Dear Editor,
I want to express my gratitude for the invaluable local reporting your paper provides, shedding light on the issues affecting our community. In particular, I would like to extend my appreciation to Judy Abel, whose journalism has been instrumental in highlighting a matter of significance to myself and many others – the establishment of the Malibu Marlins Swim Club. Regrettably, in last week’s article about the division in the Malibu swimming community, Ms. Abel extensively quoted Joe Sichta, a new Malibu Aquatics Foundation (MAF) board member, on matters he appeared to be ill-informed about. Mr. Sichta mentions a supposed four-hour meeting between members of the MAF board and concerned swimmers and parents. Such a meeting never took place. During the second protest/boycott of the Blue Group training following Coach Erik’s dismissal, three individuals claiming to be MAF board members arrived but refrained from interacting with swimmers and parents. They declined to answer questions, only stating that “this is our (meaning their) call to make” and “there is nothing you can do about it.” They provided no justification for the firing and completely dismissed the idea of listening to the Seawolves “members” in any meaningful way. This so-called meeting, if it can even be called that, lasted no longer than 30 minutes. The notion that anyone from the MAF dedicated four hours to such a meeting is as ludicrous as the notion that they feared for their safety when dealing with 12-year-old swimmers and their parents.
Everything Mr. Sichta asserts is simply a rationalization for what he eventually admits in the article: “We’re not running a democracy. We’re running a swim team.” This statement encapsulates the core issue at hand. A non-elected, unaccountable board that only serves its own interests. A handful of parent-directors manage the MAF in a manner they believe benefits their own children, while disregarding the other parents. Such individuals can be found in all sports, often rushing on the soccer field to berate coaches or referees. However, in this particular case, they wield autocratic control over the club and even ignore the results of their own survey, which showed overwhelming support for Coach Erik. Their refusal to acknowledge our concerns or even identify themselves – every email was signed ‘The Board’, and I still don’t know identities of all the board members, except for Mr. Sichta, who appears to have been recently added – is precisely why we were forced to establish a new club. Our goal is to create an organization structure designed to be responsive to its members, aligning with the model that USA Swimming deems ideal because it serves its members.
The more pressing issue, one I hope your publication will continue to cover, is not the ongoing dispute between the Seawolves and the Marlins, but rather the Seawolves’ efforts to obstruct the Marlins’ access to the Malibu Community Pool. There is ample space for both clubs to coexist, but regrettably, the Seawolves seem determined to stifle competition, and the city’s recreation staff is more inclined to appease its vendor than to fulfill its duty to the citizens it serves. Fortunately, despite the obstacles posed by the city and the Seawolves, the Marlins have managed to secure some pool time directly from the school district. While these hours, from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m., may not be ideal for many of our swimmers due to commitments like siblings or attending other schools, they do afford us an alternative and a glimmer of hope for our club’s future. Your continued coverage of these critical issues would be invaluable in fostering transparency and accountability within our community.
Robert Brinkmann, Malibu