A swim club committee should be comprised of 5-7 people, so the meetings do not turn into lengthy discussion platforms driven by private agendas.
Identify a standard location and time for the meetings. Community centers and some bank rooms or church rooms are free. The more you standardize the place and time the better chances you will have of people getting to the right place at the right time. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, are not the best days for meetings. Advanced notice of meeting place and date via email and phone reminders are necessary. In addition a written agenda are imperative.
Qualities a Leader Must Have
Practicing the art of communicating which includes not only presenting your ideas in a concise and understandable form but also listening to what others have to say. When you ask a question and hear a “No”, many times it is not an answer but just a request for more information. Seldom are there standard answers! Sometimes “the prove it to me” or “show me” scenarios are your hardest to overcome. You can only formulate your response based off successes like Microsoft, Starbucks, Google, etc. These were pioneers who accepted the risk of doing things a new and better way and were rewarded beyond anyone’s expectations.
You have to be the leader but not the whole parade. You need to spend the time to turn adversaries into advocates, convince the skeptical, and convert the non-believers. The cliché “small leaks sink mighty ships” fits well. Evaluate potential collaborators and then decide who brings what to the business plan. Too many partners can muddle up the plan and make it difficult to get the proper programming matched to the ideal facility. Too few partners can financially inhibit the project. Everyone wants a piece of the pie so you will need to lay out ownership and management plans by contract early in the process. .
Get outside the box – stay there. Traditional planning and approaches may not be the best way for your project. Stop trying to do today’s job with yesterday’s methods and still be in business tomorrow. Be aggressive with your program planning. Make sure you consider all aspects of aquatic programming and services. Be innovative with your design demands for the facility itself. Cost to build, cost to operate, and cost to maintain are all important. Technology has advanced and keeps doing so at a rapid pace. Your advisors have to be aware of what is currently available and be willing to do the extra work to make it fit your project.
Challenges and Change – You will have nothing but challenges that require creative problem solving so get used to it. Everyone around you will probably resist change so be prepared to listen to the problems and then assist in developing solutions. Your project should not be just like someone else’s it needs to be what is best for your situation. You need to enlist the help of those who understand this not just those who offer cookie-cutter solutions.
The concepts listed above can be achieved and enhanced with the help of a professional aquatic programming feasibility study. These can be contracted from a professional independent firm who specializes in this service. The Facilities Development Department at USA Swimming can supply “general” information. Most entities would not accept studies from USA Swimming since we are considered to be a biased user group of the proposed project. To assist USA Swimming club-friendly projects, we have established a short list of feasibility firms who are reputable, understand total aquatic programming, and who offer best pricing to our USA Swimming club projects and their associates. One of the best firms even offers USA Swim Club discounts.
For more information please contact: mnelson@usaswimming.org