Meet Information

DATES

Competition: Thursday, August 6 - Monday, August 10 2009.Pool available for warm-ups Wednesday, August 5 from 3 - 8 p.m.

LOCATION
IU Natatorium on the IUPUI Campus

901 W. New York Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202
317-274-3518

FACILITIES
The main competition pool of the IU Natatorium is 50 meters, with eight racing lanes. Two moveable bulkheads allow for long or short course events, as well as hosting water polo and synchronized swimming. The seating capacity of the natatorium is 4,700, making it the largest indoor pool in the United States. There is also room for additional seating of 1,500 on deck. The depth of the pool is nine feet at the ends and 10 feet at center of pool. Water temperature is kept at 79° F. The main pool contains six underwater windows for television and coaching analysis. There have been more than 90 National records and 12 World records set in the pool to date.

ELIGIBILITY
The Championships are open to any registered Masters swimmer at least 18 years of age as of August 5, 2009. Eighteen-year-olds must enter the meet by the entry deadline and only 18-year-olds may register with USMS on August 5 at the venue. If a swimmer wishes to affiliate with a Masters club, the club and swimmer must both be registered with the same Local Masters Swim Committee (LMSC). If there are questions about affiliation, the swimmer shall be entered as "unattached". Please clear up affiliation questions early by contacting the meet director. International entries must include a copy of the swimmer's Masters Swimming registration card and fees in U.S. dollars.

AGE GROUPS
Age for the meet is determined as of Dec. 31, 2009, except that 18 year olds must be 18 by August 5, 2009.
Age groups for Individual events: 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39 ... (five year increments as high as necessary). 
Relay events: 72-99, 100-119, 120-159, 160-199, ... (sum of relay swimmer ages in 40-year increments as high as is necessary).

REGISTRATION
Prior to warm-ups or competition, all participants must register at the meet by signing an emergency card, safety information statement, and liability release. Registration will be held at the IU Natatorium on IUPUI campus on Wednesday, August 5, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Thursday, August 6 through Monday, August 10 from 6:30 a.m. until the end of each day's competition.

SEEDING
All 50 meter events will be pre-seeded. All other events may be deck seeded by gender, time and age group. Men's heats will precede women's heats for each event except for the 400, 800 and 1500 Free. Men and women will be seeded together for the 800 and 1500 Free and will be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time regardless of age or gender. Men and women may be seeded together for the 400 Free, and would be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time, regardless of age or gender. The 400 IM will be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time for each sex, regardless of age. All other events will be seeded by age group with the oldest age groups first, slowest to fastest within each age group.

CHECK-IN
Coaches or teammates may check in for those swimmers whose travel plans do not permit check-in by the deadlines. Failure to check in will result in the swimmer being scratched from the event.

CHECK-IN FOR EVENTS 200 METERS AND LONGER
Positive check-in is required separately for all individual events 200 meters and longer. If the meet timeline allows, the host will pre-seed the 100 and/or 200 meter events and only require check-in for the 400 IM, 400 Free, 800 Free and 1500 Free, which may be done in person in the registration area, or via internet at www.usms.org. The decision on whether to pre-seed an event will be listed on the Internet at www.usms.org by July 24, 2009.

CHECK-IN DEADLINES
For each of the following events, online check-in opens Tuesday, Aug. 4 at noon EDT* and closes at the same time as on-site deadlines. On-site check-in for all events will open Wednesday, Aug. 5 at noon EDT and will close according to the following schedule:

Date	Event	In Person/Online Check-in Deadline*
Thurs., Aug. 6	400 IM All 200s	7 a.m. 9 a.m.
Fri., Aug. 7	400 Free (women) All 200s	7 a.m. 9 a.m.
Sat., Aug. 8	Relay Day	All Relay Entries Due Thurs., Aug. 6, by 4 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 9	400 Free (men) All 200s	7 a.m. 9 a.m.
Mon., Aug. 10	1500 Free 800 Free	7 a.m. 10 a.m.

* All times are Eastern Daylight Time (PDT)

HEAT AND PSYCH SHEETS
Psych sheets for all individual events will be available on the usms.org website on or about July 18, 2009. Heat sheets for pre-seeded events will be available online around July 25, 2009. Heat sheets for deck-seeded events will be posted at various places around the pool for swimmers after the check-in deadlines.

WARM-UP TIMES
The competition pool will be open for warm-ups on Wednesday, August 5 from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m. On competition days, the competition pool will be open for warm-ups from 6:30 a.m. until 7:20 a.m. The warm-up pool will be available from 7:20 a.m. until conclusion of the final event. On Thursday, Friday and Sunday, the competition pool will also be open for warm-up for 30 minutes following the last heat of the first event, the 400 IM and 400 Free. The competition pool will be open for 30 minutes following the last event each day.

WARM-UP PROCEDURES
Swimmers must enter the pool feet first in a cautious and controlled manner. No diving or backstroke starts will be allowed, except in designated sprint lanes. No diving or backstroke starts will be allowed in the dedicated warm-up lanes. One or two lanes shall be designated as one-way sprint lanes during the pre-meet warm-up sessions in the competition pool only. Any swimmer, who acts in an unsportsmanlike or unsafe manner within the swimming venue, may be considered for appropriate action or penalty by the referee (rule 102.15.3). Pull-buoys, kick boards, fins and hand paddles are not allowed in the competition or warm-up pools.

SCRATCHES
Any swimmer failing to report to the proper lane in the correct heat of his or her event shall be scratched from that event, and shall not be permitted to swim that event at another time.

GENERAL MEETING
All swimmers, coaches, and officials should be represented at the general meeting at the IU Natatorium on Wednesday, August 5 at 6 p.m. Matters pertinent to the operation and conduct of the meet will be discussed.

