Swim Team By-Law Changes

It is with some reluctance that I post this topic on the forum. However, being that there is no other place to have an open dialogue on the Broadlands Swim Team’s proposed by-law changes, I will start this thread with a target audience of the swim team membership.

The swim team board of directors has proposed a set of by-law changes that are now up for review and then vote by the membership. These changes can be summarized as the creation of separate boards for each of the two teams which would then operate under the same umbrella organization. These proposed by-laws smell of a divorce settlement.

I would like the Swim Team Board to more fully explain the reasons and background for the need for these changes. The reasons given in the explanatory email are superficial and provide little information for the membership to judge whether the proposed by-law changes are in the long-term best interests of the team. The rationale they offer the team members is that the growth of the team makes the split / creation of new board positions necessary. However, rumors on and off the pool deck are that the board members do not get along. The split between the two teams seems expedient for the board members so that they don’t have to work together.

The decision to endorse the split of the board is further made more difficult without information on what occurs at board meetings. Contrary to the by-laws, meeting minutes have not been posted for the membership to review. In addition, we have not been told the time and place of meetings to enable our attendance. Without this type of information, we are unable to reasonably decide if it is better to change the structure of the team or if the board members are simply unable to do their job and should be replaced.

I would also like the Swim Team Board to help us better understand how the South Riding Swim Team is able to run not two, but three teams (ODSL, CSL, and Mini-rays) under the auspices of one board (see http://www.gostingrays.com/about/dir.html - and for reference their team motto is "United We Swim") while here in Broadlands we are essentially being asked to split the teams. Are we to assume that we are not united? If not, why not? What is the substance and nature of the disagreements? I suspect that they are primarily petty matters: color of swim suits, whether an ODSL swimmer was registered correctly, who gets the front half of the pool deck during the end of season party...am I getting warm? I suggest that perhaps the Board members (I am sure some more than others) need to deflate their egos and work better together towards the common good.

And then there is the by-law changes themselves - they are an abomination. You have added too many particular rules to scratch your various itches. They read like a divorce settlement: who gets which house (pool), how to divide the kids (wait list management), how to split the cash.

Why is the election and the term of the each team's President and Vice-President different? Frankly, it looks like the current CSL VP wants the President job without having to go through an election.

There is a cute but subtle change you have slipped in to Article VII, section 3 - the word "voting". You are proposing that it will not take a majority of the eligible families to pass a future change to the by-laws, only a majority of those that vote. So, when voter turn-out is low (such as after the end of the season when families are on vacation) you can slip through a change.

Page 8, Article I says that if the two new boards cannot agree on a major issue that the issue will be brought to the HOA Rec Committee for decision. Since when does the HOA get involved in swim team internal affairs? Do they want to be? Do they know what they are getting into? Perhaps a local counselor would be a better choice.

Lastly, I do not fully understand the purpose of the additional text on pages 7, 8, 9, and 10. Is this text to be added to the by-laws or is it commentary? The rules and regulations you have written in to this are a pitiful commentary on the state of the team. This level of detail has no place in a set of by-laws.

At this time, I think that the swim team families should reject these proposed by-law changes, learn more about what is happening on the board, and elect representatives who can make the Broadlands Swim Team a team that is united and guided by a common purpose and goal and not personal agendas. The new Board should then take a trip a few miles south and find out how South Riding is able to manage their different teams.

Knowing that many swim team families do not frequent this forum and I don't have access to the swim team email lists to send them this note directly, I ask you to pass this message on to your fellow team members to enable them to participate in the discussion.

Thanks for your time.

-Jim

 

Jim,
As President of the Swim Team Board, my email is posted on the Swim Team website for anyone to get in contact with me. The emails of all the other board members are as well. That would be the way that you, or any other team member with comments could impact the process. I have never not answered an email or phone call. I look forward to speaking with you, or any other concerned member.

AS a VOLUNTEER member of a VOLUNTEER Board, it takes alot of personal time work for the best interest of the teams. I find it hard to believe that a parent of a swimmer on these teams would think so little of these members or their hardwork as to post such an negative view of what I believe to be the one of the best programs Broadlands has to offer its residents. The parents I have worked with this year are supportive, enthusiastic and helpful, and I have enjoyed working with all the families.

Posts like this to the forums is not a constructive means to make better the experience of Broadlands Swimmers, but rather can only be intended to promote negative suppositions and rounds of rebuttles.

I am (as always) available to work with you and others on the behalf of the Broadlands Piranhas.
Annie Baba

 

Annie-

We have been a supporter of yours. I personally know the hard work and sacrifice that comes with being a member of the Swim Team board. I believe it is the negative atmosphere on the board and between the CSL and ODSL teams that is a root cause of much of the sacrifice and unproductive hard work. But, I don't believe that a divorce of the teams is the best answer. Perhaps this is not what you want to hear and you may not want the debate to occur amongst the families and hence you are mad. After a long season and probably a lot of hours negotiating what went into these by-laws, I understand.

