APPENDICES TO THE LSC BYLAWS
APPENDIX A
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT RESOLVING DISPUTES
INTRODUCTION
The form of the LSC Bylaws was revised by USA-S in September of 1995. However, the basic structure used for resolving disputes has not changed. Members of USA-S who disagree with a decision or an action of taken by a meet official or any other LSC officer or who have a swimming-related dispute with another member may appeal those decision, or may submit those disputes, for resolution to the LSC Board of Review (formerly, the Review Section). The Board of Review is responsible for resolving these disputes quickly, fairly and with due process.
The purpose of this Appendix is to help with the details of preparing and filing protests and appeals, and handling a protest as a Board of Review member. Violation and interpretations of the rules and regulations of USA-S and the LSC can have serious consequences or involve relatively minor matters. The consequences can range from being barred from Olympic competition for drug use to whether a club should be penalized for being slow in distributing final meet results. Yet, to the people involved, each dispute, each incident is just as important as the other.
Because serious matters are being handled by the Board of Review, the Bylaws have been expanded and made more comprehensive. Many of the sections may appear to be written in "legalese," but that was done to insure that-as much as possible-they would be interpreted uniformly, consistently and correctly. While the language may be technical, the ideas behind the bylaws' Board of Review provisions are simple and basic. Anyone with a problem should get a fair, impartial hearing and have the problem resolved promptly and with due process.
The rules and procedures in Article 10 of the Bylaws are meant to provide:
¥ a quick and effective remedy for the Protestor and the Respondent;
¥ a hearing by objective unbiased persons, at first a panel of the elected members of the Board of Review, consisting of at least three people (Article 10.5.1 B);
¥ several levels of appeal are provided; from the initial Board of Review panel to a rehearing by all the members of the Board of Review (or at least seven people, Section 10.5.2); from a rehearing decision to a National Board of Review (Section 10.9); to an appeal to the United States Olympic Committee under its Constitution in cases where an athlete is denied the right to compete in international competition.
COMMON QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT PROTESTS AND THE BOARD OF REVIEW PROCESS
WHAT IS DUE PROCESS?
Due process is the administration of applicable rules and regulations so that no member is denied his or her legal rights and the application of those rules and regulations in conformance with the fundamental and accepted legal principles. It is the way you would want to be treated if you were charged with misconduct. It includes:
¥ Notice, in writing, if at all possible, of the specific things that you are being charged with doing or not doing;
¥ The opportunity to defend yourself against the charges;
¥ A reasonable amount of time to prepare and present your position;
¥ The right to have an attorney represent you, if you wish;
¥ A hearing before disinterested, fair and knowledgeable persons at a time and under circumstances that give everyone a full and fair opportunity to present their position;
¥ Notice of how to appeal from a decision that you feel is wrong.
WHAT KIND OF PROTESTS CAN BE DECIDED BY THE LSC BOARD OF REVIEW?
The responsibility of the Board of Review is broad but does not cover every possible dispute that might come up. If a decision is made which affects your ability to compete in swim meets or how you place in swim meets and you think the decision is wrong you may appeal to the Board of Review. If you are prevented from participating in the administration of the sport of swimming or being an official you may appeal to the Board of Review. If a decision is made by the LSC that affects your ability to coach swimmers you may appeal to the Board of Review. There are some matters that should be submitted directly to the National Board of Review. Read Sections 10.4.1, 10.4.2 and 10.1 and Sections 401.2 and 401.3 of Part Four of the USA-S Code to determine where your appeal should go. Remember that the Board of Review does not involve itself in disputes involving the administration of individual clubs unless it affects the ability of members to participate in competition.
WHAT KIND OF PROTESTS WILL BE DECIDED BY THE NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW?
Section 401.3 lists the kinds of protests that may, or in some cases, must go directly to the National Board of Review. They include, most matters where members of more than one LSC are involved, matters which come up at a regional, national or international swimming competition; matters involving moral turpitude, and matters in which the National Board of Review determines that a fair hearing will not be held quickly enough at the LSC Board of Review level to do justice to the affected parties.
