Michigan Swimming News & Updates

MISI GC Report 15 May 2026

It is with respect for their lives and contributions to Michigan Swimming and Diving that we share our condolences with the family and friends of Dick Kimball and David Le. We also celebrate the gifts of life they shared with all of us. Dick Kimball brought excellence to University of Michigan as their head diving coach for near two generations. Dick Kimball Obituary

David Le brought excellence, patience, and guidance for near a generation to the Plymouth swimming community. David Le Obituary

May 15, International Water Safety Day

Every day is water safety day and once a year the whole aquatic world recognizes International Water Safety Day. This is a great time to broadcast your program’s goals and successes. It’s a great time to encourage enrollment in learn-to-swim programs. It’s an even greater time to consider developing (or further developing) your team’s learn-to-swim programming. The best way to build a strong competitive team is from the ground up. Everybody swims, everybody wins! If your team is hosting a water safety event, please share photos and story lines!

May MISI BoD Highlights Equipment Grant Awards: 16 teams applied for MISI Equipment Grants, and 14 teams were awarded either $1000 or $2000 for their projects. Thank you to all teams that submitted grant applications. Grant award winners this year are not eligible for 2027 Equipment Grant awards. Congratulations to: BBA, BWSC, GKC, GR, MSC, WMS, dROP, JAWS, LAC, MMA, NS, OLY, PCC, and SAC.

Katie Purcell (dROP) and Holly Morren (MLA) have been nominated to represent the Michigan LSC for the USA Swimming Women Coaches in Leadership program.

The USA Swimming LEAP review was completed by coaches attending the April 12th clinic. The results were delivered to USA Swimming and we are waiting to have an evaluation meeting with Jane Grosser soon.

The Open Water Committee has been gathering information for summer training sites. Currently, Janette Heaton (HVP), Chris Thompson (DCAC), and Ty Parker (GKC) have confirmed training in their local areas. In our next newsletter, this information will be posted. Zin Ghazouni has volunteered to be the head coach for Michigan Swimming at the CZ Open Water Championships being held in June at Pleasant Prairie.

USA Swimming held a Coaches Clinic for Detroit Parks and Recreation coaches May 9 at the Coleman Young Recreation Center, featuring Atiba Wade. Atiba put on an excellent presentation for the current and potential coaches. Thank you, Gary Peterson (DRST), for leading this two-year effort to support Detroit swimming.

October 3-4 weekend is set for HoD. We look to include athlete clinic, coach clinic, official clinic, meet manager clinic and a recognition banquet. HoD

DEI grant deadline for this fiscal year extended to May 31. We are especially focusing on long term athlete development, beginning with learn-to-swim for growing the team.

Best regards, Vince Gallant

Visit our Website

May LSC Leaders call recap

Joel Shinofield opened the meeting with a review of the USA Swimming Goals:

1. Grow the sport

2. Strengthen the Organization

3. Elevate Athlete performance

4. Inspire members and fans

Jane Grosser announced the USA Swimming Women’s Leadership Clinic being held November 22. Women's Leadership Clinic

Marissa DelGado reminded LSCs that Open Water Sanctioning requires LSC and National approval.

Safe Sport Background Check Update: When it is time to renew your background check, it will be completed by a new vendor, NCSI. Cost is $30 for new checks and $30 for renewals. The platform is a bit different as you navigate the NCSI portal.

Scholastic All-America applications are due at the end of September; qualifying times are Winter Junior Cuts.

Central Zone Open Water Championship Meet Information

The details for the 2026 Central Zone Open Water Meet are now posted on the Team Michigan website.

The event will be held on June 11-12, 2026 in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. If you have participated in any Team Michigan event in the past, you can login to your account and commit to the event. If you are new to Team Michigan, you will need to register and create an account. Accounts will be approved within 24 hours.

CZ Open Water Information

Central Zone Multi-Cultural Meet Information

The details for the 2026 Central Zone Multi-Cultural meet are now posted on the Team Michigan website.

