Good Morning
Can I start by saying thank you to Sharon Lock for this exciting topic and eye-catching and snappy side headings.

Committees or not Committees

I think that this presentation is probably really around masters governance and it seems to be that I have been spending best part of five years talking about this stuff and believe me when I say there is a lot of it.

So I’m going to give you a quick gallop through the layers of swimming administration and I’m going to start with a number

Number seven.

For some light relief I could tell you some fun facts about the number seven

It’s the number of perfection, security, safety and rest

The opposite sides of a dice always equal seven when added together

There are 7 colours in the rainbow,

Seven days in a week

Snow White had seven dwarfs

and curiously there are seven tiers of competition in Masters swimming and each tier has its own layer of administration/governance.

So can I introduce to you

The Masters magnificent seven
• Club
• County
• Region
• Swim England
• British Swimming
• LEN
• FINA

I think that most people have a reasonable grasp of how their club, county and region operates but once we get past that into the dizzy heights of national and international masters organisations things begin to get a little fuzzy.

So I’m going to try and give you my take on where we are with the last four.

Starting with Swim England (formerly known as the ASA) having mentioned Snow White it seems appropriate to start this potted history with that familiar phrase...

Once upon a time.... there was a technical masters committee, comprised of eight regional representatives, two specialist members, a chair and secretary, and they oversaw the running of discipline.

Under the guidance of such Masters Legends as Dougie Scales, Tony Holmyard, Tony Warn and Andy Wilson, Masters grew and developed.

In the early 90’s there was a piece of research carried out by a PhD student under the guidance of Tony Holmyard which ran a Masters survey and produced a wish list which the committee set about implementing during Tony’s tenure as Chair.

Rankings, and the now defunct newsletter were two of these initiatives.

Over time we were able to tick off all of the items which came out of original survey. The committee then tried to think more strategically and after a substantial piece of work produced a "blueprint for adult swimming in England".

Essentially we defined masters swimming as “adults who swim in a structured way for health and fitness” we recognise that the committee could only really deal with the competitive side of things (and to be frank that was what we were all interested in and that was were our skills lay)

We identified the fact that there was a huge cohort of swimmers who fit our definition of a master but who didn’t come anywhere near club, from the committee’s perspective trying to engage with the non-competitive masters was beyond the ability of a volunteer group and we recognise that significant assets in the form of professional staff would be required to undertake any serious work.

We produced a strategy document and continued to work through tasks we could manage as a volunteer committee mainly the competitive structure.

The next development was the Juba report in 2007, this recommended the appointment of a professional development officer who after a number of false starts finally came into post in June 2014.

I think everyone in this recognises the benefits which masters have gained as a result of Sharon’s appointment.

Despite the sterling work which was carried out by the technical masters committee, the ASA abolished all of its technical committees and established discipline management groups.

Masters currently sits under the Swimming Management Group and we report to them.

The thinking behind this was to remove regional representation from committees as a right and that there would be no permanent committees. Working groups would be formed on a project by project basis as needed and the working groups existence would be determined by the project it was tasked to deliver.

There was some discussion about the need for a permanent group to manage masters, to provide direction, answer queries and support the Masters officer.

The swimming management group cautiously accepted that there may be a need for a more permanent group for Masters and having had Terms of Reference approved in January the current masters working group are tasked with making the case for a permanent group.

The current group are
Chair & SMG representative – Verity Dobbie
Competitions Consultant– Bernie Buck
Membership Representative – Shelley Robinson
Coaching Representative – Geoff Stokes
Communications Representative –
Val Thorpe
Open Water Representative – Simon Griffith

This Working Group has been appointed for a 2-year term. The current members were voted in by the Swim England Regional Representatives, after an open application process. There was an agreement that we should look at standing down in a phased manner and limiting the number of terms

There are also a number of project groups which sit the Masters working group, open water, communications, coaching.

So we are a work in progress and this is fledgling democracy in action

I have Jim Boucher to thank for this slide, as I left Breakfast he shared this cartoon with me and if a picture is better than a 1000 words.

It seems to me that Masters Democracy is currently at step 1

Next up is British Swimming; they are the body that exists purely to run the elite end of the sport.

The Glamour Gang

British Swimming is a separate entity and is effectively a mini club set up by the home countries swimming associations i.e. Swim England Scotland and Swim Wales to run the performance end of our sport, and it is British swimming that is a member of LEN and FINA the international governing bodies.

Masters are an uncomfortable fit with high performance swimming and in 2016 at the height of the London debacle the decision was taken to devolve responsibility for the British Masters Championships to the home countries who would take it in turn to promote the event starting with Scotland in 2017.

