2013 Marriott U.S. Masters Swimming Summer National Championship

Sanctioned by the Southern Pacific LMSC for USMS Inc.
Sanction Number 333-S001

Location

Marguerite Aquatic Center
27474 Casta Del Sol
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
949-380-2552

Dates

Competition: Wednesday, August 7 - Sunday, August 11
Pool available for warm-ups Tuesday, August 6 from 12 - 7 p.m.

Facilities

The Marguerite Aquatic Center is home to the Mission Viejo Nadadores. It has an outdoor 50-meter championship pool with eight, 9-foot-wide lanes and a water depth of 2 to 3.5 meters. Also included is a 25-meter by 25-yard diving pool with eight lanes and a 25-yard, four-lane instructional pool for continuous warmup during the meet.

Eligibility

Participants must be registered Masters swimmers and at least 18 years of age as of August 6, 2013. Eighteen-year-olds must enter the meet by the entry deadline and only 18-year-olds may register with USMS on August 6, 2013, 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 Swimming Committee (LMSC). If there are questions about affiliation, the swimmer shall be entered as "unattached." (See Entry Procedures.) 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, 2013, except for 18-year-olds, who must be 18 by August 6, 2013. Age groups for individual events: 18–24, 25–29, 30–34, 35–39 … (five-year increments as high as necessary); for 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 Marguerite Aquatic Center on August 6 from 12 p.m. to 7 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, and the swimmer will not be permitted to swim that event at another time.

Check-In Deadlines

Positive check-in is required for the 400 IM and 400, 800, and 1500 freestyles, and will be required for the 100s and 200s if it is determined that deck seeding is necessary. Check-in may be done in person at the registration area or via Internet at usms.org according to the following schedule:

Date	Event	In-Person Check-in*	Online Check-in*
Wednesday, August 7	1500 freestyle	Tues. 12–7 p.m.–Wed. by 7 a.m.	Mon. 7 a.m–Wed. by 7 a.m.
Friday, August 9	800 freestyle	Tues. 12–7 p.m.–Fri. by 9 a.m.	Mon. 7 a.m.–Fri. by 9 a.m.
Saturday, August 10	400 IM	Tues. 12–7 p.m.–Sat. by 7 a.m.	Mon. 7 a.m.–Sat. by 7 a.m.
Sunday, August 11	400 freestyle	Tues. 12–7 p.m.–Sun. by 9 a.m.	Mon. 7 a.m.–Sun. by 9 a.m.

*All times are Pacific Daylight Time. If the 100 and 200 events are deck seeded, then their check-in deadlines will be 7:00 a.m. on the day the event is swum.

Heat and Psych Sheets

Psych sheets for all individual events will be available on the usms.org website on or about July 22. Heat sheets for preseeded events will be available online around July 29. Heat sheets for deck-seeded events will be posted at various places around the pool deck for swimmers after the check-in deadlines.

Meet Start Times

The competition will start at 8 a.m. every day unless it is determined that the timeline will go too late into the day; then competition may start as early as 7:30 a.m. on any day. Meet start times will be announced at usms.org by July 29. Warm-ups in the competition pool will be shortened if necessary to accommodate an earlier start time.

Warm-up Times

The competition pool will be open for warm-up on Tuesday, August 6, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. On competition days, the competition pool will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:50 a.m. and the warm-up pools will be available from 6:30 a.m. until the conclusion of the final event. The competition pool will reopen for a 30-minute warm-up on Saturday after the 400 IM. The competition pool will be open for at least 30 minutes following the last event each day and until at least 7 p.m. on August 7.

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. One or two lanes shall be designated as one-way sprint lanes during the pre-meet warm-up sessions in the competition pools 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 102.13.3). Pull-buoys, kickboards, fins, hand paddles, and snorkels 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 an event will be scratched from that event and will not be permitted to swim that event at another time.

General Meeting

All swimmers, coaches, and officials are encouraged to attend or be represented at a general meeting in the grandstands at the Marguerite Aquatic Center on Tuesday, August 6, at 6 p.m. Matters pertinent to the operation and conduct of the meet will be discussed.

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 VIP hospitality, which will include breakfast (7–10 a.m.), lunch (11 a.m.–2 p.m.), snacks, and drinks. Cost is $85, and the sponshorship can be ordered on the meet entry form.

Online Entries

Online entry is encouraged and provides immediate entry confirmation. Online entry will close at midnight PDT on July 3, 2013. The meet surcharge increases from $50 to $60 on June 13, 2013 (see Entry Deadline/Variable Surcharge/Mail Entry for dates applying to both online and paper entries).

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 18-year-olds who turn 18 after the meet deadline, but before the first day of the meet, who must enter the meet by the meet entry deadline, but may register at the venue on August 6, 2013). A legible copy of the swimmer's Masters registration card must accompany the entry form for foreign swimmers. A swimmer whose club affiliation differs from what is listed on his or 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.

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 will be required before the entrant is allowed to swim. Refund requests must be received in writing (USPS or email) by July 10, 2013. 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 by the entry deadline. All fees should be payable to "U.S. Masters Swimming."

Entry Deadline / Variable Surcharge / Mail Entry

Online entries are encouraged and will be accepted until midnight PDT on July 3, 2013. All mailed entries must be postmarked with an official U.S. postmark (no business meters).
Entry postmarked by June 5 or entry received by June 12, 2013:
Surcharge $50
-or-
Entry postmarked after June 5 or entry received between June 13 and July 3, 2013:
Surcharge $60
Entries received after July 3, 2013, 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

Competitors may enter up to three individual events without meeting the national qualifying time, or a maximum of six events if they meet the NQT in three of the events (i.e., have swum a time equal to or better than the NQT during the past two years.) Exception: Swimmers may enter both the 800 and 1500; however, all swimmers entering the 800 free must meet the NQT. All swimmers are limited to three individual 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. On the entry form, indicate this event with a "6" in the designated column. If a swimmer enters an event with a time significantly slower or faster than that swimmer's recorded time in the previous two years, the meet director may, after a discussion with the swimmer, change the seed time to a realistic time.

Distance Events (800/1500)

Swimmers may enter both the 800 and 1500; however, all swimmers entering the 800 free must meet the NQT.

Relay Information

Swimmers can enter relays until 3 p.m. on the day before the relay is scheduled. Each competitor shall be 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 event fees. Relay entry forms are available for download at usms.org.

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 "U.S. Masters Swimming 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 combined clubs in the Regional and Local Club divisions.

Final Results

Complete final results may be ordered with your online entry. Cost will be $15.00 per copy. The usms.org website will post complete results, including splits.

Time Verification (Formerly OVCs)

Swimmers needing verification of times or wishing to have their times entered into the USA Swimming SWIMS Database (for entry into USA-S national meets) should complete a form at the meet prior to the swim. Contact the administrative referee at the meet.

Service Animals

Please contact the meet director by July 3, 2013, if you require the use of a service animal. Animals other than service animals will not be permitted on deck at the venue.

Questions / Additional Information

Contact Meet Director Mark Moore