Our Mission: To promote a positive environment that will allow Missouri Valley’s athletes, coaches, officials, and volunteers the opportunity for success in the sport of competitive swimming.

Our Vision: Missouri Valley Swimming is continually looking to the future, by challenging its volunteers, coaches and swimmers to reach for a standard of excellence; thus positioning our LSC as a leader in the Midwest and USA Swimming.

Central Zone Open Water Championships

The Central Zone Open Water Championships will be held in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin on June 29-30, 2013. On Saturday, June 29th, there will be an Open Water clinic to give athletes strategies for open water swimming as well as encouragement to continue with this side of the sport of swimming. The Open Water Clinic is for all participants and coaches and will start at 3pm with a Pasta Dinner following at 6pm. On Sunday, June 30th, the actual competition will be held at Lake Andrea Beach with competition for 10 & Under (.5 mile), 11-12 (1 mile), 13-14 (1.5 mile) and an Open 5K (3.1 mile). Pleasant Prairie is located on the Wisconsin/Illinois border off of I-94 and 30 minutes from the Milwaukee Airport or 45 minutes from Chicago O’Hare Airport. The Rec Plex is just 2 miles from the Interstate. This meet will be the only Central Zone Open Water competition for the summer of 2013. The August championship meets (Senior and Age Group) will not have an Open Water component.

Laura Hineman will be the designated Missouri Valley Swimming Coach for the Open Water Zones meet. If you have swimmers who are planning on attending but you are not planning on attending as a coach, please contact Laura at laura.hineman@jocogov.org or 913-236-1231. Laura will be able to help facilitate a warm-up and help watch your swimmer at the competition and training day before the meet.

• Meet Flyer (PDF)
• Meet Announcement (PDF)

5/21/13

National Championships and World Championship Trials

Have you and your team made plans to come to Indy in June for the biggest USA Swimming competition of the year? Expected to compete at the 2013 Phillips 66 National Championships & World Championship Trials are London gold medal winners Ryan Lochte, Missy Franklin, Tyler Clary, Nathan Adrian, Matt Grevers, Katie Ladecky, Allison Schmitt, and all the active members of the USA Swimming National Team along with USA Swimming's up and coming athletes. It's going to be an amazing field and the first major championship for the London Olympians since the Olympic Games. Local organizers hope to fill the stands with young swimmers and their families cheering on their favorite athletes.

Competition days are Tuesday through Saturday, June 25-29, with prelims beginning each day at 9:00 AM and finals at 6:00 PM. Plan to visit the Fan Expo in the gymnasium on the upper level of the Natatorium; it will be open daily from 9:00 AM to Noon and 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM with autograph signing sessions beginning each day at 4:00 PM.

All-session and daily tickets are now available. All-session tickets include heat sheets and parking; daily tickets include parking. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting the event website at www.AllGreatRacers.com.

Here are a few other opportunities related to this event for your team to consider:
The local organizing committee has obtained special hotel rates for this event. If you need overnight housing, visit the convenient online hotel reservation system created for this event.

For only $250, your team can become a Team Sponsor and receive 15 complimentary daily tickets plus the option to purchase more tickets at half price. Become a Team Sponsor and bring some vans of young swimming fans to the Nationals to see their heroes compete. We hope you will consider this opportunity to get involved in this summer's national championships & world championship trials! Team Sponsor package information is available on the event website and included below.

• Team Sponsor Packet

5/17/13

Voting for Age Group Coach of the Year

Each year, Missouri Valley recognizes excellence in coaching with its Age Group Coach of the Year Award. This is every coach's opportunity to help recognize some of the great Age Group coaches we have in our LSC by voting for the candidate of their choice. The winning candidate will receive recognition at the American Swim Coaches Association World Clinic and a $250 grant from Missouri Valley Swimming to attend the clinic.

Only coaches registered with Missouri Valley Swimming are allowed to vote. Swimmers, parents, officials and others cannot place a vote. Ballots will be accepted from coaches until midnight of Friday, May 24th. When the voting period has ended, ballots will be tallied and the winner announced in early June.

• Ballot, Age Group Coach of the Year
• Contributions Submitted with Nominations

5/9/13

Coaches for Central Zone Championships

Missouri Valley coaches that are interested in serving as part of the MVS Central Zone Team staff are encouraged to submit the online application below. The 14 & Under Central Zone Championship Meet will take place on August 2-4, 2013, in Topeka, Kansas. Deadline for applications is Monday, June 3rd.

• Central Zone Team Coach Application

4/29/13

Free Athlete Protection Training for Athlete Members

USA Swimming launched its free online Safe Sport Program for its athlete members on April 9th. The online program will empower athletes with information about sexual abuse prevention, how to identify inappropriate behavior, and how to report concerns. The athlete education is available on the USA Swimming website at www.usaswimming.org/protect.

The comprehensive online program includes information about how offenders operate; how to recognize, respond, and report boundary violations; myths and facts about child sexual abuse, and USA Swimming's Athlete Protection Policies and Procedures. The addition of the athlete training represents the third and final phase of USA Swimming's online education launch. The education for athletes is optional, but strongly encouraged.

In 2012, USA Swimming launched optional parent training for all parents of its athlete members. In 2011, the organization began mandatory online education for its coaches, non-athlete members and volunteers. USA Swimming requires all non-athlete members to complete this training as a condition of membership.

