The 2015 Award Ceremony was conducted at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel, San Pedro, California. Ned Denison (IRE), was the Master of Ceremonies. Greta Andersen (DEN/ USA) received the ISHOF Lifetime Achievement award and Marilyn Bell accepted her induction into the Class of 1967. The IMSHOF class of 2015 included- Forrest Nelson (USA), Antonio Argüelles Diaz Gonzalez (MEX), Martin Strel (SVN), Marty Veen (NED), the Varne Ridge Channel Swim Park (GBR) & the Jersey Long Distance Swimming Club (GBR). Dennis Miller (FJI) was awarded the ISHOF Irving Davids/Captain Roger M. Wheeler Memorial Award.
Als “administrator”
Marty zal de oorkonde, versierselen en andere prijzen die passen bij de eer in besloten kring overhandigd krijgen. Hij is een van de eersten die deze categorie opgenomen is in de International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.
De nominatie heeft als volgt geluid:
After a long career as swimmer, specializing in open water swimming, Marty started the Scheerwolde classic swim. The swim is still running very successfully. When Marty became member of the Technical Open Water Committee (TOWC) of the KNZB (fed) he withdrew himself from the organization to avoid any thoughts of conflict of interest. He has been in the TOWC for 20 years now and is retiring at the next open water congress on November 28, this year (2012).
As chairman of the TOWC he has been known to have a good eye for the interests of swimmers and coaches, open water judging/refereeing, safety, organizations, the federation (KNZB). He was outstanding in keeping the balance between these interests. Next to that he had a keen eye for innovations to the sport. As chairman of the TOWC he initiated many projects and brought them to a success with his fellow members and with cooperation of the federation (KNZB).
He has been a part of the growth of the sport from a secondary aspect of swimming (as summer fun for all) to a mature part of national and international swimming. He has coordinated the growth through the time consuming process of talking and lobbying with all the (mostly very conservative) stakeholders. The changes he initiated and/or coordinated are:
- The modern competition for national championship
We traditionally had a competition on the regular distances of 2 and 3km swims. All swims except the marathon swims had these distances. The competition was 2x2km + 2x3km = 10km fastest time wins. Therefore the event organizers were very inclined to shorten their distances to attract the swimmers. The TOWC put a stop to that by making the exact distance the competition irrelevant. The winner gets 300 points per km and all swimmers after that get their loss in time after the winner subtracted from that same 300 points. This way it was also possible to add the 5km and other distances so important for the future. - Promoting 5km, 10km and 25km distances.
Dutch swimming has always been about the 2 and 3km swims. There were a few swims over other distances, but they were kept out of the competition. Marty was instrumental in getting the 5km promoted and later the 10 and 25km. All distances are now frequently part of the events. - Implementing National championships.
One of the first innovations of his chair was the start of National Championships Long Distance and Marathon swimming. The first were organized in 1989 with a 5km freestyle and 5km breaststroke for men and women. Later the 10km was added and a distance for juniors and Masters. The 15-25km National Championships Marathon swimming has been on the calendar since 1992. The last several years at the IJsselmeerzwemmarathon. - Securing quality in events.
Marty always knew that to survive as a sport we had to have quality events. Therefore the observer system was implemented. A group of referees observed swims they did not officiate. They watched and judged the safety procedures and the officials in action. Swims that were low in quality were advised to make changes or withdraw from the national competition. This way the referees also learned from each other. - Calendar Meeting
The yearly meeting to determine the meet calendar with the event organizations was very much a shambles due to organizations competing for the swim dates. The season is not long and we fit in 25-30 events. Two events on one day may effectively result in bankruptcy of both events. Marty guided those meetings as chairman into a cooperative way of working out the calendar. - From calendar meeting to open water congress
The last few years the yearly meet with the organizers has grown into a congress for swimmers, coaches, organizers and officials/judges etc. The meeting has an interesting and broader scope. - Initiating the time trial:
As early as 1992 he experimented with the concept of the time trial. Since 5 years it is an integral part of the national open water competition. - Initiating the open water yearbook
Marty initiated the open water book in 1988. It started as a brochure that had all the info a swimmer or swim secretary needs to have before entering the competition. It comes out every year since and has grown out to be the open water info source. It has now been surpassed by the open water website. - International events
Participation in the EC and WC events when they started was a priority with Marty. The Dutch have good swimmers and he was instrumental to facilitate the participation. The LEN-cup event and the European Youth Championships 2010 in Hoorn he gave a last push in international relations.
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