USA Swimming Announces New $5 Million Keeping Athletes First Action Plan

A letter to the membership of USA Swimming went out on Friday laying out a path forward for the organization’s SafeSport program, and specifically USA Swimming’s goal to give every member club a SafeSport designation. The letter was signed by USA Swimming CEO Tim Hinchey and USA Swimming Board of Directors Chair Bob Vincent.

• Read more about the new programs in the Board of Directors meeting minutes here.

The new plan, called the Keeping Athletes First Action Plan, includes many prongs, including among them a new push for a SafeSport certification program, new SafeSport staff, and improved education platforms. From the letter:

The action plan will provide the resources necessary for staff to plan, provide and implement appropriate tools and platforms for our athletes and our clubs to thrive. Several of the initiatives are already underway, such as providing funds to Swim Assist, the development of a customer relations management (CRM) system, online member registration, a new educational platform, and increased Safe Sport staff and development. Additionally, there will be the creation of the Keeping Athletes First Working Group, which will work with our staff to build a five-year plan to lead the future development and implementation of the initiative.

Very importantly, the Keeping Athletes First Action Plan will help facilitate a critical investment at the club level to support the advancement of the Safe Sport Recognition program. We stand by our goal to make every USA Swimming team a Safe Sport Recognized Club.

The new action plan is being funded by $5 million in “Board of Directors’ designated funds,” which specifically come from the sale of the USSIC, or United States Swimming Insurance Company, that USA Swimming was formerly using to insure itself, largely against claims of sexual abuse by member swim coaches.

According to minutes from the USA Swimming Board of Directors meeting in November, the $5 million will be allocated as follows:

• Safe Sport Club Recognition Assistance – $2 million
• Education/Certification Platform – $2 million
• Online Registration – $500,000
• Staff Development/Training – $500,000

The board also designated a portion of the Board Designated Funds from the sale of USSIC for expenses related to government inquiries.

These moves comes after a landmark lawsuit where USA Swimming was found to be not negligent in the case of a member coach’s abuse of a 13-year old girl in Stockton, California. While the Pacific Swimming LSC and the club where he was coaching paid out a combined $1.25 million settlement to the victim, a jury found that USA Swimming’s athlete protection programs were sufficient to shield them from liability in this case.

Extension of SafeSport certification programs to USA Swimming member clubs could help those clubs in defenses against civil lawsuits as well, in addition to providing programs that better protect young athletes from abuse.

The USSIC (U.S. Sports Insurance Company Inc.) was a single-parent insurance company owned by USA Swimming but incorporated in Barbados. The company limited USA Swimming’s liability in sexual abuse lawsuits. But the setup has also come under fire for the money many say continuously changed hands between the two organizations. The Mercury News reported that the USSIC provided $2 million in liability insurance to USA Swimming, but only $100,000 to local clubs, with that limited local liability helping to generate “safety rebates” in which USSIC sent millions of dollars back to USA Swimming. The Mercury News reported that for some years, the USSIC provided as much as $750,000 back to USA Swimming in these safety rebates.

The Wall Street Journal has also reported that federal prosecutors are investigating the “money trail” between USA Swimming and the USSIC, among other things.

USSIC was originally formed in May of 1988 when USA Swimming was unable to obtain insurance in the conventional insurance market and was used to provide reinsurance to Swimming’s primary liability insurer.

USSIC was sold in September of 2016, and the proceeds from the sale were put in a board designated account. That sale resulted in a fund of $18,976,632 of Board Designated Funds, only $5,000,000 of which is dedicated to a guarantee related to the sale. USA Swimming says that in 2014, due to the organization’s improving risk profile, they were able to obtain insurance in the conventional insurance market, rendering the captive USSIC unnecessary.