SECTION 1 Administration

A. The awards are to be administered exclusively by the Association, its President, and/or the Professional Awards Committee.
B. The Professional Awards Chair shall be responsible for the documentation of qualifying data for nominees for all Professional Awards.

SECTION 2 Awards and recognition

A. OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD:

- At each Annual General Meeting, up to five (5) members may be honored with this award.
- The Professional Awards Committee shall be empowered to make additional Outstanding Service Awards whenever circumstances merit such consideration.
- A member may receive this award only once.
- Individual awards will be presented, and the names of the honorees will be displayed in the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

To be considered for this award, members must have:

i. served aquatics in swimming and diving and/or water polo for at least fifteen (15) years,
ii. been a member in good standing of the Association for at least ten (10) years,
iii. had above average success as a competitive aquatic coach, and
iv. shown leadership at the local (city, state) level or at the national level in interscholastic aquatics.

B. HALL OF FAME AWARD: 

This is the highest award given by the Association for leadership in interscholastic aquatics. At each Annual General Meeting, one member may be honored with this award. The NISCA Professional Awards Committee shall be empowered to present an additional Hall of Fame Award whenever circumstances merit such consideration. A member may receive this award only once. The recipient’s name will be engraved on the trophy at the International Swimming Hall of Fame, and an individual award will be presented.  

To be considered for this award, the member must have:

i. been selected for the Outstanding Service Award, and/or shown leadership at the national level in interscholastic aquatics and service to the Association and
ii. served aquatics in swimming, diving, and/or water polo for at least twenty (20) years.
iii. been a member in good standing of the Association for at least fifteen (15)  years.
iv.  had outstanding success as a competitive aquatic coach.

C. COLLEGIATE – SCHOLASTIC AWARD:

This award is presented annually to the interscholastic coach who, or to the organization which, in the estimation of the recipient’s peers, has made the most significant contributions to aquatic sports at the interscholastic level. To be considered for this awards the candidate or organization must have served interscholastic aquatics for at least twenty (20) years. This award is also presented in duplicate by the college coaches to one college coach each year.

D. DAVID H ROBERTSON EXCELLENCE IN COACHING AWARD:

This award is presented to Swimming and Water polo coaches who have won five or more state championships and Diving coaches that have coached four or more different diving state champions.  Eligible coaches must apply in writing to the NISCA Professional Awards Committee to be considered. Team or individual champions may be boys, girls, or a combination of both.

E. LIFE MEMBERSHIP AWARD:

- This award is one of the highest awards given to a member.
- It honors regular members for significant and distinguished service to the Association and aquatic sports over an extensive period of time. 

To be considered for this award a member must have:

i.  been a member in good standing of the Association for at least thirty (30) years and
ii. served as an elected officer or member of the letterhead for at least fourteen (14) years, or
iii. served the Association for at least fourteen (14) years in a capacity other than a member of the letterhead.

F. HONORARY MEMBERSHIP AWARD: This award is the highest award that can be given to a non-Association individual. It honors outstanding and/or long-term contributions in support of the Association’s programs and aquatic sports.       

G.  Award for Excellence in Media Coverage of Interscholastic Aquatic Sports. Work nominated for the award displays creative, in-depth and innovative coverage of high school aquatic sports—especially larger issues and trends related to interscholastic levels of athletic competition.The award is intended to recognize work by daily and weekly newspapers and periodical magazines, local and national television news broadcasts and national news organizations. Work by multimedia and online news outlets is eligible as well. Nomination deadline shall be Jan 31 of the current year. Nominations should include work completed or continuing in the calendar year preceding the Jan. 31 deadline. Both individuals and media organizations are eligible for the award. Anyone may submit an entry to the NISCA Professional Awards Committee Chair on behalf of an individual or organization. There are no application forms. Each entry must be accompanied by a letter describing the nature and result of the work and by the relevant aired or published material and/or other necessary documentation. To facilitate judging, please provide electronic copies of work or links to the work, with the cover letter contextualizing the entry. 

H. SPECIAL SERVICE AWARD: This award honors a regular member for service of a special nature rendered to the Association by the member over a period of at least four (4) years.

I. TWENTY-FIVE YEAR AWARD: This award recognizes members of the Association who have been coaching in aquatics for at least twenty-five (25) years, at least fifteen (15) of which shall have been as a Regular Member. The recipient must apply in writing to the Professional Awards Chair to be considered.

J. PRESIDENT’S AWARD: This award is presented biannually to the retiring President by his successor. (This award is given only in the event the President does not succeed him/herself).

K. COMPLETION OF SERVICE AWARD: This award is presented to a current or past member who has retired from both coaching and teaching.

L. CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION: Presented to non-Association individuals or organizations in appreciation for services to the Association.

M. SPECIAL COMMENDATION AWARD: This award is administered by the Awards Committee and may be presented to a non-NISCA member for significant contributions and/or service to interscholastic aquatics in an area other than coaching.

SECTION 3 Selection

A. The recipients of the Outstanding Service Award, Hall of Fame Award and Collegiate-Scholastic Award will be determined by a vote of the NISCA Professional Awards Committee.
B. All other professional awards are administered by the Professional Awards Committee.