Trumbull Pisces Swim Team Having Land Troubles

With several weeks left in the swimming season, the board of the Trumbull Pisces swimming program needs some rescuing, according to some of its officials.

The recent resignation of President Thomas Collins (which he said was planned) is among the changes in the board. More were aired when former Pisces Board Secretary Donna Smith asked the Parks and Recreation Commission for more transparency in the program.

The main issue is the two sets of by-laws that contradict each other in some areas. A recent internal conflict began when it was discovered six out-of-town residents were swimming in the program, in violation of Recreation rules, said Mary Markham, Recreation Director.

And there is one more complication. The Pisces program was overseen by the Recreation Commission, which has been merged with the Parks Commission. Now Pisces must adapt to new regulations.

Regardless of all the problems, Pisces swimmers will still swim and the out-of-towners can stay. But the Pisces board needs to get ship-shape by the end of the month if it wants to retain its town funding.

First Selectman Tim Herbst, an ex-officio, non-voting member, addressed the issue.

"There are a lot of by-laws circulating," he said, noting that there is a question of proper reporting of finances. All rules should apply uniformly, Herbst added.

"It's a very important program. It involves a lot of kids," he said. A collaborative process is needed to fix the problem, according to Herbst.

"You don't want six kids through no fault of their own to get caught in the cross-fire," the first selectman said.

Now leading the group are interim Co-Presidents Lisa Cerulli and Susan Spillane. Cerulli said the out-of-town students should be allowed to stay. "They're swimming. They're happy. They're competing," she said.

At risk is Pisces' ability to use the Pool. If they are not a recreation program, then they cannot practice there. The group also practices at the pool at the University of Bridgeport using its own money.

In the end, both Pisces and Parks and Recreation members agreed that they wanted to move forward and not rehash all the problems. The group's co-presidents added they would comply with all regulations.

The program's swimmers compete at various skill levels, including at the national level, Pisces officials said. But there is a minimum skill level of swimming freestyle and backstroke to join.

"We can take a kid to the Olympic swim trials. We swim all over the countrty," said Head Swim Coach Mike Ferraro. The program is about 30 years old, by officials' estimation.