Having absolved itself of the responsibility for the British Masters Championships, the former Chief Executive considered that there was no need for a Masters technical committee and dissolved the committee.

We shouldn’t feel persecuted though because he also got rid of Water Polo and Synchro or should that now be artistic swimming.
(The Cull of the Disciplines)

An unlikely hero was at hand in the shape of Prof Arrowsmith who singlehandedly took on British Swimming last summer and after threatening litigation forced a settlement which held significant benefits for Masters including a reformed committee, and a budget.

The difference with reformed committee is that British Swimming now have no involvement with Masters whatsoever and have back heeled us to the Home Countries i.e Swim England, Scotland and Wales, with one small exception in the area of international representation which I’ll come back to.

The new “British” group are named the Home Country Masters Management Group (yes snappy title isn’t it) draft terms of reference were drawn up to establish the group and our first task was to approve or amend the terms of reference. The group approved a set of TORs and we are awaiting these being approved by British Swimming and the Home Country CEO’s.

Governance Doc
We are at a bit of an impasse in relation to whether we have a veto over who is nominated to LEN and FINA.

I think this is resolvable having had clarification of what Sue agreed with BS last year. Which were

i) There must be an open advertisement for any posts;
ii) The HCMMG itself would select a candidate to propose to BS;
iii) BS recommended that the HCMSMG set up a sub-committee to draft the specification and choose the candidate;
iv) BS’ only role would be that it would formally have a veto over any candidate proposed;
v) Thus no candidate would be proposed in future without HCMSMG approval

I think we’re probably into semantics but essentially they can veto our candidate but ultimately we choose the candidate. I anticipate that this amendment will be agreed and the TOR's signed off.

Group Met April this year

The Voting in the HCMMG is limited to the HC members, there is a current vacancy for the English rep and there will be an open recruitment and a vote with the regional reps being balloted.

Responsibility’s
The Championships Records, Rankings,
Decathlon
Advise the Board on the requirements of Masters at international level
Select a candidate for international representation.
Advise re Home Country Masters Groups to ensure strategic objectives met
Cherriman Award

So what has this group done, Aberdeen was a hugely successful meet and it’s England’s turn in 2018. We were looking at a trip to Leeds but the repairs to the boom are still outstanding and therefore playing safe not sorry,

I can announce hot off the press that next year’s British Championships will be in Plymouth on the 8-10th June, (although contracts not signed yet).

There are plans to hold a separate 1500 (without qualifying times) as a one day event somewhere central (although when we’ll fit that in the calendar is anyone’s guess.)

The reception was reinstated at the World Championships, and was well attended.

A delegate attended the Masters Congress (more of that later)


The British Championships will rotate through the countries in the traditional fashion,

One of our responsibilities Manage the budget

Sue Arrowsmith negotiated a £12,000 budget over 4 years which we manage and control, here's the current expenditure.

Debit Amount Description
132.12 swimprint
100.00 DECATHLON
50.00 DECATHLON CHQ
25.00 DECATHLON
100.00 DECATHLON
50.00 DECATHLON
25.00 DECATHLON
400.00 DECATHLON
400.00 Decathlon ch
4.90 Postage LEN
180.00 IHG HIG Manchester Meeting April 17
372.01 budapest flights
5.02 LEN & FINA certificates
3.84 Record claim to LEN
2.94 Certificate to recipients
85.50 Vase
525.66 Accomm Budapest V Dobbie
2,095.54 Masters Reception Budapest
86.96 Taxi fares to & from airport
0.76 Record claim postage correctio
0.00 Sales
5.59 Record certificates

4,650.84
-1,000 from kit
3,650.84

Can I say I was shocked when I saw the cost of my hotel in Budapest had I known I would've organised my own accommodation.

Idea that the surplus from the British Championships is used to replenish this expenditure to fund Masters activities.

our proposal (from the British Swimming liaison) is that Masters Budget gets the first 5000 and any surplus after that is split (Although I think if we generate this amount of surplus we are overcharging Masters)

Although this hasn’t yet been formally agreed with the Home Countries. Scottish Swimming have agreed that they will pay all of the surplus into the Master Budget, we don’t have final figures from Aberdeen but we are anticipating that this will replace much of this years expenses in the region of 2.5k but there are still some outstanding costs to come in?

The aim is to build up our reserves and at some point we'd like to take the British Champs to London to show how it can be done properly however as our budget would take a hit if we made a loss we need to have a bit of a buffer before we take this step.

