(editor's note: This report was posted by Bob Groseth on the college swimming website and reprinted with Groseth's permission. His formal testimony to the Commission is also shared with his support).    I have just returned from the meeting in Atlanta. In my opinion, it went very well. I feel that the members on the Commission are dedicated, as I am, to preserving the elements in Title IX that have given opportunities to our women and adjusting those that have been causing trouble for our men. The discussions for the most part were civil and instructive. Although there were many statistics, that were misleading and just plain wrong, expressed by both sides of the issue, the members on the Commission saw through the B.S.    The Athletes that spoke were very impressive and persuasive. There were women who got up and spoke about what Title IX had done for them and that it made them feel uncomfortable that it was now hurting Men's sports. The men were high in their praise of Title IX even when expressing the pain and sense of loss they felt when their programs were eliminated. As one of the Commissioner's expressed later " If we left it up to them - they would probably solve it".    Sadly, swimming was not well represented. Besides myself, as a member of one of the panels, only Randy Hartley, a former ULCA swimmer living in Atlanta, spoke. He was very articulate and persuasive. This Commission is going to make decisions that will have more impact on our sport than any decision since Title IX. While I believe there are changes that need to be made in the regulations and enforcement of Title IX, swimming people must enter the discussion. It is simply too important for our voice not to be heard.    I am, like a lot of you, often critical and cynical about the Government process. However, it was very impressive to see the effort and expense by the Department of Education to set up this Commission. Besides the members of the Commission, there were at least another 12 staff members there to facilitate the meetings. If for no other reason, our swimmers should attend these meetings to see how Government works.    Frankly, I don't think the Commission wants to hear a lot of Statistics. They want to hear from people that have been or are going to be affected by the law - Athletes, Coaches and Parents. Use the power of your offices and your publications to encourage swimmers, coaches and parents to become part of this historic process.To give you an example, there were four wrestlers that drove from East Lansing, Michigan to speak for five minutes(they later were interviewed by 60 minutes). There was a gymnast who drove from Boise, Idaho - again to speak for five minutes. A parent drove from Texas to speak. The President of Wrestling and Executive Director of Gymnastics were there as well as the President of the College Football coaches and the Women's Basketball coaches.    If teams continue to be cut it is going to effect the grass - roots. Look at what's happening to the Men now. In the future, do you think Universities are going to build competitive swimming pools for one team? High Schools in Georgia can't find coaches for Wrestling and Gymnastics because there are no Colleges or Universities in the Region that sponsor those sports. In Kansas, Nebraska there are no Men's programs - we could be looking at having less and less candidates in the coaching pool. High School pools with no High School teams. That should make the School Districts want to invest in a new pool.    (below is Groseth's official testimony)    The Secretary's Commission on Athletic Opportunity  Public Meeting August 27, 2002  Testimony   Bob Groseth - Northwestern University    Co-Chairwoman Cooper, Co-Chairman Leland and members of the Commission, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this morning. While there are many issues before the commission over the next few months I would like to concentrate on roster management and the capping of teams. I will not bore you with numbers and statistics. You have all, I'm sure, made yourself familiar with the facts. I hope to tell you some personal stories and challenge the Commission to make recommendations that will restore the public's trust in Title IX.    I represent a sport that treats genders equally. We have the same rules, order of events, season etc. We train the same and in some schools train together. In fact, if you have watched any swim meets lately we even wear the same suits.  Swimming has benefited from Title IX as much as any sport. Yet, there are many in the swimming community upset with the number of college teams that have been dropped due to Title IX.  I know there has been an effort to say that Title IX is not at fault, but in fact, the interpretation and enforcement of Title IX has been a major factor in the loss of Men's swimming teams in the last 20 years. The loss of teams and the corresponding loss of opportunities have not gone unnoticed.    USA Swimming has done long-range studies of their registered swimmers on the participation rates of boys and girls for the last 40 years. For most of the years, up to about 1980, the percentages were 54% boys and 46% girls. The growth in total numbers was about equal. At first, when Men's college programs got cut, the swimmers would simple transfer to another school and while the number of teams went down the total numbers at the college level stayed the same. Squad sizes increased. Then we started hearing about caps and roster management. Male swimmers had no place to go.  Correspondingly the number of boys entering the sport declined as a percentage of the total and in fact boys experienced and are experiencing a negative growth of registered USA swimmers. Their growth parallels the loss of opportunity at the college level. At this time the percentages are reversed with the girls at 54% and the boys at 46%. In 1980 one out of every nine male swimmers who swam in high school went on to swim in college. Now that number is one out of every twelve. The boys haven't lost interest  they have lost a place to go.     Over the past few years, as the number of College teams for Men have gone down, the swimming community has started to express concern. When the Wrestling Coaches filed their suit the College Swimming Coaches Association of American (CSCAA) issued a statement dated March 6, 2002. Later, when the USOC had a meeting to discuss "The Decline of Olympic Sports Programs in College Athletics" Chuck Wielgus, USA Swimming Executive Director sent a memo on June 10, 2002 to the President of the USOC on the subject. Last week on August 21, 2002, John Leonard, Executive Director of the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA), sent an open letter to the USOC president about Title IX's unintended consequences.     CSCAA  Statement: March 6,2002   NEWS RELEASE  The College Swimming Coaches Association of America, Inc. response to the National Wrestling Coaches Association vs. the United States Department of Education:    The College Swimming Coaches Association of America, CSCAA Executive Board and Board of Directors are interested in the issues raised by the legal petition filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia by the National Wrestling Coaches Association on behalf of Bucknell Wrestling.    College swimming has benefited from title IX. We recognize it as the single most important legislative act affecting women's sports. However we are concerned about the interpretation and manner of implementation of Title IX by the Department of Education. We believe that Title IX calls for equal opportunities for both men and women. We are against limiting opportunities for men in athletics that have occurred because the Department of Education has declared "proportionality" as a "safe harbor" for implementation of Title IX. Using only the " Proportionality Test ", as indicated in the 1996 "Clarification" may create an unhealthy environment not envisioned by the drafters of Title IX.    The Department of Education's interpretation has taken a law that prohibits gender discrimination to regulations that encourage the capping or cutting of teams to create "prop