Sources tell SwimSwam that USA Swimming’s Board of Directors will hold an election on Saturday for its next Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, who will then take over as Board Chair from 2025-29.
The sources said that four of the 15 Board members are running for Vice Chair: Kathleen Fish, Kathleen Prindle, Katy Arris-Wilson, and Natalie Coughlin. Current Board Chair Chris Brearton served as Vice Chair from 2019-21 before starting a four-year term as Board Chair in 2021. Any of those candidates can withdraw their names at any point before the election.
Fish took over for Brearton as Vice Chair in 2021. Elected to a four-year term on the Board in 2020, she is also Chair of the Governance Committee made up of Michelle Steinfeld, Maya Dirado, and Bill Schalz. Fish competed collegiately at Michigan State and later served as board member for the Cincinnati Marlins.
Coughlin, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, was reelected to her second four-year term as an Athlete Representative on the Board last year. The 41-year-old Cal graduate is one of five “10-Year Athletes” on the Board who have represented the U.S. at a major international meet over the past decade along with Maya Dirado, Anthony Ervin, Katie Meili, and Ashley Twichell.
Coughlin is also Chair of the Board’s Executive Compensation Committee (ECC) this year featuring Ira Klein, Bob Vincent, and Eric Skufca. The ECC is responsible for determining the salary of USA Swimming CEO Tim Hinchey.
Prindle was recently reelected to a second four-year Board term in September. She has decades of experience as a longtime Florida prep coach and former vice president of the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA). Last year, Prindle served as head coach for USA Swimming’s Boys National Select Camp. Over the past 30-plus years, she has coached at U.S. Olympic Team Trials, World Aquatics Swimming Championships, and Olympic Games, training national qualifiers from more than 18 countries.
Arris-Wilson is a former U.S. National Teamer (1987-1992) and NCAA champion (1992 in the 1650 free) who was elected to the Board last year. She is a current swim parent who also acts as president emeritus on Tide Swimming’s board of directors.
USA Swimming did not respond to SwimSwam’s request for additional information about Saturday’s election.