Unfortunately, as you suggest that we talk to you directly, direct discussion with the board members that have proposed this split does not allow the all of the swim team voting families to hear the debate. And as I wrote you earlier, I think it is unfortunate that the timing of this comes after the season is over. It leaves the members no opportunity to have a discussion amongst themselves on the merits of the Board's proposal. We no longer see each other at the meets or practice. We are all going on vacation. We did not have a joint end of year party in which to talk to the members from the other team. The swim team does not have any means of internal discussion or debate. If you have a better proposal that will enable a wider discussion and debate of the merits within the swim team family, please let me know and we will move this to that venue. But, for better or for worse, this is the forum of debate in Broadlands.

I agree completely that the Swim Team is an excellent program for the Broadlands residents. The parents are very supportive and the kids have a great time. So, why does the Board feel the need to essentially split the teams? If it is an issue of size and the need for additional support, why not develop a structure like South Riding where they have an equal or greater number of swimmers and three teams?

I understand that you may feel a high level of frustration and that perhaps this is the only way the Board sees as an out (a separation: "you live in the basement and I live upstairs and we jointly go to school activities"), but I don't believe it is the right solution for the long term good of the team (the separation usually ends in a complete divorce). This is why I recommend that the members not affirm these changes, that the board takes a second look during the coming year at alternate structures to get away from this divisiveness, and a new proposal for a unified team is brought forward in accordance with the timeline setout in the by-laws that will enable debate and discussion during the regular season.

Sorry for the upsetment. We know you have worked hard, but there is little other way for a wider discussion.

-Jim

 

So is the proposal to have two completely independent swim teams?
Or two swim teams with separate Boards, but operating under as one unit?
If it is the first choice, then I'm guessing both teams will be talking to the HOA and competing for pools and pool times. I don't know if that's a good thing.

 

It is 1 team with 2 completely separate boards The presidents of each board will be responsible to work together for pool schedules, money etc. And one of the presidents will be reporting to the rec committee/ HOA board for all approvals. This gives each board the same number of people doing all the work rather then 1 team having 3 and the other having 4. It has advantages in more people responsible for the work that needs to be done. To me all this is resolving is one groups input into what the other is doing. It will work ok if this is the way things have to go. I can see the need for more people to do the same amount of work on each team but I can see other issues it could create between the groups.

Staci

 

There is more to the proposed changes than just adding board members. There are numerous amendments to address other changes, such as:

- making it easier/less expensive for non-residents to join the Piranhas teams
- capping each team at 185 kids
- creating waiting lists for each team when the teams are at their caps
- allowing either team to create an additional team if/when their waiting list gets large (75-100 kids) 2 years in a row
- allowing by-law changes to be ratified by a majority of voting members, vs. registered members.

Is the HOA aware of these proposed changes? Their approval or intervention is required, per the language in these proposed by-laws.

Is the board aware that, as a non-profit organization, the team could be audited by the IRS, and the board is responsible for following the team by-laws? Simple things like publishing meeting minutes and the team's budget - which are required per the existing by-laws - are not currently done. Why are even more rules and requirements being added to the by-laws?

The additional board members being added - a president, a secretary, and a treasurer - are only necessary because of the split. Rather than reduce the workload, the 2 board model creates more work. Instead, additional board members could be added to take over some of the functional duties required on the teams, such as website work, communications, volunteer coordinator, donations/public relations, etc... There are other ways to accommodate the teams' growth and to add more volunteers to the board for work distribution, but no input has been sought from the team members. The board has determined this course of action and has not accounted to the membership for the rationale and wisdom of their decisions.

Lastly, members are being asked to vote on the proposed changes as a whole under the premise that board structure changes are necessary and will be productive. Changes are necessary, but not necessarily these changes, in this format, with all the additional amendments that are not being advertised but are hidden away in many pages of documentation which very few people will read.

 

An informational meeting for swim families would be great. There are so many significant changes to the Swim Team by-laws proposed that have resulted in many questions. The current communication leaves it up to the swim parents to find all of the changes themselves and sift through the document. In lieu of a swim sponsored meeting, this community forum about our community swim team is the best alternative. Having a one on one dialogue with one board member does not allow the discussion to be publicly addressed. The swim team's growth is evidence of its success and we have always flurished as one community swim team. We have grown, it's true, and we can all benefit from the collective input and ideas that many of our swim families have to share if given the opportunity. We are all just parents of kids who enjoy the summer swim experience. No more. No less. Being on the board does, in come cases, given certain volunteers more responsibility than others, but hopefully does not elevate their opinion to be more valued. Let's value all of our swim families and have an informational meeting to discuss the purposed changes. Even the HOA's Board meetings are open to all of it's Broadlands residents and they welcome hearing from residents at the meeting.

