DATES
Competition: Wednesday, August 3 - Saturday, August 6, 2011
Pool available for warm-ups Tuesday, August 2 from 1 - 8 p.m.

LOCATION
James E. Martin Aquatics Center
661 Heisman Dr.
Auburn University, AL 36849
334-844-4142

FACILITIES
The Martin Aquatics Center is home to Auburn Masters Swimming, Auburn Aquatics, and the Auburn University swimming and diving team. It has an indoor 50-meter championship pool with eight 9-foot-wide lanes and a water depth that varies from 9 to 10.5 feet. Also included is a 25-yard indoor pool with eight lanes, a 25-yard diving area with six lanes and an outdoor 50-meter pool with 10 lanes for continuous warm-up and warm-down throughout the meet.

WEBSITE
Official meet information, entry forms and online registration are available at usms.org. Additional meet details can be found at the meet host site, auburnmasterswimmers.org.

ELIGIBILITY
Participants must be registered Masters swimmers and at least 18 years of age as of August 2, 2011. Swimmers who will turn 18 before August 2, but after the entry deadline of June 29, must still enter the meet by the entry deadline. In this case the word “pending” may be used in place of a USMS number (for both online and paper entries), and the swimmer must register with USMS upon turning 18 or on August 2 at the venue. Only swimmers who meet this criteria will be allowed to register with USMS at the venue—all other entrants must have a valid USMS membership at time of entry. If a swimmer wishes to affiliate with a Masters club, the club and swimmer must both be registered with the same Local Masters Swimming Committee (LMSC). If there are questions about affiliation, the swimmer shall be entered as “unattached” (see Paper Entries). 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 December 31, 2011, except for 18-year-olds, who must be 18 by August 2, 2011. 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, 200-239, 240-279, 280-319, 320- 359, 360-399 … (40-year increments as high as necessary). The aggregate age of the four relay team members shall determine the age group.

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 Aquatics Centeron Tuesday, August 2, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on all other days from 6:30 a.m. through the end of competition.

SEEDING
Men’s heats will precede women’s heats for each event except for the 800 and 1500 free. Men and women may be seeded together for the 800 and 1500 free and will be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time. The 400 free and 400 IM will be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time for each gender, regardless of age. The 200-meter events may be seeded by entry time, regardless of age, for each gender, if the timeline is too long. The 100-meter events will be seeded by age group with the oldest age groups first, slowest to fastest within each age group, even if these events are deck-seeded. All 50-meter events will be preseeded.

EVENT CHECK-IN
Coaches or teammates may check in online or in person 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.

HEAT AND PSYCH SHEETS
Psych sheets for all individual events will be available at usms.org on or about July 20, 2011. Heat sheets for preseeded events will be available online around July 27, 2011. Heat sheets for deck-seeded events will be posted at various places around the pool deck after the check-in deadline.

WARM-UP TIMES
The competition pool will be open for warm-up on Tuesday, August 2, from 1 p.m. until 8 p.m. On Wednesday the competition pool and warm-up pools will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:50 a.m. and warm-up pools will be available from 7:50 a.m. until conclusion of the final event. In addition, the competition pool will be open for warm-up for 30 minutes following the last heat of the 1500 free or 7 p.m., whichever comes later. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the competition pool and warm-up pools will be open for warmup from 6:30 a.m. until 7:50 a.m. and the warm-up pools will be available from 7:50 a.m. until conclusion of the final event. The competition pool will also be open for warm-up for 30 minutes following the last heat of the first events of the day, the 400 free and 400 IM. The competition pool will remain open for at least 30 minutes following the last event each day.

SCRATCHES
Any swimmer failing to report to the proper lane in the correct heat of an 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 attend the general meeting at the Aquatics Center on Tuesday, August 2, at 5 p.m. There will be a discussion of matters pertinent to the operation and conduct of the meet.

GOLD MEDAL SPONSORSHIP
Gold Medal Sponsors will be recognized in the official program as supporters of Masters swimming. They will receive a commemorative gift and will be entitled to V.I.P. hospitality, which will include breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks. Cost is $75 and sponsorships can be ordered on the meet entry form.

ONLINE ENTRIES
Online entry is encouraged and provides immediate entry confirmation.Online registration will close at midnight CDT on June 29, 2011. The meet surcharge increases from $50 to $60 on June 16 (see Entry Deadline/Variable Surcharge/ Mail Entry for dates applying to both online and paper registration).

PAPER ENTRIES
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 forms for 18-year-olds who turn 18 after the meet deadline but before the first day of the meet). 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 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 stating the new club affiliation and effective date. Paper entries must be received by June 29, 2011.

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). Fees must accompany the entry form and must be paid in U.S. dollars by check or money order. Do not mail 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 at the venue will be required before the entrant is allowed to swim. Refund requests must be in writing and received by June 29, 2011. 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 U.S. Masters Swimming.

ENTRY DEADLINE / VARIABLE SURCHARGE / MAIL ENTRY
All mailed entries must be postmarked with an official U.S. Postal Service postmark (no business meters). Surcharges:

Entry Postmarked:	Entry Received:	Amount:
By June 8 or	By June 15	$50
After June 8 and	June 16–29	$60

Paper entries received after June 29 will be returned to sender. No telephone or email entries will be accepted. Mail entries early. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope 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 to: USMS Summer Nationals, P.O. Box 185, Londonderry, NH 03053-0185.

NATIONAL QUALIFYING TIMES / NUMBER OF EVENTS / SIXTH EVENT
Swimmers 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 in the past two years). Exception: Competitors entering the 1500 free must meet the NQT. All swimmers are limited to three events per day. All entries must include an entry time. If the meet is deemed too large, an athlete's sixth event will be dropped. On the entry form, indicate this event with a "6" in the designated column.

DISTANCE EVENTS
Swimmers may enter either the 800 or the 1500 free but not both. Swimmers entering the 1500 free must meet the NQT.

RELAY INFORMATION
Swimmers can enter relays until 4 p.m. on the day before the relay is scheduled. Each competitor is allowed to swim only one freestyle relay, one medley relay, one mixed freestyle relay and one mixed medley relay. 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. Relay entry fee is in addition to individual entry fees. Relay entry forms will be available soon.