What is GASSL?
As the summer of 1999 began, there were a few Greenville area summer pool teams that sporadically held dual meets. The meets were not scheduled in advance, but rather the coaches would call last minute and try to set up mutually acceptable times. This didn’t work well. In fact, during the 1999 season, the only three meets were in the span of one week! There also was not a designated order of events, such that at any given meet, swimmers were expected to swim an event that they had never trained for. Two parents decided to offer their time to organize a schedule prior to the start of the next summer swim season, and suggest a list of events that would be uniformly swum at every meet. They envisioned a league run by parent volunteers since parents always work hardest when their children’s athletic endeavors are at stake. Parents did step forward to help and the Greenville Area Summer Swim League [GASSL] was born. Tuesday night was selected as “meet night” and each team purchased ribbons to give as awards. The new schedule worked well, and the teams grew. The first season (2000) saw about 60 swimmers and four teams in the league. In 1999 and 2000, the year-round team, Greenville Swim Club [GSC], participated in GASSL to boost the numbers and level of ability. Over time, those numbers would grow to 340 swimmers distributed among 7 teams during the 2003 & 2004 seasons.
After GASSL’s inception, outside teams saw the newspaper coverage and level of meet organization, and opted into the league. Roanoke Rapids sent a team to participate in some meets as a “tri-meet”. Tarboro boasted a strong team during the 2000 season. There were no league dues collected during the 2000 season, rather each team was expected to chip in a portion of the overall expenses.
At first, the league participants were non-competitive, not really caring about the overall league outcomes. Team standings were not kept. As teams grew larger, a friendly, yet competitive rivalry developed, and parents and swimmers of all teams began to care about race and meet outcomes. In the summer of 2000, the Championship Meet was instituted to provide a way for teams to compete to see who really was “the best”. It became traditional to award ribbons for first through third places as a special treat for the participating swimmers. The first Championship Meet was hosted by Pulse Athletic Club. The idea of a Team Trophy was not instituted until the following season.
During the summer of 2003, the league had grown to a level which necessitated a Board to run the league and oversee financial issues and important decisions. The GASSL was incorporated in the Fall of 2003, and the five member GASSL Board spent many hours revisiting and revamping the previous rules and regulations to address concerns voiced over the previous summer seasons. Some of the more common complaints were voiced about swimmers winning races using improper technique, and it was clear that the league had evolved to a new level. The playing field needed to be fair, and strokes and turns needed to be done properly. It was obvious to these swimmers, coaches and parents that rules were needed. It was in response to those complaints that the rules regarding disqualifications were adopted.
With cooperation and equal participation by all member teams, GASSL will continue to change and provide a rich environment for local swimming talent to emerge and for area children to experience good, clean fun and sportsmanship. GASSL has never been run for profit or personal gain by any of its founders. This history serves to record GASSL progress thus far, and help make everyone aware of the combination of hard work and determination that has helped it develop into what it is today.
After GASSL’s inception, outside teams saw the newspaper coverage and level of meet organization, and opted into the league. Roanoke Rapids sent a team to participate in some meets as a “tri-meet”. Tarboro boasted a strong team during the 2000 season. There were no league dues collected during the 2000 season, rather each team was expected to chip in a portion of the overall expenses.
At first, the league participants were non-competitive, not really caring about the overall league outcomes. Team standings were not kept. As teams grew larger, a friendly, yet competitive rivalry developed, and parents and swimmers of all teams began to care about race and meet outcomes. In the summer of 2000, the Championship Meet was instituted to provide a way for teams to compete to see who really was “the best”. It became traditional to award ribbons for first through third places as a special treat for the participating swimmers. The first Championship Meet was hosted by Pulse Athletic Club. The idea of a Team Trophy was not instituted until the following season.
During the summer of 2003, the league had grown to a level which necessitated a Board to run the league and oversee financial issues and important decisions. The GASSL was incorporated in the Fall of 2003, and the five member GASSL Board spent many hours revisiting and revamping the previous rules and regulations to address concerns voiced over the previous summer seasons. Some of the more common complaints were voiced about swimmers winning races using improper technique, and it was clear that the league had evolved to a new level. The playing field needed to be fair, and strokes and turns needed to be done properly. It was obvious to these swimmers, coaches and parents that rules were needed. It was in response to those complaints that the rules regarding disqualifications were adopted.
With cooperation and equal participation by all member teams, GASSL will continue to change and provide a rich environment for local swimming talent to emerge and for area children to experience good, clean fun and sportsmanship. GASSL has never been run for profit or personal gain by any of its founders. This history serves to record GASSL progress thus far, and help make everyone aware of the combination of hard work and determination that has helped it develop into what it is today.