Are swimmers permitted to use times swum in USMS meets for entry purposes in USA-Swimming meets?
Times swum in USMS meets are not automatically accepted for reportable purposes by USA-Swimming.
USA-Swimming has various provisions for accepting times swum in meets that are not sanctioned, including “approved” and “observed” meets. “Approved” meets are swum under USA-Swimming rules, but may be open to swimmers who are not members of USA-Swimming. “Observed” meets are meets which are swum under other rules, but are observed by USA-Swimming officials to determine if the swims meet the requirements for official time use. Examples of “observed” meets may be NCAA or High School Championship meets.
USMS rules are identical to USA-Swimming rules for freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke. The rules vary for butterfly to allow the use of breaststroke kick. Therefore, butterfly and Individual Medley swims will need observation if swimmers wish to use these times to enter USA-Swimming meets. In the future, the officials committee intends to work with local hosts of USMS Championships to have the meet observed by USA-Swimming officials. Zone Championship hosts are strongly encouraged to contact the responsible LSC to determine if the meet can be observed. For other USMS meets, LMSC Officials Chairs are encouraged to contact their LSC counterparts to develop a local policy for observation of USMS meets.
Swimmers who swim in both USMS and USA-Swimming meets should check with Meet Directors to determine if USMS meets which they enter are approved for observation.
Please contact me at officials@usms.org for additional questions.
Best Regards,
Charlie Cockrell
USMS Officials Committee Chair