Another feature of the London settlement data was the fact that because of the sheer numbers the organisers scheduled a greater proportion of women in the training pool thereby discriminating against them.

The figures were something like women were 43% of the entry but only 25% of their swims took place in the main pool. They were therefore discriminated against

BS said in its apology that they would be investigating this. Attempts to have them explain what they have done in relation to this have so far been unsuccessful.

It could be said that London was a one off, 5 days of competition and the organisers more concerned to manage how to put 27,000 swims in 2 pools. There always was going to be a gender imbalance with one of the sexes spending 2 days in one pool and three of the other noticeable because they switched the order.
Longest event and fewest swimmers 800 women in the main pool and the most popular events 50 free and 50 fly switched into the training pool. Likely Pragmatic decision rather than any intent to discriminate to put it right all BS have to do is to put together a paper along those lines and recommend that in the future the Gender test the result.

As diversity goes, out sport is almost gender equal in terms of participation, and I would venture to suggest that our women are significantly more successful than men

On a general note BS is compliant with the Code of Good Governance guidelines and has over 30% women on the board and they also have an equality and diversity officer

LEN European Federation
Masters Committee chaired by Simon Rothwell What does it do? Pretty much like British Swimming it runs championships or rather it sets the conditions and appoints a local organising committee, and deals with records and ranking

Oops how did that get in there

FINA
Coming on to Fina
World Governing Body
What Does it do?

• Again Limited remit
Masters Swimming Rules
World Records
Masters Congress takes place every 4 years to decide rule
changes

Championships in so far as drawing conditions and appointing a LOC

I’m not 100% sure on this but I believe that they were not consulted on the decision to link the Elite with the Masters

The Congress
68 Federations out of 208 were represented at the Congress (20 was a quorum)

Masters Swimming Changes

The US Federation had proposed a change to Masters age proposing that Masters formally recognise a 20 to 24 (except at the World Championships) the Fina Bureau did not support this variation and Congress agreed with the Bureau.
Interestingly the American delegates did not speak to this motion. Nor did they vote for it

The other proposal was that manual times will no longer be accepted as World Records this was recommended by the Fina Bureau

What was striking was the sterility of the proceedings I wonder how a sport so life affirming could be reduced to such a banale exercise.

and I was in a room with such power house masters nations as Libya, Saudi Arabia,

there were very few recognizable Masters, as delegates myself, Ulrike Urbaniake and Patty Miller

Some thoughts about International issues I think LEN & FINA should address and these are personal to me.

LEN should sort out its records I think from the point of view of qualification. European Passport for a European record
And from the point of view of only allowing you to claim a record swimming for one federation per year. This is out of step with the world in which we live where people are more mobile.

FINA
Congress needs to take place during the Masters World Championships, it certainly used to.

FINA will say they moved it because they couldn’t get a quorum they need to address the detachment between the Committee and the federations

Fundamental problem FINA 208 federations, maybe 50 -70 with recognisable swimming programmes the rest easily bought,

Championships linking of elite and Masters does it work? On the evidence of Kazan and Budapest absolutely fabulous meets, giving a greater profile and terrific facilities

It does worry me how this will evolve as the investment in these meets is incredible virtually need state sponsorship to hold them

Gwang Ju
Fukiyama
Doha

1. both Swim England and British swimming are our organisation, we are members of Swim England and belong to its constituent clubs. I have long made the point that masters are divorced from the constitutional Processes of there governing body
2. It you want to have influence you need to work through the constitutional framework, which will inevitably mean speaking with your local County Association to have yourself nominated as county rep, or alternatively as a regional rep
3. Alternatively if you are working as a volunteer within Masters and you come to our attention and keen, articulate, and passionate with a good work ethic then it’s highly likely we will try and rope you in to help out.
4. Positions for the national committee are advertised on the swimming website and there is a fairly straightforward form to complete.

You know this sport of ours is fantastic we all here today because we love it and, we care passionately about it and it is understandable that feelings run high.

I think looking back over the situation we do not disagree on the problem areas.

I’m not saying there aren’t things we couldn’t do better but where we do disagree is in the sense of importance to give those problems and also what we should do about it.

My position is pretty obvious that we should be working with our Governing Bodies, and not against them. Has British Swimming behaved badly to Masters unquestionably although I think we can all identify the baddy. I think any move against BS at the moment is premature until the new CEO comes in and he’s given a chance.
Could we do better undoubtedly.
Are there problems absolutely

So Masters swimming whether it’s Federations, Associations, Congresses Working Groups, Management Groups, Project Groups

or just good old fashioned Committees the name is not important, what is important is that they are populated by you

the committed