2017 Nationwide U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championship

Sanctioned by the Southern Pacific LMSC for USMS Inc.  Sanction Number 337-S001

Dates

Competition days April 27 - 30, 2017
Pool open for warm-up April 26 from 3-7 p.m.

Location

Riverside Aquatics Complex
4800 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, CA 92506
951-222-8000

Facility

The Riverside Aquatics Complex is an outdoor venue composed of a 65-meter by 25-yard competition pool with diving well and two 25-yard warm-up pools. The competition pool will be divided into two 25-yard courses: each course with nine lanes measuring 8'3" wide and a minimum water depth of 8 feet throughout to a maximum of 13 feet in lanes near the diving well. Four warm-up lanes in the attached diving well of the competition pool will be open for continuous warm-up and warm-down during the meet. The six-lane and five-lane warm-up pools adjacent to the competition pool will also be available for warm-up or warm-down. The complex contains bleacher seating for a total capacity of 2,000 people. Canopies will be set up in several areas of the deck, which may be rented for the duration of the event.

The length of the competition courses without a bulkhead is in compliance and on file with USMS in accordance with articles 105.1.7 and 107.2.1.

Eligibility

Participants must be registered Masters swimmers and at least 18 years of age as of April 26, 2017. Swimmers turning 18 after the meet entry deadline and by April 26, 2017, must enter the meet by the meet entry deadline and register for USMS either on or before April 26, 2017.

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 will be entered with the affiliation “UC.” (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 April 30, 2017, except for 18-year-olds, who must be 18 by April 26, 2017. 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 Riverside Aquatics Complex pool deck on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and on all other days from 6:30 a.m. through the end of competition.

Seeding

Two courses will be used for all events. All events 400-yards and longer will be deck seeded. 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 freestyles. The 1000and 1650 freestyles will be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time, regardless of age. The 500 free and 400 IM may be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time, regardless of age. The 200-yard events may be deck seeded and may be seeded by entry time, regardless of age, for each gender, if the timeline is too long. All 50 and 100 events will be preseeded by age group, with the oldest age groups first, slowest to fastest within each group. All seeding decisions will be announced at usms.org by April 3, 2017.

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 500, 1000, and 1650 freeestyles, and will be required for the 200s if it is determined that deck seeding is necessary. Check-in may be done in person at the registration area or via the online event check-in system according to the following schedule:

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

Meet Roster

A real-time meet roster including name, age, gender, and club will be available on the meet roster page. Please verify your information and contact meetentry@usms.org with any concerns by March 27, 2017.

Heat and Psych Sheets

Psych sheets for all individual events will be available on the usms.org website on or about April 3, 2017. Heat sheets for preseeded events will be available online around April 14, 2017. Heat sheets for deck-seeded events will be posted at various places around the pool deck and on Meet Mobile 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 April 10, 2017. 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 Wednesday, April 26, 2017, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. On competition days, the competition pool will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:45 a.m. and the warm-up pools will be available from 7:30 a.m. until the conclusion of the final event each day. The competition pool will also be open for warm-up for 30 minutes following the last heat of the 500 freestyle and 400 IM events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The competition pool will be open for at least 30 minutes following the last event each day. On Thursday, April 27, 2017, the competition pool will remain open until 5:00 p.m. or 30 minutes following the last heat of the 1000 free, whichever is later.

Warm-up Procedure

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. A few lanes will be designated as one-way sprint lanes during 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.

Hospitality

Athletes may purchase a VIP Hospitality Meal Pass for $100 at the host's event store. The all-event pass will include a hot breakfast, lunch, as well as snacks and drinks throughout the meet hours from Thursday through Sunday.

Online Entries

Online entry is encouraged and provides immediate entry confirmation. Online entry will open no later than February 15, 2017 and will close at 11:59 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on March 27, 2017. The meet surcharge increases from $55 to $65 Pacific Standard Time (PST) on March 7, 2017 (see Entry Deadline/Variable Surcharge/Mail Entry for dates applying to both online and paper registration).

Paper Entries

Paper entry forms can be downloaded here, or will be mailed upon request by calling 1-800-550-SWIM (7946)..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. 18-year-olds who will turn 18 after the meet entry deadline and before the first day of the meet must enter the meet by the meet entry deadline, and must register with USMS either before or on April 26, 2017. A legible copy of a foreign swimmer’s Masters registration card must accompany the entry form. 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 April 3, 2017. 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 11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on March 27, 2017. If entry is received by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) on March 6, 2017, the surcharge is $55. If entry is received after March 6, 2017, the surcharge is $65. Entries received after March 27, 2017, will be returned to sender. No telephone or email entries will be accepted. Mail paper 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 paper entries to: USMS Spring 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 (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. Exception: Competitors entering the 1650 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. No refunds will be given if the 6th event is dropped. A decision on the sixth event will be announced at usms.org by March 31, 2017. 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 seeded time to a realistic time.

Distance Events (1000/1650)

All competitors entering the 1650 freestyle must meet the NQT. Competitors may enter both the 1000 freestyle and the 1650 free distance events if they meet the NQT in the 1650.  

Relay Information

Swimmers can enter relays until 3 p.m. on the day before the relay is scheduled. Relay only swimmers, i.e. not entered in an individual event, must have entered the meet and paid the surcharge by the meet entry deadline. 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 $16. 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 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.

Club Scoring

Club scoring will be tabulated in three categories: men, women, and combined for the Local Club and Regional Club divisions. 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 Local Club division and top five combined clubs in the Regional division.

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 wishing to have times entered into SWIMS (USA Swimming times database) must complete a form at the meet prior to the swim. Contact the administrative referee at the meet.

Hearing Impaired Start Assistance

Any athlete with a hearing impairment may request starting assistance from the meet referee.  The request must be made prior to the start of the meet. If portable strobes are available, one may be located in a manner to provide a visual aid. Otherwise, another appropriate method may be employed to visually assist the affected swimmer. Please contact the meet director by the meet entry deadline if you require this assistance.

Service Animals

Please contact the meet director by March 27, 2017, if you require the use of a service animal. Animals other than service animals will not be permitted on deck at the venue.

Meet Director

Kevin Timko kevintimkoraa@gmail.com 951-941-7949