Parents

Straight Talk about Children and Sport

Straight Talk about Children and Sport provides parents, coaches, and teachers some important information about the early developmental needs of young children in organized sport. This free resource offers tips from authoritive sources – doctors, psychologists, sport scientists, and coaching consultants – on how young participants can get the most from their sport experience.   Authored by the Canadian Coaches Association. Download Here

The Big Deal About Swim Suits

There is a very good article about the swim suit issues that are ongoing in the sport of swimming.
John Leonard is a former World Champs / Olympic games Coach from the USA. He has coached multiple world record holders / Olympic Champions in the 70's & 80's. He has always been a champion of keeping the sport clean...

For Swim Parents;

“The Big Deal About SwimSuits”

by John Leonard,
Executive Director, American Swimming Coaches Association.


Over the past 18 months, the swimming world has been a frenzy of controversy over the emergence of technology in swimsuits. At the recent World Championships in Rome, the constant and overwhelming refrain about suits, echoed the volume and intensity of the last time we were in Rome for a World Championships, when the topic was doping....drugs distorting our sport...in 1994. Fifteen years later, the emotional topic was the new high tech suits that have swept through the sport from the World Championship level down to the local park district championships in the summer league. The parallels were impossible to miss.

FINA (the international governing body of swimming), in an unprecedented move at its Congress in Rome, banned the use of all “non-textile” materials from suits beginning in 2010, and limited the coverage of the body to “knees to navel for men” and “knees to shoulder straps” for women. 168 nations voted in favor of the restrictions, against a mere 6 in opposition (who apparently did not understand the word “textile”.) This in the face of strong opposition to the move by the sitting President and Executive Director of the FINA organization. Amazing and never seen before. The USA delegation initiated the restrictions and led the opposition. Why such a strong reaction in opposition to the existing plastic and rubber suits?

A parent new to the sport, from a middle class background, might well say “hey, why not? Technology marches on! Equipment gets better. Why not let my son/daughter wear one of the fancy new suits and swim faster?”

Its a valid question that requires a thoughtful answer. Here it is.

The answer revolves around two words, with of course, a considerable amount of “side data” that adds to the intensity of the discussion and the strength of the resolution to end the problem worldwide.

Those two words are “Maximizing” and “Enhancing”.

Quality lane lines “maximize” the opportunity of the athlete to swim fast, with minimum turbulence in the lane. (you should have seen the waves in the pool back in the 60’s and 70’s.)

Good goggles allow the athlete to see the turns, see their competitors, and comfortably compete -- to say nothing of allowing them to train hard for hours which was impossible in the chlorine pool without goggles and in the old days, yardage and performance was a fraction of what it is today. Goggles Maximize the opportunity of the athlete to work hard.

Evolution in coaching techniques in training and biomechanics allow the athletes to Maximize their ability to benefit from their time in the sport.

Swimsuits, up until approximately the year 2000, and certainly until early 2008, were designed to maximize the opportunity of the athletes to go fast. The manufacturers designed suits to “get out of the way of the water”. Less suit, less friction with the water, less drag, tighter fit, and better materials MAXIMIZED the ability of the athlete to perform to their highest earned level.

Beginning in 2008, manufacturers took advantage (and must be applauded for doing so, within the existing rules, which were close to non-existent) of the idea of designing suits to ENHANCE the ability of the athlete to swim faster. A line had been crossed. Designed suits incorporated plastics, rubberized material and new design criteria, to enhance the ability of the athlete to be buoyant in the suits (riding higher makes you faster), wrapped more tightly (compressing the “jiggly parts” makes you MUCH faster) and shed water from the plastics and rubber materials much more effectively, thereby reducing the drag of the suits remarkably.

Since February 2008, 158 world records have been set by elite athletes. Their ability to perform has moved from being “maximized” by their swimsuits, to being “enhanced” by their swimsuits. This rate of improvement is absolutely farcical in the historical context of over 100 years of our sport. At the world championships, new world records were receiving polite applause akin to the “golf clap” for a good shot, rather than the historical roars of appreciation that a swimming crowd used to provide when a human barrier went down, as it infrequently did, by great athletes at the peak of their power.