An example of the confusion generated by these substantial changes being addressed solely via email is in the language of the document itself. The proposed by-laws initially state that the "wait list policy" is attached in "Exhibit A". Later in the document it states that the policy is attached in "Exhibit I". Neither Exhibit A nor Exhibit I were attached outlining the new proposed wait list policy.

Also, according to the exisiting by-laws, the swim board elections were supposed to happen in July concurrent with the end of the season so a newly elected board should be dealing with these issues now. That alone might have alleviated the feeling that the board needed to split into two separately operating bodies. All views, whether they agree with the proposed by-law changes, or whether they do not, should be welcome on our community forum.

 

Thanks Jim for bring this up in the forum and for pointing out the changes. Having written and revised bylaws a couple of times for nonprofits, I know how difficult it can be to try to come up with a document that can stand for years to come.

I think the teams could do a better job of explaining each specific change, with pros and cons of each. The end result is more meaningful than the reason - even if the reason is merely personality conflict, the result could be an improvement.

I believe the change in voting rules is a bad change. For a large national organization, it's common to have a small portion of the membership show up for a membership meeting, and so motions pass with only a majority of those actually present. The swim team, on the other hand, is full of families who participated up to 6 days a week for two full months this summer and are highly motivated to care. If you don't think it's possible to get a majority to vote, then set the bar lower and specify a lower percentage for the quorum. But having no defined quorum makes it possible for a small group of members to push their agendas through. Just my two cents.

 

What ever happened to Committees? A single board can appoint a management committee for each team. I could be wrong, but the board appointing committees would not require a vote.

 

Why is there no switching between teams?

If someone accidently signs up for the wrong one, which does happen, are they stuck there or no summer swim?

If one team fills up can you get on that team's wait list while signing up for the other team so that you can be assured of a summer swim experience?

 

When is the bylaw review period over?

 

Since summer swim season is over and we have no opportunity to discuss the proposed changes, why can't someone from the swim team board answer the questions that have been posed here and respond to the several good suggestions? Why does it have to be a one on one phone call with the President when it appears there are quite a few folks looking for feedback?

In speaking with several other swim team parents they aren't even aware of the complete list of changes, which are quite substantial, just the one change in the cover email sent out.

 

Fritz,

I agree, although I had a nice one-on-one conversation with Annie, I believe at a minimum there should be a meeting to discuss the by-law changes. The current by-laws outline a process, which has been followed by previous boards, of consultation and discussion with the members during the yearly meeting and then a vote on the major proposals. In fact, when the team was forced to split into two squads due to ODSL's limit on the number of swimmers that could be in a meet, I think the board at the time did a superlative job of first laying out the options for the members, discussing them at a meeting, allowing a vote on the options, and then enactment of the necessary by-law changes to put into effect the option chosen by the membership.

It is too bad that we can't have the same level of member involvement this time.

-Jim

 

The questions raised here seem to be based on lack of information and lack of member input. The swim team members were not able to provide input prior to the proposed by-law changes, maybe they didn't even know there was a need for the changes. And the changes, once sent out via email, were not explained in a satisfactory way.

The swim team is run totally by volunteers. People may think that the changes proposed do not affect them or their kids, but when parents are called upon to be the next board members or to be committee heads or fill other roles for the team, then they may be impacted by these changes. The way the team conducts itself in the community is of importance because the HOA can decide not to give pool space if things don't go well. Kids' experiences can be impacted by the philosophy/style/competitiveness of the team they are on. All these things are touched upon in the proposed changes, in some fashion. Families have a right to know what is going on, what their money is paying for, and they have a right to express their opinion - particularly since swim team depends critically on parent involvement.

As Jim points out, last time a major change occurred the parents were more involved. This time, parents are being asked to have faith that the board - 7 people of a team of close to 200 families - knows best. It's very possible that there are good alternative solutions to the proposal put forth by the board, which seems like a rush job done at the season's end. Why not invite swim team families to participate in setting a new direction for the team, now that membership has grown so large.

At the very least, the board owes its membership a more specific listing of all the proposed changes and a brief explanation of each, so that members can make an educated vote on each item.

 

This thread was dead back in August, when the by-law change passed, creating 2 boards (ODSL team board and CSL team board) instead of a single board of directors for both teams.

Question: what is the status of the CSL team? I see that the ODSL swim team has board members elected and in place and they are moving forward. However, the CSL team never had elections and, as far as one can tell, they still have empty board positions. Haven't heard a thing from the CSL VP/President either, not a single communication since the vote was passed.

Does the CSL swim team still exist? Have additional board members been privately put in place; have the previous board members extended their terms; or are these positions left unfilled?

It doesn't reflect well on the CSL team leaders when they cannot bother to inform the swim team membership of the team's status. This may be the off-season, but swim team members may appreciate knowing that the team is in capable hands and moving forward for next summer.