Meet Information

DATES
Competition: Thursday, May 7 - Sunday, May 10 2009.

Pool available for warm-ups Wednesday, May 6 from 3 - 8 p.m.

LOCATION

Clovis North High School Aquatics Complex

2770 E. International Ave.

Fresno, CA 93730
559-285-0489

FACILITIES
The Clovis North Aquatics Complex (Aquatic Center) features two 50-meter by 25-yard outdoor pools with raised concrete seating and covered bleachers, providing combined seating for more than 2,500 people. Opened in 2008, these state-of-the-art pools can be both heated and cooled to maintain a constant racing temperature. The main competition pool is "all deep," with a uniform depth of seven feet. The main pool will be divided into two 25-yard courses, each with eight nine-foot-wide lanes. The adjacent multi-purpose pool will be divided into two 25-yard courses. The racing area is an all-deep course with depths ranging from seven to eighteen feet. It will consist of eight to ten nine-foot wide lanes. The remaining seven to eight lanes will be available for continuous warm-up and warm-down. Parking and admission are free.

ELIGIBILITY
Participants must be registered Masters swimmers and at least 18 years of age as of May 6, 2009. Eighteen year olds must enter the meet by the entry deadline and only eighteen year olds may register with USMS on May 6 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" (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 May 10, 2009, except 18-year-olds, who must be eighteen by May 6, 2009.
Age groups for Individual events: 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39 ... (five year increments as high as necessary). 
Relay events: 18+, 25+, 35+, 45+, etc (10-year increments as high as necessary determined by the age of the youngest relay member).

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 Aquatic Center on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 from 3 to 8 pm, and on all other days from 6:30 am through the end of the day's competition.

SEEDING
All events, with the exception of the 1650, 1000, and 500 freestyles, and 400 IM, will be pre-seeded unless meet management determines that the meet cannot be completed in a timely manner. A decision regarding pre-seeding and deck seeding all 100-yard and 200-yard events will be announced at www.usms.org by April 23, 2009. Two or three courses will be used for all events. Men's heats will precede women's heats for each event; except that men's and women's heats may be seeded together for the 1000 and 1650 frees. The 1650 and 1000 freestyles, and 400 IM will be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time, regardless of age. The 500 free may be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time, regardless of age. All other events will be seeded by age group, with the oldest age groups first, slowest to fastest within each 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 DEADLINES
Positive check in is required for the 400 IM and 500, 1000, and 1650 freestyles. This may be done in person at the registration area or via Internet at www.usms.org according to the following schedule:

Date	Event	In Person Check-In*	Online Check-in*
Thurs., May 7	1000 Free	Wed. 3-8 p.m. - Thurs. by 7 a.m.	Tues. 7 a.m. - Thurs. 7 a.m.
Thurs., May 7	1650 Free	Wed. 3-8 p.m. - Thurs. by 9 a.m.	Tues. 7 a.m. - Thurs. 9 a.m.
Fri., May 8	400 IM	Wed. 3-8 p.m. - Fri. by 7 a.m.	Tues. 7 a.m. - Fri. 7 a.m.
Sat., May 9	500 Free (women)	Wed. 3-8 p.m. - Sat. by 7 a.m.	Tues. 7 a.m. - Sat. 7 a.m.
Sun., May 10	500 Free (men)	Wed. 3-8 p.m. - Sun. by 7 a.m.	Tues. 7 a.m. - Sun. 7 a.m.

*All times are Pacific Daylight Time. If the 100 and 200 events are deck-seeded, then all check-in deadlines will be at 7 am the day the event is swum.

HEAT AND PSYCH SHEETS
Psych sheets for all individual events will be available on the www.usms.org website on or about April 23, 2009. Heat sheets for pre-seeded events will be available online around April 27, 2009. Heat sheets for deck-seeded events will be posted at various places around the pool deck for swimmers after the check-in deadlines.

WARM-UP TIMES
The competition pool will be open for warm-up on Wednesday, May 6, from 3 to 8 pm. On competition days, the competition pool will be open from 6:30 am until 7:50 am and the warm-up pools will be available from 7:50 am until the conclusion of the final event. The competition pool will be open for at least 30 minutes following the last event each day and until at least 7 pm on Thursday, May 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. 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 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 102.15.3). Pull-buoys, kick boards, fins and hand paddles are not allowed in competition or warm-up pools.

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 be represented at the General Meeting in the Clovis North High School Gym adjacent to the Aquatic Center on Wednesday, May 6 at 6 pm. There will be a discussion of matters pertaining 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, will be entitled to hospitality on deck, including food, and will receive a commemorative gift. The cost of one sponsorship is $75, and can be ordered on the meet entry form.

SWIMMERS SOCIAL
There will be a social Saturday May 9, 2009 from 7 to 10 pm at the Fresno Convention Center's historic Valdez Hall. This venue can accommodate up to 2,000 people. The event is subsidized by Clovis Swim Club in appreciation for coming to our meet. There will be a full dinner with grilled lemon and garlic chicken, or vegetarian pasta with marinara for $12, and a children's meal of chicken strips and macaroni and cheese (10 and under) for $8. There will be a no-host bar, music and surprises. We hope everyone will come and dine with their fellow swimmers, family members and meet volunteers. Buses will run from the designated shuttle hotels. Reservations for the social will close with online entries April 9, 2009.

ONLINE ENTRIES
Online entry is encouraged and provides immediate entry confirmation. Visit www.usms.org/comp/scnats09. Online registration will open no later than February 1, 2009 and will close at 11:59 pm (PDT) on April 9, 2009.

ENTRY PROCEDURES
Use the 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 18-year-olds, who must enter the meet by the meet entry deadline but may register at the venue on May 6). A legible copy of the swimmer's Masters registration card must accompany the entry form for foreign swimmers. Failure to include a 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 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.

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 in the past two years. 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. Entrants may swim both the 1000 and 1650 free, if they meet the NQTs for both events.

ENTRY DEADLINE / MAIL ENTRY
Online entries are encouraged and will be accepted until 11:59 pm PDT April 9, 2009. All mailed entries must be postmarked with an official U.S. postmark (no business meters) by March 26, 2009, or received by April 2, 2009. Entries received after this date 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: Short Course Nationals, U.S. Masters Swimming, 8 Rockwood Lane, Londonderry, NH 03053./p>

FEES
Fees are $4 per individual event plus a $40 surcharge per swimmer. 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 form 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 by April 9, 2009. No refunds will be given for events not swum. The $40 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 "United States Masters Swimming."

MAIL ENTRY TO:
Short Course Nationals
USMS National Office
8 Rockwood Lane
Londonderry, NH 03053

RELAY INFORMATION
Swimmers may enter relays until 4 pm 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 events. Relay entry forms are 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.

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.org website will post results.

QUESTIONS?
Contact Dowain Wright at 559-285-0489 (before 9 pm PT) or email 2009scnationals -AT- sbcglobal -DOT- net.