November 2019

WATER RATS PARENTS’ CLUB, INC.
Minutes for the Meeting of November 7, 2019
Board Members:
Charles Shapiro (Co-President)
Whitney Ross (Co-President)
Ngassam Ngoumen (Ex Officio)
Candace Twiss (PET-WRAT Coordinator)
Amy Leahy (Safety/ Concessions Coordinator)
Lori Blessey (Meet Coordinator)
Mark McDermott (Officials Co-Coordinator)
Rick Hutchinson (Sr Parent Rep)
Christine Meiers Schatz (8&U Parent Rep)
Tina Lynch (AG Parent Rep)
Adrienne Williams (USA Swimming Coordinator)
Rob Urban (Coach)
Ellen Johnston (Head Coach)
Yanli Li (Co-Treasurer)
Other attendees: Greg Ripka (Investment Committee)
A quorum was achieved, and the meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. by Charles S.

Minutes:
Christine S. motioned to approve the minutes of October 3, 2019. Amy L. seconded. All voted in favor.
RESOLVED that the minutes from the October 3, 2019 meeting, as presented to the Committee are
approved.

• Co-Presidents’ Report (Charles. S.):
• Parent’s Social (11/23): Private donation of wine. Parents to bring food. No server or bartender required.

• Coaches’ Report (Ellen J.)
• CT Swimming Banquet: Nice turnout. Matthew Torres Para Swimmer of the Year.
• Freestyle Frenzy: Tentative Time changes for meet. Session Times to be determined after meet entries finalized. Shuttle for parking for both days.
• Holidays: Trying to move Turkey Burn to Staples. Mahackeno unavailable due to construction.
• MIT Entry has been finalized.
• Christmas to New Years schedule to be released.
• Consider sending team- wide email re: protocol for parents coming onto deck; dispute resolution, etc.

• USA Swimming Escrow Account Manager Report (Adrienne W.):
• 183 families;
• 221 swimmers.
• Escrow is in good shape. 1 swimmer is overdrawn. All SC meets billed to date.

• Treasurers Report (Yanli L.)
• IRS Form 990 has been filed.
• Net Income: Approx 47k, Primarily Pet-WRAT fees.

• PET–WRAT Report (Candace T.):
• Approx 66 families (1/3 of team) haven’t worked. 13/25 “repeat offenders” who have never worked, have worked so far this year.

• Meet Manager Report (Lori B.) :
• Freestyle Frenzy is on track. Nothing further to report.
• Candace T. requested sign-in and Timer sheets from meets to aid in volunteer point
tracking.

• Officials Report (Mark M.) :
• Stroke & Turn Clinic occurred: Only 2 officials attended. Other officials will need to source their own clinics.
• Rapids Meet: 4/9 officials were WRAT.
• Ellen J. to inquire whether we can get another Stroke & Turn Clinic and Referees Clinic.

• Parents Reps:
• Tina L.: Nothing to report
• Rick H.: Nothing to report.

Agenda Items:
• Travel Waivers: Amy L.: Safe Sport requires consents for team travel. Does this apply to
families traveling to from/ staying in hotel rooms at travel meets. Ellen J. will look into
this.
• Survey: Ellen J. Nothing to report.
• Date for Second All-Parents Meeting: No date set. At this point no need for
second meeting.
• WRATs Bulletin Board: Charles S.: Bulletin board discussed at last meeting was
too large. Waiting for Y to advise re. size of bulletin board then will revisit.
• Volunteer Point System: Proposed changes were a significant increase from $250
last year. Complaints with significant increase without warning. Changes to point
system below, will revisit whether revisions are working; liability for failing to comply
might increase next year.
• MOTION to approve the following changes to the PET-WRAT Volunteer point
system. Ngassam N. brought the motion. Candace T. seconded. Motion Passed
by quorum vote:
• For this season, liability for failure to earn required volunteer points is
capped at $500 per family.
• $100 fine/occurence if a volunteer signs up to time, but cancels within
48 hours of the meet or fails to show up without finding a replacement
and notifying the timing coordinator. Fine is in addition to the season
cap.
• Looking into other opportunities to earn points in smaller amounts (ie 5 points).
• Recommend waitlist for home meets only. Request that volunteers who have met
their point obligations wait for at least 24 hours before signing up to volunteer for
home meets.Consider Reinstating meet coordinator (5 points) to track volunteers at
each meet.
• Jobs will be assigned for championship meets (including regionals).
Finance Committee: Greg R.: Meet offline to discuss investments. Meet with professional from
Merrill Lynch with experience advising non-profits. Brainstorming session, no obligation. Will report to board at next meeting.

Mark. M. moved to adjourn the meeLng and Christine S. seconded. All voted in favor.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:19 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Monika DeFelice, Secretary
Water Rats Parents’ Club