ABOUT
US AND WHAT WE DO At
this point, we are attempting to raise funds in order to
cover administrative costs and file papers with the State
of Maryland as a nonprofit. FCAST hopes that all local Frederick
Summer Swim League (FSSL) teams, Frederick County Public Schools
(FCPS) teams as well as Monocacy Aquatic Club (MAC), Frederick
Area Swim Team (FAST) and YMCA will work together in whaterver
capacity possible to
unity.
 Why
does Frederick County need FCAST?
Swimming
is a very popular and growing sport. All Frederick
County swim teams are growing at an alarming rate. Currently,
there is a shortage of pools in the county. 9 FCPS high
schools (soon to be 10) share 3 pools. These pools are
all
in need of repair and upkeep. High school teams have very
little time for training sessions. The 3 local swim clubs
are desperately looking for additional pool time or are
pursuing capital campaigns to either build pools or build
bubbles on existing pools. Monocacy Aquatic Club (MAC),
YMCA and Frederick
Area Swim Team (FAST) currently rent pool use directly from
FCPS
for training sessions
or to run meets, yet the Frederick County Board of Educations
regularly proposes
to cut costs by eliminating pools, swimming and diving
teams. If these cuts are ever realized they will have
a dramatic impact on current Physical Education classses,
Lifeguard training classes, and other FCPS programs
that utilize pools. There
is no long term strategy on how to keep the pools open
and
operational.
The programs
continue
to
be reduced little by little. There is considerable community
will to keep the pools open but no coordinated community
effort that can advocate collectively. This is the hope
behind the formation of FCAST. Consider
Our Recent History While
the 2009 winter swimming and diving season was well
underway, the Frederick County Board
of Education, with no warning, proposed to cut all
funds that keep the three FCPS pools in operation
for the upcoming 2009-2010 school year. This proposal
would have not only eliminated FCPS high school swimming
and diving programs but also Physical Education class
units where the pools are used. In addition, this elimination
would put into jeopardy many activities hosted by other
Frederick County organizations who are dependent upon
the schools pools and venues to take place such as Special
Olympics. During this state of emergency, Frederick County Advocates
for Swim Teams (FCAST) was formed. Members from all FCPS
high school teams, Frederick Summer Swim League (FSSL),
the local swim clubs YMCA, Monocacy Aquatic Club (MAC),
Frederick Area Swim Team (FAST) as well as anyone interested
in swimming came together to develop a plan that would
save the pools. It was quickly understood that in order
to protect the FCPS pools and advocate for county swimming
in the long run, a three tiered process needed to be implemented. The
Three Tiered Process:
- A
public show of support for swimming and diving
was needed. This was accomplished through:
- A letter writing campaign to local public
officials and media outlets;
- A petition signed by over 3000 Frederick County
Residents
- A series of peaceful demonstrations
FCAST represented all those interested parties at the
BOE meeting. This first phase of the campaign was successful
and the BOE agreed to take the proposal to close the pools
off the table for the 2009-2010 school year.
- Second, a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) consisting
of members of the Frederick County swim community that
possess specific knowledge on swimming pool operations
and high school swimming was formed. This group outlined
23 specific recommendations to the BOE on how the pools
could be operated better and how high school swim teams
could cut costs in order to keep the swimming and diving
programs alive. FCAST participated in one FCPS meeting
where many of those recommendations where addressed.
- Our third initiative is to form a Frederick County
wide swimming and diving boosters/advocacy group. Our
goal is to develp bylaws, recruit members and formally
incorporate before the start of the 2009-2010 swim season.
The
Future While
FCAST is encouraged that the BOE will keep swimming
and diving for 2009-2010 school year, we remained concerned
about the status of county swimming in the not too distant
future. With no warning, the adjusted BOE budget proposed
the elimination of the diving programs entirely. This
took us by surprise as this suggestion has never been
discussed
in any public forum. Luckily, the diving community came
together and fought this off and the BOE recanted and
thus reintroduced diving. However, the 2009-2010 FCPS
swim season will be reduced by several meets, practice
times and funds for transportation to and from practices.
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