A History of the Alamo Area Aquatic Association

                                       

The Alamo Area Aquatic Association (AAAA) is a 31-year old umbrella organization comprised of seven USA Swimming Age Group and Masters Teams in the Nation's seventh (estimate as of 07/12/08) largest city.  It has nearly 1,200 registered swimmers working out  and competing in seven separate, indoor multilane facilities.  AAAA has produced ten Olympic Athletes in three different aquatic sports:

Athletes	Event	Medal	Olympiad	Representing
Bruce Hayes	800 Free Relay	Gold	Los Angeles - 1984	USA
Greg Losey (Deceased)	Modern Pentathlon	Silver	Los Angeles - 1984	USA
Jimbo Haley	Modern Pentathlon	-	Barcelona - 1992	USA
Walter Soza	200 and 400 Individual Medley, 200 Butterfly	-	Atlanta - 1996	Nicaragua
Rania Elwani	50, 100, and 200 Freestyle	-	Atlanta - 1996	Egypt
Jennifer Gutierrez	Triathlon	-	Sydney - 2000	USA
Celina Lemmen	800 Free Relay Relay Leadoff	-	Athens - 2004	Netherlands
Sofie Daid	100 and 200 Breaststroke	-	Athens - 2004	Algeria
Mahrez Mebarek	200 and 400 Freestyle	-	Athens - 2004	Algeria
Aghiles Slimani	100 and 200 Butterfly	-	Athens - 2004	Algeria

VISION

Much of the future of America is inarguably dependent on the spiritual and physical development of the Nation’s youth. Competitive and recreational swimming offer unparalleled opportunities for the development of individual initiative, self-discipline, sound physiques, and a love of sport. In addition, they can be life long endeavors.

The Alamo Area Aquatic Association (AAAA) was established in 1977 to serve as an organizational and administrative umbrella for three San Antonio area competitive swim teams, which were then under the auspices of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). Just a few years later, the Aquatic Sports sponsored by the AAU, split off and became an independent organizational entity known as United States Swimming (USS). During the evolution of these various National bodies, the mission and charter of the AAAA has remained constant just as it does today under the auspices of USA Swimming (USA-S).

The organization’s founding was primarily based on the notion that there is indeed strength in numbers and inter-team administrative, operational, and philosophical differences are often counterproductive to the ultimate goals and objectives of competitive swimming programs.

At the time the organization was first established, there were three separate, distinct, and independent Age Group swimming programs in San Antonio one of which, the San Antonio Aquatic Club (SAAC), was the second oldest of its kind in the state of Texas.

The three teams were often at odds with one another over several matters of mutual concern, but particularly the scheduling of meets within the city. It also became obvious that there would undoubtedly be certain advantages to be realized when championship relay teams were selected if all three could somehow resolve their differences in the interest of bettering the sport. To those ends, the Association has been the impetus to the organization, development, training, and fielding of a premier swim team that effectively represents the San Antonio area in a variety of state, national, and even world competition.

The initial and fledging attempt to organize the administrative elements of the three teams into a loose knit, but still very functional, "consortium" of sorts turned out to be eminently successful. This success can be directly attributed to the fact that the principals involved had the fortitude, wisdom, vision, and good sense to completely put aside domain, personal, personality, and philosophical differences in the sole interest of what would be best for the athletes (all of them) in the San Antonio area.

Today, in the year 2008, AAAA is comprised of all but two of the separate, year around USA-S Age Group programs, which operate in this metropolitan area of approximately 1.8 million (San Antonio is the Nation's seventh largest city - estimate as of 07/12/08). Under the AAAA umbrella these teams, while remaining independent as regards day-to-day operations, philosophy, coaching, and finances; they are very much interdependent when it comes to meet scheduling, athlete progression, championship relay team selection; and several managerial, data processing, and administrative functions.

Each member team is in some way affiliated with a School or Community College District or a University, but the San Antonio Aquatic Club no longer exists.  On the First of September 2001, the North East Independent School District (NEISD) absorbed the team and re-established it under District management as the North East Aquatic Team (NEAT).

The Association currently accounts for about 75% of all the USA-S Registered swimmers in the San Antonio metropolitan area and and nearly 30% of those in all of the South Texas Local Swim Committee (LSC).

Each AAAA team subscribes to the philosophy that competitive swimming organizations, in order to maximize their effectiveness and minimize internal conflicts, must be under the strict leadership, management, direction, and supervision of professional, experienced coaches who are committed to excellence. To that end, membership in The Association requires that affiliated teams be so organized.

The AAAA has assumed leadership and responsibility for coordinating virtually all aquatic activities in the San Antonio metropolitan area. These include, but are not limited to:

In addition, the Association coordinates the scheduling of high school meets at the various venues in the city in order to ensure appropriate progression of athletes representing some 50 teams through the season and to avoid conflicts in either age or ability meet schedules.

LEGAL

The Alamo Area Aquatic Association is established as a Not-for-Profit Organization under the United States Internal Revenue Code (501C[3]) and the laws of the State of Texas.

This document was originally posted on September 1, 2001

The information is current as of July 12, 2008