USA Swimming has developed one of the most comprehensive safe sport programs in Olympic sport. Its abuse prevention initiative is rooted in six core areas: Policies & Guidelines; Screening & Selection; Training & Education; Monitoring & Supervision; Recognizing, Reporting & Responding; and Grassroots Engagement & Feedback. For more information about USA Swimming’s Safe Sport program, visit www.usaswimming.org/protect.

4/15/13

Complimentary BoardSource Membership

As a part of USA Swimming’s ongoing efforts to provide leadership and skill-building resources that support and strengthen swim clubs, USAS is now providing a complimentary annual membership with BoardSource to every head coach and every club board member. This yearly membership normally would cost $99 per year. This membership is recommended for both the Head Coach and all Board of Director members. BoardSource membership is a year-round educational resource that helps to connect, engage, inform, guide, counsel, and support a community of thousands of nonprofit leaders from across the country. To learn more, please review the introductory letter below.

• BoardSource Introductory Letter

3/8/13

Adding Missouri High School State Times to SWIMS

If coaches want their club’s high school swimmers' times added to the USAS SWIMS database, please be certain that someone from the club returns "Form C" to John Rempert and Lori Metz, OZ SWIMS Officer, before the state meet date. If the form is turned in after all other times have been uploaded, they will not be able to add additional times on a rush basis even if needed to qualify for an event/meet. John may be reached at 314-705-2499 or rempert@swbell.net, Lori may be reached at lorinmetz@gmail.com or 314-221-5175.

• Form C: Request to Upload High School Times (Excel file)
• Form C: Request to Upload High School Times (PDF file)

1/22/13

Renewing Registrations for Non-Athletes

Non-athletes re-registering for 2013 should check their membership cards for the expiration date of their background screening. Many MVS non-athletes have background screenings that will expire on January 31, 2013. If they are planning to re-register for 2013 they should update their background screening immediately and before registering for 2013.

12/21/12

USAS Approves Legislation Affecting Member Clubs

Last month the USA Swimming House of Delegates approved important legislation enhancing existing safeguards for the Safe Sport Program. Two of these pieces, Articles 305.3.6 and 305.3.7, require clubs to implement (1) an action plan to address bullying and (2) a policy guiding electronic communication between adults and athletes, respectively. The House of Delegates also approved a deadline for implementation of these policies, and all clubs are required to adopt policies to satisfy Article 305.3.6 and 305.3.7 by Monday, January 14, 2013. If a club chooses not to, or is unable to, create its own policies, the model documents listed below will become the default for that club, and the club will be expected to implement these documents. If a customized policy is developed and approved by a club, these default documents will no longer apply. Each member club has the responsibility to approve and implement its own policies. For more information, please read the USAS letter listed below.

• Letter from Bruce Statton, USAS President (PDF)
• Model Action Plan to Address Bullying (MS Word document)
• Model Policy for Electronic Communication (MS Word document)

10/16/12

Registration Requirements for Non-Athletes

All non-athletes registering for 2013 must have a current background screening and completed the Athlete Protection Training (APT) course. Both are done from the USA Swimming website and the applicable links are listed below. Background screenings are only valid for 24 months and if your first screening was initiated in 2011, then you are required to renew the screening prior to registering for 2013. Please note following:

• There is no Level I or Level II with a renewal of your background screening. It is the same screening for all non-athlete members who are renewing their initial Level I or Level II screening.
• The renewal background screening costs $19. The initial (first time) background screening costs $39.
• Background screenings (initial and renewal) are done from the USA Swimming website. New non-athlete members need to use Option 1 (for either Level I or II) and follow the instructions. Renewing non-athlete members need to use Option 2 and follow the instructions.
• If a member takes the initial $39 Level II screening instead of the renewal $19 screening, they will not need to also complete the renewal screening. However, USAS will not refund the $20 difference between the initial Level II and the renewal screening.
• The first background screenings will not expire until January 2013. Members are welcome to renew early, but if they do so their new background check will expire 24 months from the month in which they do the renewal screening, not 24 months from the date when their initial screening expires.

The background screening (initial or renewal) can be done before you are registered. Officials and coaches initiating a background screening for the first time must complete a Level II screening; individuals registering as ‘other’ need to complete a Level I screening. Background screens are good for two years and your membership card shows when the background screen expires.

Successfully completing the Athlete Protection Training (APT) course is required in order to be a member of USA Swimming. APT course documents and resources are available on the USA Swimming website. These training tools will help members understand the scope and effects of abuse in our sport, recognize the signs of grooming behavior and boundary violations, understand how to establish boundaries and protect against false allegations, and know how to react and report when abuse is suspected. To take the APT course, you must be currently registered, or have registered in the past, and have an ID number to gain access to the training.

Non-athletes registering without completing the APT do not receive a membership card until the training (and background screening) is completed. This means that although you may have completed an online registration form or mailed a paper form to the MVS office and not received a card, you cannot serve as a meet official. The MVS Registration Chair tries to process non-athlete registrations within two days of receiving them, so after you send in a registration please wait two days and then try to complete the APT. If you have problems, please contact the MVS office at 785-841-0999 or via email at mvsswim@sunflower.com for assistance.

• Initiate a Level I or Level II Background Screening  (USAS website)
• Upgrade Level I to Level II Background Screening  (USAS website)
• Athlete Protection Training Course & Resources  (USAS website)
• Instructions for Athlete Protection Training Course  (PDF document)

10/11/12