HOW DO I CONDUCT A BOARD OF REVIEW HEARING?
The new Bylaws have expanded the sections that explain hearing procedures. The By- Laws now provide a step-by-step outline of the steps to be taken and procedures to be used when a protest occurs (Sections 10.5 and 10.6). The purpose of the Article remains the same, i.e., to give due process to any individual or any entity, club or organization participating in any activity of any kind of the LSC or United States Swimming - not just athletes, but coaches, officers, committee chairs and members, officials, clubs and all classes of members as well.
The process can be summarized as follows:
A The Protestor must give a written protest to the Chair of the Board of Review. (See Section 10.6.1 A.) [If the LSC has a filing fee, this should be noted here.] (Check to see if your LSC has an office that will transmit the protest to the Chair of the Review Section and follow up to find out when the Chair actually received the protest.)
B The Chair of Board of Review may have an investigation made to see if the dispute can be resolved before a hearing. It is not unusual to have disputes cleared up when an impartial party listens to both sides and tries to mediate a dispute. This kind of informal resolution is to be encouraged.
C A written Notice must be prepared and delivered by the Chair to the Respondent. (See Section 10.6.1 B and the suggested form of Notice which is in Appendix B.)
D Written statements of position may be filed by all parties to the appeal. (See Section 10.6.1 C and D.)
E A hearing must be scheduled by the Chair to take place within 74 days from the date when the Chair of the Board of Review received the Protest.
F A hearing may be held (if everyone involved agrees the protest can be considered on the written statements that have been submitted without a formal hearing). Use common sense in conducting the hearing. (See Sections 10.5.1 D and 10.6.1 E.) Make all parties feel that they have a fair chance to state their position and that the Board has an open mind as it listens to their position. In all events give the athlete the benefit of the doubt!
G The Board of Review must decide the matter within 10 business days of the conclusion of the hearing. (If time is not critical, it may be advantageous to delay the decision for a few days after the hearing to give full consideration to all the facts presented in a hearing rather than making a ruling immediately upon conclusion of the hearing.)
H The Board must send copies of its decision to the parties involved and certain administrators. See Section 310.6.1 F of Part Three of the USA-S Code and Section 10.6.2 D of the Bylaws as to who must get copies of the decision.
I The parties must be given a statement telling them what they must do to appeal the Board of Review's decision and how long they have to appeal.
THE MEET DIRECTOR JUST TOLD ME THAT MY SWIMMER'S PROOF OF TIME IS NOT ADEQUATE AND THE SWIMMER WON'T BE IN THE EVENT LATER THIS MORNING. THE MEET DIRECTOR IS WRONG AND WE CAN'T WAIT FOR A HEARING FROM THE BOARD OF REVIEW. WHAT DO I DO?
First, you should review the meet information to see if it provides for any kind of appeal such as the Eligibility Jury provided for at the National Championships. (Article 206.5, Part Two of the USA-S Code.) If you still believe your swimmer is being improperly kept out of the meet you should ask for an emergency hearing from the Board of Review. The Bylaws give the Board of Review a great deal of flexibility in handling emergency situations. Get on the telephone to the Chair of the Board of Review or the LSC General Chair and make arrangements to set up an emergency hearing under Section 10.6.2 of the Bylaws.
The Federal law that created National Sports Governing Bodies such as United States Swimming states that an athlete cannot be suspended from competition, even temporarily, without a hearing.
Members of the Board of Review should keep in mind their responsibility to conduct emergency hearings whenever they are at a swim meet and should alert the Meet Manager of their presence. The Chair of the Board of Review should always make arrangements in advance to see that a panel can be available at championship meets.
A meeting at the swim meet or an exchange of information by telephone and fax can be arranged to permit a timely decision even if the athlete must compete under protest. (See Section 102.11 of Part One of the USA-S Code.)
After the meet is concluded, a full formal hearing may be conducted at the request of the Protestor or the Respondent.
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