berkeley; Absent; Kai Stoeckenius, Officer (Communications), Spencer Hawkins, Cal Rec Sports
- Welcome to new Board members
Steve welcomed Sid Levy (Social/Membership Officer) and Deb Kory (at large Board member) to the Advisory Board. Sid and Deb introduced themselves and confirmed their commitment to providing ideas and energy to help CalM thrive.
2. Coaches update
Gaku led the coaches update with support from Tryn. Key points in the discussion:
- Sun and Sara proposed an intra-squad swim meet to be held at Spieker (short-course) sometime in April 2020. Steve and Gaku will follow-up with Spencer.
- We have new gear (paddles, fins, pull buoys) at Golden Bear – members should send email to Steve if specific sizes are missing or in short supply.
- Gaku and Spencer are considering reopening the on-line store for team members to purchase CalM gear (e.g., hoodies, t-shirts, etc.). Gaku will circulate gear options to the Board who will select which items to put in the on-line store. Members with preferences for what goes into the store should contact a Board member.
- Steve mentioned that there was a sale of Varsity Cal Swim Team gear at a Saturday swim practice a couple of years ago, and it was quite popular – Steve to follow-up with Spencer to see if a similar sale could be arranged in the future.
- Gaku is considering a “Mega Swim Sunday”, a Sunday short course workout with as many team members (and members of other teams) participating – perhaps targeting 100 swimmers across 20 lanes at Spieker. Gaku will discuss scheduling with Spencer.
- Steve proposed development of a team survey to get a better handle on what the members would like to see, and volunteered to circulate a draft to the coaches and Board.
- Ben and Gaku proposed scheduling a team session to review swim meet rules prior to upcoming CalM or Swim Club at Berkeley swim meets. Ben and Gaku to explore.
3. CalM swim meets in 2020
Ben confirmed that the annual CalM short course swim meet will be held on March 22, 2020 at Spieker. Last year’s meet was a huge success, getting the very high marks from Pacific Masters and participants thanks to Ben’s leadership and so many team members pitching in as volunteers. A few topics were discussed regarding plans for the 2020 meet:
- Steve asked if Ben could put together a timeline of activities that need to be conducted ahead of the meet (e.g., soliciting sponsors; designing and ordering t-shirts; submitting meet announcement/list of events to Pac Masters, etc.) so that we could track time-critical meet preparations.
- In particular, it was agreed that we should put more effort into soliciting meet sponsors, and start that process earlier than in past years. Ben indicated that he thinks he has a sponsor solicitation form, and will circulate it to the Board for review.
- Sid suggested that the lanes be oriented east-west, instead of north-south as in 2019, to avoid turns against the bulkhead. Ben explained that the north-south orientation allows for more room for swimmers and timers behind the blocks, and that the new blocks can be installed at the south end of the pool, but not at the east or west ends. It was agreed that the meet in 2020 will use the north-south orientation if possible.
- It was suggested that we consider ways to shorten the meet perhaps by including fewer relays or relay heats. It was also suggested that we consider age groups for the relays, by totaling the ages of the swimmers on the relay team (e.g., have relays where the total age of the team falls within a given range – under 120, 121 – 160; 161 – 200; over 201).
- It was agreed that we would include t-shirts with meet entries – the design used the past few years (“flying bear”) has been very popular with meet participants. As Sid’s suggestion, we will also consider handing out ribbons to the top three swimmers in each age group/event. Ben will follow up with Spencer.
Spencer has informed the Board that, unfortunately, it will not be possible for CalM to host a long-course meet in 2020 because it is an Olympic year and Cal does not want to restrict use of the pool by potential Olympians who will be working out at Cal next year. We’ll work on getting a long-course meet on the calendar for 2021.
4. Swim Club at Berkeley update
Sun and Sara introduced new Swim Club at Berkeley officers Rishabh Roy (Junior) and Nils Gohlke (Senior). The following topics were discussed:
- Sign up for team members for the next semester will begin in late January, with “drop in week” from February 4-7. That week, CalM should expect a surge of students participating in free trial workouts in the evenings. The Swim Club at Berkeley officers will work closely with the coaches and the Board to prepare for “drop-in week” and avoid over-crowding.
- Sun and Sara indicated the Swim Club at Berkeley would like to schedule a swim-a-thon fund raiser. It was suggested that we try to coordinate the proposed swim-a-thon with the annual One Hour Postal Swim event that will be held in January and February. Gaku to discuss the possibility of scheduling with Spencer.
5. Social/Membership Officer update
Sid proposed the following as his goal next year: “Create an inclusive experience on- and off- the pool deck for all swimmers to feel connected to our swimming community” Sid also presented a list of possible social and membership-building activities. Sid suggested the following as top priorities:
- Informal potluck breakfast poolside during/after Saturday morning workouts
- Greater participation in USMS/Pac Masters swim meets
- Swimming-focused field trips (e.g., watching Varsity Cal Swim practice from deck; attendance at Varsity Cal swim meets/water polo matches
- Team picnic/potluck
Sid also proposed team purchase of a 10’ x 10” canopy tent for team events (e.g., https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FF347I8/ref=psdc_3742571_t2_B00IGISD5C). Sid and Steve will follow-up with Spencer to look into feasibility.
6. Other business
- The Board confirmed with Spencer that Kendall Young could submit receipts for reasonable expenses (e.g., house cleaning) associated with the upcoming CalM Holiday Party at his house for reimbursement by Cal Rec Sports. The Holiday Party will be held December 7.
- The Board confirmed with Spencer that a photographer identified by Laura could take pictures at an upcoming CalM workout if he gets permission from the individual(s) being photographed. Permission will also need to be granted by any swimmer whose photograph is proposed to be published or otherwise used by CalM, Cal Rec Sports or the photographer.
- The Board approved a recommendation from Spencer that Linked-in be permitted to purchase 100 vouchers for their swimmers to drop in at CalM workouts as part of the Linked-in wellness program. Spencer will limit to 5 the number Linked-in employees who can attend any given CalM workout
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