Your monthly news & updates

Message from MISI General Chair

Greetings to all members, staff, and volunteers of Michigan Swimming (MISI)! Looking forward to a positive and productive term of service, beginning January 2026, as the General Chair. MISI is successful as an organization when we come together with achievable goals and clarity of purpose.

Thank you to our current staff, Board of Directors, and members. A very special thank you to our members, past and present, who have served in volunteer roles within our organization over the years!

After conducting a brief survey among current BoD and committee members, several priorities emerged for the LSC. Most notable were: improve communication across the LSC; develop and publish a strategic plan for the LSC; improve alignment of LSC championship meet schedule with the regional and national schedule; increase the number of certified officials in our LSC; develop a comprehensive camp and clinic program for the LSC; and improve support for elite-level swimmers and improve overall athlete retention in the LSC.

We will use this newsletter to keep all members up-to-date on progress towards the priorities listed and any others that you may suggest.

Best wishes for a successful short-course season, and watch this newsletter on a bi-weekly basis for communication from the BoD and associated committees of MISI!

Vince Gallant, MISI General Chair

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2026 Mid-State All Star Meet

Team Michigan delivered an outstanding performance at the 2026 Mid-State All-Star Championships. Team Michigan earned its best overall team finish since 2018 at 3rd place. Lots of Michigan swimmers made it into the top 16. Our athletes captured a plethora of medals across the meet, with quite a few of them being gold.

Gold medal performances came from Clara Lauritzen (six individual events), Greg Flermoen (including a meet record in the 100 fly), Bo Feenstra, Lulu Flynn, Liesl Roberts, Ronan Cusack, Finn Kelly, Jun Park, and Oliver Pierce. Other medal-earning performances came from Claire Dewitte, Benny Dunbar, Jovy Edwards, Sam Eroh, Brooks Gillis, Claire Gostlin, Piper Heavner, Theo Hovord, Addi Kendrick, Poppy Lacrosse, August Le, Ethan Lesnau, Tucker Lovasz, Kallen McDowall, Nola Molter, Melanie Ortiz, Miranda Phelps, Charlie Roberts, Luke VanWoerkom, Everett Vollmer, Leah Yeon, and Ryan Yu.

Safe Sport & Operational Risk Update

Safe Sport

Mission Statement: USA Swimming is committed to safeguarding the well-being of all its members, with the welfare of its athlete members as the top priority.

2026 LSC Goals:

Bring min (5) more Clubs to SSRP status, with special emphasis om Clubs that host championship meets.
Highlight education and resources re: bullying, harassment and cyberbullying concerning athlete mental health and performance factors.
Assist where needed individually in helping LSC Safe Sport ambassadors conduct athlete & parent trainings.
Continue to provide support materials and resources at Championship meets.

Operational Risk

Operational Risk efforts are focused on providing a safe environment for athletes. Activity in 2026 will include the following:

With input from stakeholders, create a Michigan Meet Marshal program that aligns with the revamped USAS program.
Host a webinar on the newly developed Michigan Swimming Meet Marshal program, with education aimed at meet hosts and officials.
Publish in the newsletter a quarterly article focused on educating swimmers, coaches and meet hosts as to factors that can impact air quality in indoor swimming pools and steps that can be taken to improve air quality during practice and meets, including championship meets.
Review with club teams the requirement for timely reporting of injuries experienced at practices/meets and how that information can be used in aggregate form to proactively establish policy and procedure(s) aimed at reducing the frequency of occurrence.

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!

Championship Meets

Regional Meets

March 7-8. 2026

Lake Superior Meet at Battle Creek Lakeview

Lake Michigan Meet at East Grand Rapids HS

Lake Ontario Meet at Brighton High School

Lake Erie Meet at Grosse Pointe South HS

Lake Huron Meet at Clarkston High School

Regional Team Assignments

10 & Under Championship Meet

March 14-15, 2026

Hosted by SST at Saline High School

Order of Events

MAGS Championship Meet

March 20-22, 2026

Hosted by MLA at Holland Aquatic Center

Order of Events

UTLRA Championship Meet

March 27-29, 2026

Hosted by OLY at Oakland University

Order of Events

Officials Committee Update

We have made significant progress, though there is still work ahead. Over the past two months, the Officials Committee has hosted several position-specific Zoom meetings in December and January, and we will hold a meeting for all officials on February 11 at 7:00 PM. These sessions are designed to support consistent education and alignment across the LSC.

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