The event will be held on June 19-21, 2026 in Madison, Wisconsin. If you have participated in any Team Michigan even in the past, you can login to your account and commit to the event. If you are new to Team Michigan, you will need to register and create an account. Accounts will be approved within 24 hours.

Multi-Cultural Meet Information

2026-2027 SCY Meet Bid Process

Michigan Swimming will be accepting Meet Bids for the 2026-2027 Short Course Yard (SCY) season starting May 2, 2026 until 11:59 pm on Sunday, May 31, 2026. This process is for both the regular and championship competitions. Please fill out a form for each meet that you wish to host.

DO NOT complete the application to host a meet. This form is used once your bid has been accepted and it is time to submit your meet documents.

2026-2027 SCY Regular & Championship Competition Bids – Fill out form

DEI Grant Information

Michigan Swimming member teams serving low-income and under-represented communities are encouraged to share their vision for developing strong community swim programs with Michigan Swimming. Funds are available to assist these teams in good standing with strengthening their ability to provide their communities with high-quality learn-to-swim and learn-to-swim-better-and-faster programming.

Annual grants of up to $5,000 are available. Additionally, long range programming may be recognized.

If your team is interested in working with Michigan Swimming to develop your program, please contact our DEI Committee for details. Grant applications for this summer are due by May 31 with a June 15 awards decision deadline.

DEI Grant Application – Fill out form

Open Water & Camps/Clinics Update

Open Water Training Camp Sites will be announced soon. These sites will offer distance training with an emphasis on successful preparation for open water races. As the weather warms the pure waters of our state (early to mid-June), open water training sites and times will be shared.

IMX Training Camp Sites, geared toward 11-14 year-olds, will also be announced mid-May. These sites are going to focus on collecting training data for long-term development, with an emphasis on improving technique

The “8 in ‘28” Elite Camp, designed for accelerating the LSC’s 18 & Under performance at the 2028 Olympic Trials, is currently aiming for an elite travel camp in late-August, early-September. Keep an eye to this if you have your eye on 2028!

2026 Graduates: Where Are They Going and What Are They Going To Do?

Over the next month, some of our teammates will be graduating from high school. We wish everyone success on their next chapters, and we are asking teams to send in a photo of your graduating seniors with a short note about their future plans. We’ll share each team’s photos and notes in this bi-weekly newsletter.

Please send all information to Dawn Gurley at dawn.gurley@miswim.org

Ariana Amaro - GKC

Marquette University - Wisconsin

Swimming

Liam Smith - GKC

University of Florida

Swimming

Elise Dinehart

Bowling Green State University

Swimming

Casey Kupka

Indiana University - Pennsylvania

Swimming

Abby Miliken

Hope College

Swimming

Ava Sventickas - SLA

Hamline University - Forensic Science

Swimming

SLA Athletes

Nina Lewis

U of M - Engineering

Pepper Bray

U of M - Political Science

Noelle Priest

Calvin College - Speech Pathology (Swimming)

Emma Klotz

Bowling Green State University - Marketing (Swimming)

Josie Libler - SLA

Queens University - Nursing

Swiming

Mission Statement

Michigan Swimming inspires excellence through education and develops integrity in a fun, inclusive environment.

Core Values

Integrity, Inclusion, Education, Excellence

Vision Statement

Pure Excellence! Made in Michigan Swimming!

Long Course Season

Long course season has arrived. The schedule is published on the Michigan Swimming website. As meets are sanctioned, the information will be posted on the events page. Below is a link to that page,

2026 Long Course Schedule

Officials Committee Update

For questions or ongoing updates related to officiating, the Officials Website remains an excellent and regularly updated resource.

If you need assistance or have additional questions, please feel free to contact the Officials Committee at officialscommittee@miswim.org.

Certification Reminder

In order for Coaches and officials certifications to be updated and show in good standing, all certification documents must be sent to certifications@miswim.org. Certification documents cannot be shown to Meet Directors or Meet Referees the day of the meet. They are not able to update certifications or allow you access to the pool deck if your membership card is not in good standing.