Chuck wielgus biography

U.S. national governing body for competitive swimming

USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overall organization and operation of the sport within the country, in accordance with the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. The national headquarters of USA Swimming is located at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

History

USA Swimming was originally called United States Swimming (USS) upon its departure from the AAU. Thus, there are several terms used to describe the organization at different times. These terms are: USA Swimming, USA-S, United States Swimming, USS, and US Swimming. Prior to the existence of USS, the AAU, or the Amateur Athletic Union, served as the governing body for swimming and other sports across the country.

Amateur Athletic Union

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) was the official organization responsible for the running of all amateur sports in the United States, established in 1888. The AAU was officially charged with the organization and operation of many sports in the US. During this time, swimming was one of the committees in the organization and was not an independent governing body.

The Amateur Sports Act of 1978 enabled the governance of sports in the US by organizations other than the AAU. This act made each sport set up its own national governing body (NGB). Each of these governing bodies would be part of the United States Olympic Committee, but would not be run by the committee. Thus, United States Swimming was born. From 1978 to 1980, the official responsibilities of governing the sport were transferred from the AAU Swimming Committee to the new United States Swimming. Bill Lippman, the last head of the Swimming Committee, and Ross Wales, the firs

Charles “Chuck” Wielgus has served as the Executive Director of USA Swimming since 1997, and as CEO of the USA Swimming Foundation since its inception in 2004.

During his 18-year tenure, Wielgus has led USA Swimming through an extended period of growth in what has become an increasingly competitive marketplace. Membership has surpassed 400,000, while organizational revenues and net worth have more than doubled.

Key achievements also include: creation of Splash Magazine; development of strong corporate and television partnerships; creation of new properties such as the Duel in the Pool, the Golden Goggle Awards and Arena Pro Swim Series; and re-positioned the U.S. Olympic Trials – Swimming from a 4,700-seat natatorium to a 17,000-seat major entertainment venue and into a major showcase event. Wielgus also spearheaded the creation of the USA Swimming Foundation, which through its Make a Splash initiative has the goal of teaching every child in America to swim.

Under his leadership, the U.S. Olympic Swim Team has won an average of 31 medals in each of the last three Olympic Games to lead Team USA. Additionally, financial support to USA Swimming National Team athletes and coaches has also increased significantly under his leadership.

Prior to his work at USA Swimming, the Larchmont, N.Y., native was the executive director of the Senior PGA TOUR Tournament Directors Association (currently known as the Champion’s Tour), based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., where he also served on planning committees for the World Golf Village and International Golf Hall of Fame. From 1989-96 he was the executive director of the U.S. Canoe and Kayak Team, the national governing body for that Olympic sport.

From 1983-89, Wielgus was the executive director of the Hilton Head Island (SC) Recreation Association, where he led the effort that produced the master plan for the resort island’s public rec

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The water in the pool is as muddied in USA Swimming as the tumbling mats were soiled in USA Gymnastics.

It has been a tough few weeks for the idea of athletic purity and American exceptionalism.

Swimming and gymnastics, two of the most prominent sports under the umbrella of the United States Olympic Committee, are as corrupt and in many ways even more injurious than Olympic sports are in countries like Russia.

Russian athletes were banned from competing under their country's flag at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics because of state-sponsored doping four years ago.

A far wider scale of abuse

In a startling investigative report, the Orange County Register alleges widespread sexual abuse of girls by coaches of swim clubs under the aegis of USA Swimming (USAS).

It comes on the heels of 156 victims testifying in sentencing statements about their molestation by one of the monsters of modern sports, former American Olympic women's gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

The alleged abuse in swimming began as early as pre-school classes with children as young as three and continued through the tiers of competition to cases of statutory rape by coaches with underage swimmers on national team trips.

In the sport's sexual culture, said the Register's story by Scott Reid, coaches sometimes marry their best swimmers when they reach the age of sexual consent. Depending on state law, that is either 16 or 18.

Instead of gymnastics' one protected pedophile, in the 20 years from July 1997 when Chuck Wielgus became executive director of USAS until his death last year, 292 coaches and officials were charged, convicted or disciplined for sexual abuse and misconduct with a total of 592 female swimmers under 18 years of age.

Wielgus died last year, lamely saying in a blog post before his death, "I wish my eyes had been more open to the individual stories of the hor

…The thing about him is, at USA Swimming he wasn’t a CEO who helicoptered down into the position. He was somebody who came up from the very grass roots.

… When we were young, in our teens and 20s, when I went away to be an employee of his — I was about 20 years old, Chuck was in his late 20s, we concocted the idea of doing a couple of books. We didn’t have any limits … it was always that attitude of, why not? He didn’t want to be boxed in by convention. At the same time, he could make his way through the conventional. Like, the board room or committee meetings. The blazers, you know, he could navigate that world. But he could step back and chuckle, no pun intended, and see something bigger or something human. It’s what Omaha has become. So many things. It was just this unwillingness to be boxed in by convention.

…… One other thing about this match of Chuck and USA Swimming and Colorado Springs. He soldiered through 10 1/2 years of this disease. He did it because he was around high-performance people each and every day. He told me this. He saw athletes and coaches and trainers and nutritionists. He saw people who set goals. He was humbled by that. He was inspired by that. Ten and a half years of this disease. He was a big, strong guy. Cancer got the better of people bigger and stronger. For 10 1/2 years, he would go to work every day. He would see people pursuing stuff relentlessly and systematically and putting their trust in other people. And he would trust people — he was trusting his doctors, his family and his friends. Those relationships were just awe-inspiring. Chuck would be the first to tell you it was a privilege for him to be around those examples every day.

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John Naber

1976 Olympic champion

To me, Chuck Wielgus was a fascinating man and a study in contradictions. He came across as a most unassuming guy, almost meek in his demeanor, but he was clearly a terrific leader. His ideas and management skills helped grow my sport to astronomical le