World Aquatic Masters Organization (WAMO)

You all are on the bull's eye... each one...! What ever possesed Mendoza -ASUA/UANA- to write such a communiqué...? I suspect, if WAMO has any effect, that FINA will have to modify some of their rules (lawyers have a name for those one sided agreements) HOWEVER, the Bureau itself needs renovation. Also, I find no where, and I think I read just about everything on their site, nowhere that FINA accounts to anyone... internal checks & balances...? Now then... why not place your comments -good or bad- directly in the WAMO site...? You can anonimously if you like. Regards, Davidhttp://www.wamo.info

Lindsay, Let me clear up what appears to be a misconception on your part. FINA did NOT force me to send out a communication to USMS. I did it as a service to USMS members, passing along an advisory that was given to me. I have no specific knowledge of what FINA was or wasn’t forced to acknowledge, so I can’t really speak to that point, I assume you do.

Some of you know that LATyCAR began in 1990 prior to the FINA officially declaring itself in control of Masters... LATyCAR has promoted fitness, friendship and competition via Masters swimming in the Americas south of the Rio Grande with extreme success. LATyCAR emulated USMS and used it as a benchmark. The championships have been in Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Barbados (2), Mexico, U.S.A. (!), Costa Rica and Brazil. Polo is our latest super-success story! No reason to kill LATyCAR...!! Who will be next? World Masters Games, IGLA, World Military Games, World Police and Firemans Games, etc.? All the hard work has been ours (ei.: USMS...!) not FINA, in fact the start-up was MSI's Masters at work! Cm'on... USMS's International Committee alone has more experience in Masters than all of FINA put together...! A Masters for Masters program is the most reasonable and honest approach, let's push for it. http://www.latycar.org

Originally posted by Rob Copeland Let me clear up what appears to be a misconception on your part. FINA did NOT force me to send out a communication to USMS. I did it as a service to USMS members, passing along an advisory that was given to me. I guess one can interpret the word 'force' in various ways. As you said in your advisory once FINA delivered the advisory to USMS you had a responsibility to your members to pass it on. I believe that USMS acted entirely properly under the circumstances. I do not believe that FINA should have the powers it has given itself in GR 4 and that it was improper for them to send out the advisory they did under the circumstances and that it was improper for them to put their affiliated members in the position that they did by sending out the advisory they did. In light of these views I disagree with Craig's evaluation that "FINA Rocks!"

It’s not only the power behind GR 4 that’s too much… it’s also how and when they use it. The ALL AMERICAS LATyCAR Championship held in Brazil was sanctioned by the appropriate organizations in 2003: FAP - www.latycar.org/.../aval_fap.jpg ABMN - www.latycar.org/.../aval_abmn.jpg APMN - www.latycar.org/.../aval_apmn.jpg I wonder why ASUA/UANA waited until September 2005 (2 years after the sanctions were signed, after more than a year of promotion, and one day after the entry deadline when most of us had already paid our registration fee, our plane tickets and our lodging) to issue their suspension threat based on the ALLEGATION that the meet was not sanctioned… Were they REALLY not aware that everything was perfectly in order and that the proper sanctions had been signed and made public 2 years earlier, or were they just waiting for the perfect time to create panic among the 700+ registered athletes? FINA definitely DOES NOT ROCK!

We must remember that just because a thing has an international organization that controls it, it may not be a sport. that is what lead to Ballroom dancing being an exhibition sport in Sydney. FINA Rocks!

Originally posted by craiglll@yahoo.com FINA Rocks! So you approve of the way FINA forced affiliates like USMS to send out warnings to all their members threatening suspension if they participated in the meet in Brazil, even though the meet was properly sanctioned? Did you notice any apology or accountability when they were finally forced to acknowledge that the meet was properly sanctioned? www.usms.org/.../latycaradvisory

"........Smile Pan Pacs Yes... Pan Pacs will "suffer" the same fate as LATyCAR & ALL AMERICAS... anyway you probably should contact Mary Sweeney about their fate... ......." I just ran across some "historical" information, see the attached word doc, it's short and sweet... Anyway, FINA will never work for Masters as we ourselves do. I -finally- agree with Jim Miller on something he purportedly said about FINA being a "brick wall"... I insist that we walk around it... the best way is getting "into" the WAMO mode...! Food for thought

David, As the president of LATyCAR and one of the founders of WAMO, I understand your passion for your organizations. Just as I, as a 20+ year member and the current president of USMS, am extremely passionate about USMS and swimming. And while I doubt I can sway the opinions of many of the forum posters from outside of the United States and those who aren’t members of USMS. At least let me try to shed some illumination as to how swimming works in our country. Swimming in the United States is very much a partnership between a wide array of aquatics organizations; including USMS, USA-Swimming, United States Aquatics Sports, YMCA, YMHA, colleges, high schools, and community and private aquatics organizations. This partnership occurs at the grass roots level; my club’s coach is also a local USA-Swimming coach, when I run a meet I rely on my local USA-Swimming club to help provide officials and meet personnel, and when the USA-S club or high school runs meets I volunteer. And this partnership occurs at our national championships; where we have run national championships at some of the greatest college pools in the country, and we rely on timers and officials from the ranks of our USA-Swimming partners. As well as at the national operational level, where USMS is a full member of United States Aquatic Sports along side USA Swimming, USA Diving, USA Water Polo and United States Synchronized Swimming. In my 2+ decades of active involvement in USMS, partnering with the aquatic community is the way USMS has worked. This is a leading factor in the tremendous success and growth of USMS. And while I am extremely biased, I would hazard a guess that USMS is one of the most successful adult athletic national governing bodies in the world today. We are where we are today because of the phenomenal leaders that came before me, their passion and vision for Masters Swimming, our amazing volunteers and staff, and our bond with our partners in the aquatic and adult fitness community.

There's a lot more below the surface that MASTERS throughout the world should consider... Let FINA take care of their core business: Olympic material... Masters for Masters is the best route, it's the way USMS has worked since its inception... FINA -ans its politicians- only hopped onto the gravy train! Take a look at this short presentation herein attached. Regards, David