Montgomery County Dive League
Spring Meeting
March 18, 2008

Board Members
President - Steve Schrier
Vice-President - Denise Collins
Treasurer - Ann Thiede, absent
Secretary - Donna Lukish
Rules -  Karl Borst,   Steve Olson, absent
Ways and Means - Carol Sprague
Publicity - Theresa Barton
Safety Rep - Paul Barton

Coaching Clinics Dates have not been scheduled as of March 18, 2008.
 Please check website and upcoming e-mails for updates.

Steve Schrier, President Opened Meeting with:

OLD BUSINESS

RULE DISCUSSIONS
Karl Borst, Rules:
 "The Board discussed at the January Meeting all Rule suggestions submitted from pools at the end of last season."

RULE CLARIFICATION:
The situation is when a diver is clearly in the wrong Set Position and the Dive Coach (or anyone) calls out diver's name or yells out the dive or other method of intervention to get Diver to "reset" into the proper position for the announced dive, should this be called a Failed Dive or a Balk?

Referee shall:
Determine if the diver had assumed the Set position prior to any "intervention"
- If Diver is advised before assuming the Set position, then no Balk shall be declared and no deduction shall be assessed.
- If Diver assumes the Set position and then intervention results in the diver correcting their Set position, a Balk shall be declared with a 2 point deduction. This is the the only exception to the Rule that states any assistance from a Coach or other person shall result in a Failed Dive.

The bottom line is, Coaches need to have divers prepared for their dives.

RULE CHANGE:
1.) The DD for Front and Back Jumps shall change from 1.0 to 0.8

The reasoning behind this change is because the Jumps are having an impact on the development of skills. While it does allow some divers to do a complete list of dives, it does not promote the learning of advanced dives. Case in point: a diver who is learning a front flip can be beat by a decent Jump. So, this DD change is an attempt to encourage divers to improve their diving abilities and to reward those who try more difficult dives.

Rule change of Front and Back Jumps changing DD from 1.0 to 0.8 for all age groups: Majority in favor. Rule passes for 1 year with a review after this 2008 season.

2.) Last years trial Rule that addressed Meet cancellations/postponements due to weather or other biohazard reasons was never put to the test, so it was determined to extend the trial to this season as well. The trial Rule basically allowed resuming a meet to apply the same rules as if it were the beginning of a new meet in respect to divng up, roster additions, and sheet changes. For more information about this rule, see March 2007 Meeting minutes.

NEW BUSINESS

COACHES CLINIC
Two dates will be available so check the website and upcoming e-mails.
" We need demo divers at coaches' clinic
" Clinics are mostly dryland, despite some demo divers dismay.
" Strongly recommended for MCDL Coaches
" Friday Evening - Classroom
" Saturday - Dryland, Some Diving into Pool
" Sunday - Advanced Coaching

Should coaches be required by MCDL to attend Coaches Clinic or simply by Pool/Pool Rep? Coaches can only be recommended to take Clinics by their Pools, however, it is free to all MCDL coaches, so it should be attended.

OFFICIALS CLINICS (Judges and Referees)
If you did NOT attend a clinic in 2006 or 2007, then you need to attend one of these clinics this year to be a Judge or Referee this season.
Sunday, June 8th at Flower Valley, 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 14th at Glenwood, 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 19th at North Chevy Chase, 6:00 p.m.

INSURANCE
Are coaches covered by MCDL Liability? No, only Divers registered with Dive Team are covered by MCDL, so if a Coach is registered as a diver, then they will be insured. If Dive Coaches are employees of the pool or pool management, then they may be covered by their respective policies.
One suggestion is to look into AAU coverage for possibly $12 or $14

ALL STAR MEET
Has been organized by Lori Puente for many years and this is her last year so she needs a shadow to take over for future meets. Everything is well defined, all responsibilities and roles are clearly outlined, so we need someone to help and take it over. Another e-mail will be sent asking for All-Star Meet Volunteers

DIVISIONAL MEETS
This season we will have 5 Jobs for Divisional Meets:
1. Host Pool - Open gates to their Pool, provide refreshment and programs if possible.
2. Volunteer Coordinator - prior to Divisional Meet, use the spreadsheet (from website) and contact pools to supply Judges, Refs, and Tableworkers.
3. All-Star Coordinator - signing up parent volunteers for the All-Star meet and documenting tee shirt orders.
4. Wild Card Coordinator - All scores/statistics shall be provided. Lead or facilitate the Wild Card discussion.
5. Meet Facilitator - Act as Meet Secretary and oversee the Table and help to keep the meet running smoothly.

Sunday,  July 20, 2008 Divisional Meets
Div 1 Mill Creek Towne
Div 2 Glenwood
Div 3 Carderock
Div 4 Westleigh
Div 5 Palisades

The Dive Season is a 5 week season, so please set up a practice meet for your BYE Week. This Practice Dive Meet counts towards the 2-meet requirement for the Divisional Meet.

The next MCDL meeting is May 20th at the Chevy Chase Library.
PLEASE bring to this meeting any extra Participation Ribbons that you may have accumulated over the years.
Invoices for 2008 Season Dues will be in Pool Boxes at May meeting. Make sure someone shows up at the May meeting to collect your 2008 Box!

Minutes submitted by:
Donna Lukish
Secretary, MCDL