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Wayne BurrowWayne Burrow is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Director of Championships. Burrow is also the staff liaison to the NCAA men's and women's swimming and diving committee. Following are Burrow's thoughts on the governing bodies of swimming working together on rules and rules differences. During my fourteen years at the NCAA, I have attended thousands of meetings. As you might expect, some have been beneficial while others I have filed away in a "black hole" from which there is no return. One of the most productive meetings I have experienced took place in 2000. This meeting's effects continue to be felt in the United States to this day. The meeting was the brainchild of Pat Lunsford, a world-class swimming official, who believed that leaders from the governing bodies of swimming would benefit from sitting down and discussing rules and rules differences. Why? Pat had experience officiating swimming competitions from the smallest age-group meets all the way up to the Olympic Games. He realized that swimmers (and officials) were responsible for knowing the rules and all the differences in the rules for FINA, NCAA, NFHS, USAS, USMS and YMCA. He understood that it is possible for a swimming athlete to compete in multiple meets in the span of one week under numerous different rules. Did swimming have to be so complicated? Pat concluded that all these different governing bodies should meet with the purpose of putting the swimming athlete first when deliberating rules and seeking more consistency in the rules across the organizations. Thus, the "Our Kids Initiative" was born. The first meeting in Pittsburgh had all the anxiety of a modern day summit meeting. "Dignitaries" from governing bodies with differing philosophies descended upon the Steel City to discuss swimming. Yes, there was a bit of skepticism as the delegates took their places at the table. Early on, however, the group agreed on the basic premise that everyone was there because of their love of swimming. Even more important, every delegate agreed that they were there to serve the athletes. There was consensus that we were not there to take away any group's unique identity and that we could agree to disagree on rules if we could justify why certain rules needed to be different. Strangely enough, we found more common ground than differences. Over the last few years, this group has met annually to continue their rules dialogue. The success of this movement has been the catalyst for more communication among the governing bodies. The "Our Kids' Initiative" committee has recently decided to extend an invitation to the diving community in order to study the differences in that sport. The members of the "Our Kids' Initiative" committee have never wavered from the goal of putting the athlete first, whether it is the eight-year-old swimming competitively for the first time or the elite athlete striving for an NCAA championship or an Olympic medal. I have personally learned a great deal from these meetings. I have learned that there are thousands of dedicated people out there who care about swimming as much as I do. I have also learned that a little communication can break down the barriers that have separated organizations for many years. I have found that this approach is applicable to every one of the 23 NCAA sports and the 88 championships that the NCAA conducts. It is as simple as putting the athlete first. After all, we are all in the business of sports to serve "our kids". |
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