At his annual State of the Sport speech on Saturday, USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus shared the organizational successes over the past year, while sharply focusing on the challenges ahead in the next year.

Looking back on the year prior, Wielgus suggested that Swimming has become the “glamour sport of the Olympics.”

“The bar has been raised” said Wielgus, who recognized National Team athletes, and specifically Michael Phelps, for bringing more attention to the sport of swimming.

Wielgus also repeated the organization’s core objectives of “Build, Promote and Achieve.” Few organizations, he said, enjoy objectives that have such complete buy-in, and that remain consistently relevant.

Taking stock of the past year, Wielgus stated that “USA Swimming’s vital signs are good.” Among those positive signs, Wielgus cited strong leadership, a positive and cooperative relationship between staff and volunteer leadership, and a solid financial position.

Build the Base

Among USA Swimming’s 2009 successes, Wielgus cited the historic 11.2% membership increase- accounting for an influx of 30,000 new athletes into USA Swimming clubs. Along with new members, Wielgus praised the retention rate of 73% and the shrinking gap between the number of males and females in the sport.

The USA Swimming Foundation also earned mention, after bringing in $11 Million in donations.

The USA Swimming Foundation’s primary initiative, Make a Splash, has also enjoyed great success, Wielgus stated, with 142,000 children take swimming lessons since the initiative’s inception in 2007. The organization believes strongly in this initiative, stated Wielgus, and therefore will continue to put resources and staff behind it. Wielgus shared the actions by Olympic gold-medalist Cullen Jones, who in 2009 joined the USA Swimming Foundation and partner ConocoPhillips on a six-city event series that saw the star meet with key community and public leaders, speak to thousands of school children, and put the Make a Splash initiative on front pages across the nation.

In a similar vein, Wielgus promised that the organization will continue to focus efforts on diversity and cultural inclusion.
 
Wielgus praised the USA Swimming dues increase of 2003, which provided funding for its Club Development Division. The increased revenue has been reinvested in grassroots services, to develop clubs and coaches who Wielgus called, “our lifeblood.” This program is being measured by several benchmarking programs which USA Swimming hopes to expand in the future.

Also, while Club Development representatives visited more than 500 clubs this year, USA Swimming will continue to expand its reach by embracing “decentralization” in 2010. This effort will include holding coaching clinics in under-served rural and urban areas in an effort to reach more new coaches. Also, the annual “Build a Pool” conference, previously held in Colorado Springs, will morph into five “regional” conferences in 2010.

Promote the Sport
 
Under the heading of “promote the sport,” Wielgus singled out the renewed, 10-year partnership with long-time sponsor, ConocoPhillips. ConocoPhillips earned high praise from Wielgus for its commitment to increase activation surrounding the sponsorship, specifically raising the bar on the annual National Championships.

A number of events in 2010 offer the opportunity for USA Swimming to promote its sport and athletes, Wielgus stated. Among them, the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool is expected to take place in Great Britain in December, and will receive television coverage on NBC. The annual USA Swimming Grand Prix Series continues to seek more media attention, including television or webcast coverage. In August, the USA will host the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, featuring the U.S. team as well as competitors from non-European nations. NBC will broadcast the Pan Pacifics.

These events, Wielgus stated, represent USA Swimming’s opportunity to keep swimming in the public attention in the years between Olympic Games. Looking forward, Wielgus also expressed his pleasure with the decision to return the 2012 Olympic Team Trials to Omaha, Nebraska.

Along with its premier events, USA Swimming’s media relationships, specifically the relationship with NBC, offer the opportunity to promote the sport. Where in the past, USA Swimming has purchased time for its events on NBC, the organization now enjoys a four-year contract with the Olympic broadcaster, which ensures more coverage for the sport of swimming.
 
Also in the vein of promotion, USA Swimming is directing funds and efforts into the digital space. By reducing production costs of its magazine, Splash, the organization will shift significant funds toward its digital strategy. Central to this strategy, are USA Swimming’s two wholly-owned websites, Swimnetwork.com and USA Swimming.org.

Achieve Competitive Success

Focusing on the final core objective of “achieve competitive success,” Wielgus warned that the “hill is getting steeper,” as evidenced by the participation and successful training of foreign athletes in NCAA programs.  In 2009, athletes from 47 countries competed at the NCAA Championships.

“American college coaches are doing a great job training our competition,” Wielgus joked, eliciting laughter from the crowd of more than 400 delegates. “This provides our athletes with the opportunity to raise their game.”

In its effort to be successful against other swimming nations, USA Swimming looks to its “High Performance Plan” in cooperation with the U.S. Olympic Committee, which funds approximately 50% of the USA Swimming National Team program. This relationship with the USOC, Wielgus said, is critical to the success of U.S. swimmers on the international stage.

On the lower end of the scale, USA Swimming is increasing its investment in the National Youth Team program. The purpose of this program is to provide more athletes with international and National Team experience at a younger age. “I think we are all proud of how our athletes represent the U.S.,” said Wielgus, stating that this program offers positive exposure for up-and-coming swimmers.

Trends to Watch

Wielgus also identified several areas that USA Swimming will “watch” over the coming year.
Those areas are:
• Membership trends, including the retention rate and ratio of male and female swimmers.
• The growth of the Make a Splash initiative and the organization’s efforts to advance diversity and cultural inclusion.
• The development of USA Swimming’s digital platform, specifically swimnetwork.com.
• The Chicago 2016 bid, and the organization’s ability to adapt to the opportunities or challenges resulting from the decision on October 2.
• The performance of top athletes at the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships, which will serve as the best opportunity to evaluate progress toward the 2012 Games.

Wielgus concluded his speech by thanking the USA Swimming headquarters staff, individual coaches, coaching organizations including CSCA and ASCA, athletes and volunteers.