PACK Advances Yet Again

After many hours of work by the Club Development Committee, Board of Directors, Staff, Swimmers and Parents, Premier Aquatics has moved up another rank in USA Swimming’s Club Recognition Program to Level 3!  This achievement marks another step that our team has made to ensure that our members receive the best program possible.

Premier Aquatics achieved Level 1 Club Recognition in December of 2008, shortly followed by Level 2 Recognition in January of 2009.  Less than 1 year later, we have already achieved Level 3 recognition, which is something that many clubs are not able to do in such a short period of time.

The Club Recognition Program offers our club members a working blueprint for developing strong, stable, financially sound and athletically productive organizations.

 

Designed over a two year period by USA Swimming’s Club Development Committee, this voluntary program presents four levels of achievement across four component areas deemed critical to long-term club success. The program encourages clubs to establish organizational goals and to benchmark their progress toward those goals. The ultimate objective of the program is to strengthen the club system in USA Swimming by guiding clubs through a development process that ultimately positions the program and its coaches to better serve athletes.

The Club Development Committee looked at many different factors that helped create "great" clubs. The committee grouped all of the factors into four major component areas:


 

• Business & Organizational Success
• Parent & Volunteer Development
• Coach Development & Education
• Athlete Development & Performance

These component areas, along with the markers in each area, were further subdivided into four different levels of achievement from Level 1 to Level 4 (Level 4 being the highest).

 

Clubs must meet a certain number of required benchmarks within each component area. There are also some additional items that clubs need to complete to meet a minimum number of points required to move to the next recognition level.

Please be advised that progress through the four levels of recognition will not take place overnight. In some instances it will take clubs a period of time to meet the requirements of each level. Once achieved, a club remains at that level until the end of the current quadrennium. Following each Olympic Games, the process begins again and clubs are encouraged to review and assess organizational progress against benchmarks at each level. Just as we encourage our athletes to achieve and reset goals, the Club Recognition Program challenges clubs to do the same.

Upon completion of a level, a club is able to print a certificate showing completion of that level. The club’s achieved level is also automatically listed in the club search feature on the USA Swimming website. 

Participation in the program requires an investment of time and attention by each club. As with anything that provides true benefit, we believe this investment is worthwhile and will pay significant dividends over time.