How does this translate down to the local pool?

Pretty simple. The manufacturers don’t make any money by selling suits to the elite athlete. They give the suits away to them. They count on age group swimmers watching the “big guys” and wanting the same suits and equipment.

And lo and behold, the same miraculous benefits accrue to 12 year old Sam and Samantha when they put on the “magic suits” in their local championships. The time drops are miraculous, the smiles are, literally, “priceless” and child, mom and dad are all happy.

“Wait a second. That suit just ripped. Wow. How did that happen? How much did it cost? Wow! You paid $500 for a suit that Sam just put his foot through, rendering it a $500 broken garbage bag? Uh-oh., well, honey, get him another one. We can’t have Joe Jones’s son Pete beat him in the 200 free tomorrow.” Teeth Grit. “This is a kids sport? We now have $1000 in suits so far”.

And of course, all those magic benefits only last 7-15 swims, so good for maybe 2-3 meets, unless it’s a championship and your child swims 6 events and makes finals in all events, in which case its $500 a meet.

“Let’s see, $500 a meet, we go to 2 meets a month, 10 months of the year....Honey, it’s gonna cost us $10,000 Just for Samantha’s suits this year!”

Well, the solution is simple....just wear the suits for the championship meet and wear your regular suit the rest of the time. OK. Good.

But, Samantha’s 58.5 100 free with the magic suit on, just became a 1:02 100 free with the old suit on. Smiles gone. Gone. From Samantha, from Mom. From Dad. Oh well.

And of course, there are some other objections as well.

First, the magic suit deal is like paying for your child to have instant improvement. Is that what you want your child to learn from the sport? Or do you want them to learn to persevere, EARN improvement with hard work, attention to detail, paying attention to the coach and, shall we say it again...”Working Hard?” Or do you want them to learn that you can always “pay your way” with cash to what you want?

“Earn it, or buy it.” Which do you want to teach? Answer carefully, parents.

Second, the suit does not affect everyone the same. The thin, fit swimmer will benefit marginally by it. The overweight swimmer will swim like a young seal in it. Spending the same $500 on two children will yield radically different results. Not a fair competition at all. Is that what anyone wants?

Third, and it seems unnecessary to say this, but if you just buy 3 suits a year, that’s $1500 or MORE. (Today, purchasing one of the great European suits online from the US will cost you $900...with no guarantee of fit, durability or return-ability, and about 30% of them RIP on the first attempt to put them on...no refund, folks.) Do we really want age group and high school swimmers to have to spend that kind of money to BUY success rather than work for it? It doesn’t make our sport a middle class sport, it makes it a sport for wealthy families.

Are you pooh-poohing that? Wait till your son or daughter gets beat the first time by someone whose mommie or daddie could afford a more expensive piece of plastic and rubber than you can. The bitter taste in your mouth is not fun. Not much in the way of “sport” there.

So, in answer to the local official who asked, “Why are “they” [FINA officials] wasting time with worrying about THAT? Don’t they have better things to do?”

The answer is “NO.” The suit debacle is the most important thing that any of us can attend to. It preserves the heart and soul of our sport....which is reverence and appreciation for the hard work, attention to detail, courage and teamwork required to be a fine competitive swimmer and to learn to succeed with those life-skills instead of with your Daddy’s wallet.

The Congress (not the Ruling Bureau) of FINA took the rules into their own hands after the Bureau had time and again failed to establish the rules necessary to keep our sport vital, credible and important. Bravo for them.

All the Best,
John Leonard

Fact Sheet Children's Fitness Tax Credit

The following is information about the proposed tax credit for organizations that provide eligible programs of physical activity. This information is based on legislation that has been tabled in the House of Commons but that has not yet become law.


Proposed Definition of a Program of Prescribed Physical Activity

An eligible program of prescribed physical activity, for the purposes of the credit, will be defined as:

An ongoing, supervised program, suitable for children, in which substantially all of the activities undertaken include a significant amount of physical activity that contribute to cardio-respiratory endurance, plus one or more of:
- muscular strength,
- muscular endurance,
- flexibility, and
- balance.

