December, 2008
Greetings and Happy Holidays to All,
It is with great excitement that I congratulate you on a great fall season and further the excitement with the upcoming spring season. Swimming and Diving, like so many other sports, provide student-athletes with an interactive classroom in which they not only have the opportunity to fulfill their potential as athletes, but also, are given the opportunity to develop lifelong carry-over values. Additionally, swimming and diving are sports that offer people a lifetime fitness activity and this is so important in a day when fighting obesity and improving personal health is a growing societal challenge.
The TISCA Board of Directors would like to inform you of several issues at the forefront of our sport. In October the UIL Legislation hearings, held in Austin, were heard by the TISCA Organization (thanks Penny DiPomazio and Nancy Moore ) for the recommendation of 8 Finalist and 8 Consolation Finalist (16) to score at the Regional Level. THIS PASSED!!!! Effective in the 2009-2010 school year. This ruling is great news for high school swimming and diving!! We believe this will help elevate our sport to a higher level.
There are burning issues concerning the UIL Ruling on the LZR Suit and /or the Blue Seventy Suit. The answer from UIL at this time is as stated in the NFHS RULE BOOK, page 23, Section 3 Uniforms, Article 1…the logo must not exceed 2 ¼ inches in size and diameter on the actual suit. Therefore any suit that meets these regulations is acceptable.
There is an immediate issue concerning the Breaststroke underwater pull out, we are awaiting the ruling from UIL: Here is a look at the rule: For purposes of Article 101.2.3 in the USA/Fina rule book as it relates to what constitutes the initiation of the first arm pull and the allowed single downward butterfly kick the following applies: After the start and after each turn any lateral or downward movement of the hands or arms is considered to be the initiation of the first arm pull.
The Board of Directors encourages you and our organization as a whole to support the Texas Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame in its endeavor to publicize the past, present and future of our sport. In addition we request your support of the upcoming Open Water High School Championships (this spring) and any Open Water events leading up to the championships. Please see the TISCA Website for more information.
Before I close, there are a few house keeping issues we as coaches and our organization need to complete:
1. Please make sure all TISCA Memberships are completed and posted. Check with Ron Raper (tisca@tisca.org) if you have any questions.
2. Please make sure all Swim and Dive Officials test are completed by the deadline date.
3. District and Regional Directors please make sure you have received your awards for the up coming district and regional meets.
4-A Awards….Teri Morse
5-A Awards….Roxanne Balducci4. NISCA/NCAA’s are in March, 2009 in College Station. Please plan to attend this clinic. This is valuable information to our organization. Please Join NISCA!!!
5. Plan to attend the TISCA Clinic (Sept, 2009) in Austin. Included in the clinic is the 2nd Annual Theron Pickle Golf Tournament as well as other exciting SCHOLARSHIP adventures. Hope to see you there!!!
I commend your leadership and applaud your service to the countless student-athletes and others who will come through the Texas Interscholastic Swimming (and Diving) Coaches Association programs in the years ahead. Have a safe and happy holiday. See you in February at the state meet.
Sincerely,
Shannon Gillespy
President - TISCA