GOLD MEDAL PARTNERS
Gold Medal Partners will be recognized in the official program as supporters of Masters swimming. All Partners will receive a commemorative gift and will be entitled to V.I.P. hospitality. The entire proceeds from the Gold Medal Partners will go towards funding a "Splash Pad" for kids at the Arthur Jordan YMCA (501(c)3 Corporation). The Gold Medal Partnership will be tax deductible and each partner will receive a letter from the YMCA designating the contribution for tax purposes. Cost of one Partnership will be $80. Order partnerships on the meet entry form.

SPECIAL EVENTS
The Indianapolis Indians, Triple A minor league baseball team will be playing the Charlotte Knights at Victory Field on August 7. We are planning a special event at the game in the Coors Light Picnic Area in Right Field. YMCA Indy SwimFit will host a buffet (5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.), reserved seats for the game, and fireworks after the game for only $20 a ticket. Victory Field is within walking distance of the IU Natatorium and our headquarter hotels. Victory Field is rated the best minor league ballpark in the country � a great setting for catching up with your friends even if you do not like baseball.

ENTRY PROCEDURES
Use official entry form or a photocopy of the entire form. Read all instructions and fill out the form completely. Incomplete forms or forms with "pending" in place of a USMS registration number will be rejected (except for 18 year olds who must enter by the meet entry deadline but may register with USMS at the venue on August 5). A legible copy of the swimmer's Masters registration card must accompany the entry form for international entrants. Failure to include a copy of the Masters registration card may result in the swimmer being charged a fee before being allowed to compete. A USMS swimmer whose club affiliation differs from what is listed on his/her USMS registration card must send either a new USMS registration card or a letter from the local registrar with the new club affiliation and effective date.

ONLINE ENTRIES
Online entries are encouraged. This method provides immediate confirmation that the entry has been received.

NATIONAL QUALIFYING TIMES / NUMBER OF EVENTS / SIXTH EVENT
Competitors may enter up to three events without meeting the national qualifying time (NQT), or a maximum of six events if they meet the NQTs, (i.e. have swum a time equal to or better than the NQTs during the past two years.) All swimmers are limited to three events per day. All events must include an entry time. If the meet is deemed too large, an athlete's sixth event will be dropped. No refunds will be given for the dropped event. On the entry form, indicate this event with a "6" in the designated column. Distance Events: Swimmers may enter only the 800 or 1500 free but not both.

FEES
Fees are $4 per individual event plus a surcharge per swimmer. The surcharge varies according to date of entry. (See Entry Deadline/Variable Surcharge/Mail Entry below). Fees must accompany the entry form and must be paid in U.S. dollars by check or money order. Do not send cash. The entry is not complete until the check has cleared the bank. If there are questions about an entrant's check, full cash payment in U.S. dollars will be required before the entrant is allowed to swim. Refund requests must be in writing and received by July 3, 2009. No refunds will be given for events not swum. The surcharge also applies to relay swimmers not entered in an individual event. Relay-only swimmers must submit an entry form with payment of the surcharge by the entry deadlines. All fees should be payable to "United States Masters Swimming."

ENTRY DEADLINE / VARIABLE SURCHARGE / MAIL ENTRY
All U.S. entries must be postmarked with an official US postmark (no business meters).

SURCHARGE:
Entry Postmarked by: June 16, or
Entry Received by: June 23
Amount: $40

SURCHARGE:
Entry Postmarked by: June 23, or
Entry Received by: July 3
Amount: $50

Entries received after July 3 will be returned to sender. Online entries are encouraged and will be accepted until midnight EDT on July 3. No telephone or email entries will be accepted. Mail entries early. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with entry for proof of receipt. Do not send certified or overnight mail requiring a signature. Photocopy completed entry forms and personal checks for your records and verification.

MAIL ENTRY TO:
Long Course Nationals
U.S. Masters Swimming
8 Rockwood Lane
Londonderry, NH 03053

RELAY DAY INFORMATION
This year, ALL relays will be swum on Saturday, August 8, 2009. All relay entries are due by 4 p.m. on Thursday, August 6, 2009. Each competitor will be allowed to swim up to four relay events, but may participate in one age group only in each event. The entry fee for each relay is $12. Relay entries may be submitted at the relay desk in the registration area. Each of the four members of any relay team must be registered with the same Masters club. The relay entry fee is in addition to individual events. Relay entry forms will be available for download here.

SCORING
Individual Events: 11-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Relays: 22-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2.

TEAM SCORING
Team scoring will be tabulated in three categories: Men, Women, and Combined. Mixed relays score points only in the Combined category.

AWARDS
Medals will be awarded for first through 10th places in each age group. A USMS Championship Patch will be given to each individual and relay team member for the first event won. Swimmers winning more than one event may purchase additional patches. Unclaimed awards will not be mailed unless arrangements are made at the meet. There will be a charge for mailing awards. Awards will be presented to the top ten teams in each category (Men, Women, and Combined).

FINAL RESULTS
Complete final results may be ordered in advance or at the Awards Table during the meet. Cost will be $15.00 per copy. The USMS website will post results.

TIME VERIFICATION (FORMERLY OVCs)
Swimmers needing verification of time(s) or wish their times to be entered into the USA Swimming SWIMS Database (for entry into USA-S national meets) should complete a form at the meet and prior to the swim. Contact the Administrative Referee at the meet.

QUESTIONS?
Contact Kris Houchens at 317-430-4854, or by email at krishouchens@hotmail.com; or Mel Goldstein at 317-253-8289. or at goldsteinmel@sbcglobal.net.