This definition will cover many sports programs that involve sport but recognizes that the practice of any sport physical activity does not always call on cardio-respiratory endurance, notably in the initial learning stages. Eligibility of a program would be based on the general nature of the activities, and the benefits of involvement over time. The definition will also take into account the average participants' age, health, skills, presence of a disability, and other relevant factors.

In keeping with the expressed purpose of the tax credit, and in the spirit of Canada's Physical Activity Guides for Children and Youth published by the Public Health Agency of Canada, programs of prescribed physical activity for which tax receipts are issued should encourage children to strive towards at least 30 minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous physical activity per session for children under 10, and 60 minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous physical activity for children 10 and over.

By requiring a supervisory presence and by referring to activities that are "suitable for children", the proposed definition acknowledges parents' role in assuring the safety of their children. It reminds those delivering programs of prescribed physical activity for children that safety is paramount and that such programs should comply with federal and provincial safety regulations.


Categories of Eligible Programs

In addition to the above definition, and in order to recognize the many ways in which children are enrolled and participate in organized physical activity, the Income Tax Regulations will provide that programs are eligible for the tax credit if they last at least eight weeks at a minimum of one session per week, or, in the case of children's camps, five consecutive days – provided in the latter case that more than 50 per cent of the program time is devoted to physical activity.

A child's membership in a club, association or other organization for two months or more would also be considered participation in an eligible program if more than 50 per cent of the programs available as a result of membership are in the nature of an "eligible program", or more than 50 per cent of the available time is devoted to activities in an "eligible program". The eligible portion of the program's membership and registration fees could, in general, be pro-rated for the purposes of the credit where it constitutes
50 per cent or less of the total program cost.

Organizations can issue a receipt for the portion of a family membership that covers a child's participation in an eligible program.

While fees charged for extracurricular programs that take place at a school will be eligible, the credit will not cover fees charged for regular school physical education programming.

Sporting, recreational and other activities in which motorized vehicles (e.g., automobiles, motorcycles, power boats, airplanes, snowmobiles) are used as an essential component of the activity will also be excluded.


Measures for Children With Disabilities

In recognizing the particular challenges that children with disabilities face, the Income Tax Act will be amended to raise the age limit for disability tax credit (DTC)-eligible children from under 16 to under 18 years of age for the purposes of the Children's Fitness Tax Credit. The Act will also be amended to introduce a separate $500 non-refundable amount for DTC-eligible children subject to spending a minimum of $100 on registration fees for an eligible program. This additional non-itemizable amount provides general recognition of the extra costs that children with disabilities encounter in becoming involved in programs of physical activity, notably with regard to specialized equipment, transportation and attendant care.


Calculating eligible fees

To be eligible for the children's fitness tax credit, the fees must be paid for a child who is under 16 at any time in the year. The fees must relate to the cost of registration or membership in an eligible program of physical fitness activity. If your organization provides family memberships relating to an eligible program of physical activity, you will be able to issue a tax receipt for the child's portion of the membership fees.

Registration and membership costs can include the costs of administration, instruction, and the rental of facilities. If the fees charged to parents include a part for accommodation, travel, food, or beverages (for example, room and board at a fitness camp), then this part must be deducted when calculating the part of the fees that qualify for the tax credit.

Example:
Parents pay an all-inclusive registration fee of $700 for a one-week, away-from-home hockey camp for children. The camp provides hockey pucks, jerseys, and goalie nets that are shared during the camp but that are retained by the organization at week's end. Children must bring all other necessary equipment with them and parents are responsible for transporting the children to and from the camp. The $700 fee includes $200 for accommodation and $150 for meals. The portion of the fee that is eligible for purposes of the children's fitness tax credit is $350 ($700 - $200 - $150).


Issuing receipts

You should issue a receipt for income tax purposes for eligible amounts paid in 2007 only. Amounts paid in 2006 do not qualify even if all or part of the activity takes place in 2007. A receipt should contain the following information:
- Organization's name and address
- Name of the eligible program or activity
- Total amount received, date received, and the amount that is eligible for the children's fitness tax credit
- Full name of the payer
- Name of the child and child's year of birth
- Authorized signature.

Note: An authorized signature is not required for electronically generated receipts.