Jim Miller - Candidate for President
Why are you interested in being USMS President and why do you believe you would be a good candidate.
I came into the Presidency with a long term vision of the stature that USMS could have within the aquatic community. In order to achieve the leadership role that we should have nationally and internationally, we must first attend to the needs of our volunteers. One approach is through the Data Base Task Force, which aspires to place the entire organization on the same communication page. Whether the task is that of a local meet director or the national top ten recorder, this program will make their jobs infinitely easier. Entering the data into the system in a format that serves all branches of USMS sounds so easy, yet is quite complex. Small data banks have developed both locally and nationally over the years. Some of the new data base requirements are viewed as being too stringent while others are not aggressive enough. Finding this balance is a challenge that I am in the middle of now.
I believe in our mission statement. Yet, a consistent approach to achieving its lofty goals has yet to be described. The core objectives that are before you at this convention represent the first step in that direction. As we pass resolutions, are these objectives being satisfied or are we off on a tangent?
We next must look to our leadership role internationally among masters aquatic organizations. The 2006 FINA World Championship bid is such a statement. My work is only partly completed, and I am dedicated to completing my vision with your help.
What do you consider to be the major issues facing USMS now and in the future. As a member of the USMS Executive Committee, how would you address these issues.
A volunteer run organization such as ours needs to attend to the needs of the volunteer base. We need to serve them by networking all aspects of USMS under one communication umbrella. We must build a foundation for this to occur and allow all the committee work to proceed seamlessly. At the same time the privacy of the athlete must be maintained by providing blocks to all but those who need the information, based upon the position. As an example, the data needed by the LMSC registrar would be different than that needed by a meet director. This is just one aspect of service that we need to deliver to our membership.
Growth is important to my view of USMS. Any program that encourages adults to improve their level of fitness and improve their responsibility for their health is unique in this society. The aerobically fit adult athlete is a different creature than the average American adult. Their physiology is different as is their response to physical and emotional stress. We must get the word out and stimulate growth. We must have the infrastructure to support the growth, however. Thus we are giving attention to the flow of information. USA Swimming has just completed an exhaustive study of the governance of their organization. USMS needs to critically look at the contents of this report and decide upon the direction of the future leadership. The groundwork is being laid to look at those aspects that would be appropriate to our mission. The infrastructure must come first.
Please list any other experience that relates to your qualifications for office.
My experience and positions within USA Swimming and FINA strengthen the role that USMS has within the aquatic family. I am currently a traveling national team physician for the USA Swimming Open Water team traveling to the last 3 World Swimming Championships. I chair the Asthma and Diabetes Task Forces. I sit on the Sports Medicine Committee for USA Swimming. I have just served as the physician overseeing the drug testing at the FINA Marathon Swimming Championships.
