Minnesota Swimming Athlete of the Year
Introduction
The Minnesota Swimming Athlete Committee is extremely excited to announce the criteria for
the 2016-2017 Minnesota Swimming Athlete of the Year! The Minnesota Swimming Athlete of
the Year awards are awarded to the athletes who best epitomize Minnesota Swimming's Core
Values of Sportsmanship, Integrity, the Pursuit of Excellence, and Fun. The Athlete of the Year
awards can be equated to an MVP award in professional sports. Not only must athletes swim at a
high level to be eligible for this award; athletes also must serve as ambassadors for Minnesota
Swimming and the sport of swimming as a whole. The Athlete of the Year awards carry prestige,
as they will be the focal point of the Minnesota Swimming Awards presentation which will be held
in April 22, 2017 during the Minnesota Swimming House of Delegates.
The Awards
Four Athlete of the Year awards will be presented:
 Male Age Group Athlete of the Year
 Female Age Group Athlete of the Year
 Male Senior Athlete of the Year
 Female Senior Athlete of the Year
For the Athlete of the Year award, “Age Group” will be defined as 14 and under, and “Senior”
will be defined as 15 and over. To be eligible for an Athlete of the Year award, athletes shall not
have competed as a member of an intercollegiate swimming and diving team (NCAA, NAIA,
NJCAA). Age for Athlete of the Year awards is determined as of March 16th, 2017, the first day
of the Minnesota Swimming Age Group State Championship.
Athlete of the Year awards are presented in Age Group and Senior divisions as many Senior
athletes rarely watch Age Group athletes compete, and many Age Group athletes rarely watch
Senior athletes compete. Therefore, to ensure that Athlete of the Year awards are presented to the
most deserving athletes, only age group athletes, regardless of gender, may vote for Age Group
Athlete of the Year, and only senior athletes, regardless of gender, may vote for Senior Athlete of
the Year.
Candidates for Athlete of the Year should exemplify Minnesota Swimming's Core Values of
Sportsmanship, Integrity, and the Pursuit of Excellence. These Core Values are defined in depth
in the “Core Values” section.
Only performances in sanctioned USA Swimming competitions representing a USA Swimming
club, or competing unattached, shall be considered. Although athletes display excellence as
members of interscholastic (high school), country club, Masters, and YMCA teams, these
organizations' competitions are not governed by Minnesota Swimming or USA Swimming.
Minnesota Swimming and USA Swimming are separate entities from these organizations and
governing bodies, which award their own athlete of the year. Therefore, swims from
competitions run and sanctioned by governing bodies other than Minnesota Swimming, another
USA Swimming LSC, a national governing body of another country (such as Swimming
Canada), or FINA (meets such as the World Cup circuit or Olympics Games), shall not be
considered for the Minnesota Swimming Athlete of the Year awards.
Core Values
The Minnesota Swimming Athlete Committee recognizes that the Core Values mean something
different to each individual athlete. In order to ensure an objective voting process, the Minnesota
Swimming Athlete Committee has defined the Core Values for the purpose of the Athlete of the
Year awards.
Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship isn't just shaking hands with an opponent after a close race. The most important
trait athletes who demonstrate sportsmanship must consistently show is respect. In order to be
eligible for an Athlete of the Year awards, athletes should treat themselves, their teammates, their
competitors, coaches, officials, volunteers, the facility and the sport of swimming itself as a
whole with respect. This respect should be evident at both practices and competitions.
Athletes who demonstrate sportsmanship must also demonstrate humility. Win or lose, athletes
who show sportsmanship are grateful for the opportunity they have to compete, and conduct
themselves maturely and respectful towards both those whom they have beaten and those who
they have lost to.
Finally, athletes who demonstrate sportsmanship follow and show regard for rules. They abide by
USA Swimming's Code of Conduct, abide by facility rules, and team rules. They accept
responsibility for their actions and encourage others to do the same.
Integrity
Integrity is conducting oneself ethically and honestly. Athletes who demonstrate integrity respect
the sport of swimming, and all of the individuals on deck and in the stands. They are honest at
both at competitions and at practice. For example, at meets, athletes can demonstrate integrity by
respecting the decisions of officials, and being respectful of other athletes during crowded warm
up and cool down times, just to name a few. In practice, athletes can demonstrate integrity by
completing the required distance in a set, even when the coach isn't watching, or being honest
when a coach asks how many repetitions the team has done.
Excellence
Although all Minnesota Swimming athletes demonstrate and pursue excellence, it is necessary to
quantify excellence for the purpose of the Athlete of the Year awards. Therefore, to be eligible
for the Athlete of the Year award, an athlete must have achieved at least four “AAA” qualifying
time standards in four different events in the year. (50 Free SCY, 50 Free LCM, 100 Free SCY,
100 Free LCM counts as four events!) It is not necessary for an athlete to have competed at an
Olympic Trials, Olympic Games, or other “elite” national level meet to be eligible for an Athlete
of the Year award. Athletes must have achieved time standards that are slightly faster than
“Champ” times, or about equivalent to placing in the top 8 or 16 at the state meet. Athletes may
also be eligible for the Athlete of the Year award by competing in one of the following events:
Open Water Zone Championship, World Deaf Swimming Championships, or Paralympic Trials
or a similar national-level meet.
Fun
Athletes who demonstrate Minnesota Swimming’s core value of fun demonstrate a clear
enjoyment for the sport of swimming. They enjoy practices, competitions and spending time
with their teammates in and out of the pool. Their attitudes stand out on deck as being exemplary.
Award Procedure
The criteria for the Athlete of the Year award shall be published on the Minnesota Swimming
website, and all Athlete Committee and Minnesota Swimming social media. Nominations will
open on March 1st, 2017. Senior Athlete of the Year nominations will close on Sunday, March
12th; Age Group Athlete of the Year nominations will close on Sunday, March 19th. Age Group
Athlete of the Year nominations will close Nominations will be accepted both via Google Form
and via hard copy at the Senior State Championship and Age Group State Championship.
Nominations may be submitted by coaches, officials, and athletes (not parents) and must include
the following information:
 The nominee's name, club, and age
 A specific instance of the nominee demonstrating sportsmanship, excellence, and
 integrity (approximately one paragraph each)
 A short biography of the nominee (special interests, favorite stroke, interesting facts, etc.)
 The nominator's name, club, and contact info
Incomplete or vague nominations will not be accepted. The nomination ballot will be posted on
the Minnesota Swimming website as well as all Athlete Committee and Minnesota Swimming
social media pages. The Minnesota Swimming staff will send an email to club coaches
and presidents to remind them that nominations for Athlete of the Year are in progress. Please
contact Erin McCarthy at [email protected] for any questions regarding the nomination
process.
An online ballot for Athlete of the Year will be posted on the Minnesota Swimming website by
Monday, March 20th, 2017 and will close on Friday, March 31st, 2017. The ballot will be sent to
club coaches and presidents for distribution to athletes. Finalists will be notified via email the
weekend of April 1st, 2017, and a letter will also be sent to their place of residence. An awards
presentation will be held on Saturday, April 22nd, 2017 during the MSI House of Delegates.