Colonies Zone SCY Championships - Fairfax VA

Right now it costs $25 to swim Friday nite distance day but charge a meet fee of $45 and they might think twice before they sign up and if they do the event will at least get a little more revenue out of them. Do you mean charge a meet fee of $45 for everybody, or charge extra to swim the 1650/1000? The latter makes more sense to me than the former. It's a thought, though it isn't clear to me that the triathlon crowd, who drop $500 to enter some events, will be deterred by a $20 increase. You can have a lottery (like the Chesapeake Bay Swim) rather than making it first-come, first-serve. It isn't clear to me if the people chosen to swim the 1650 would be considered lottery winners or losers (again like the Bay Swim). Call the Friday events the "Hunger Games" part of the meet. (Actually the lottery thing was a real suggestion not a joke, though I'll allow it is hard to tell the difference.)

Team Z has been doing that for the last several years. I guess that I won't be coming down this year since one of my 3 yards events is already filled.

I just checked and they all are in fact registered USMS swimmers. Well, naturally, or they couldn't swim in this meet or other OW swims. But if you asked them if they were triathletes or masters swimmers, you know what the answer would be. It was first come, first serve. I think masters swimmers are just accustomed to waiting until the last minute to sign up. Conversely, since triathlons fill up quickly, triathletes are accustomed to rapid fire entries. I see no reason why Team Z couldn't host their own distance meet. I am signing up for the Albatross meet today!

To host a distance meet you'd almost need a free pool rental or a deeply discounted pool rental fee to cover your costs. If you figure you can do 2 heats an hour for the 1650 and have only one course, that means 16 swimmers per hour. Your entry fee would have to be rather steep. Thats what I meant with an earlier post in regards to a meet fee as opposed to a meet/event fee. This would help ensure that distance swimmers help cover the cost of the meet as opposed to the sat/sun meet entrants subsidizing people who only sign up for the more expensive distance day. We all know pool time is not cheap. Its important we keep these good meets financially viable. If I were a meet director I would be concerned of the impact, financially, if I were near a group that could potentially mob a distance day and not support the rest of the meet.

Thats what I meant with an earlier post in regards to a meet fee as opposed to a meet/event fee. This would help ensure that distance swimmers help cover the cost of the meet as opposed to the sat/sun meet entrants subsidizing people who only sign up for the more expensive distance day. We all know pool time is not cheap. Its important we keep these good meets financially viable. If I were a meet director I would be concerned of the impact, financially, if I were near a group that could potentially mob a distance day and not support the rest of the meet. To your last sentence - here's an entirely different view if you look at it from a pure financial standpoint and don't care about fairness: Let's say all of these distance people don't swim any events on Sat-Sun and now all of the "regular masters swimmers" who are swimming on Sat and Sun are shut out on Friday. The meet host now gains surcharge fees from all of these Friday only swimmers. Basically the host collects the same amount of "splash" fees but gains surcharge fees because there are more individual swimmers. It doesn't address my comment about covering costs for a distance only meet day but addresses your last comment about the financial concern to a host (except it won't get any money from people like Mr. Patterson who would swim all three days but only if they can swim Friday).

After looking at the roster for Friday, another suggestion would to limit 10 entrants per team or something til 10 days before the meet. Friday will be looking like a local LMSC Meet than a Zone meet. Just saying! To the Friday roster, WTH! Well, maybe "give money" to a another meet or something!

I, too, am extremely disappointed that the distance events filled up in 24 hours when the meet is 2 1/2 months away. I know this happened once before. If we can't find a solution, I believe it will impact the meet as a whole. I always plan to swim the 1000 at Zones and the 1650 at nationals. Now i will have to go to another meet to get the 1000 in. Should I still go to zones, or should I substitute the other meet? Our team usually has a large contingent and lots of relays, but this could change. My proposal for a possible solution. Because it is a championship meet, everyone entering distance must submit the date and location of the USMS meet where they achieved their entry time. This would eliminate someone from doing their first USMS distance event at this meet. I think this would eliminate some of the entries. However, I'm curious as to what others think.

To host a distance meet you'd almost need a free pool rental or a deeply discounted pool rental fee to cover your costs. If you figure you can do 2 heats an hour for the 1650 and have only one course, that means 16 swimmers per hour. Your entry fee would have to be rather steep.

My proposal for a possible solution. Because it is a championship meet, everyone entering distance must submit the date and location of the USMS meet where they achieved their entry time. This would eliminate someone from doing their first USMS distance event at this meet. I think this would eliminate some of the entries. However, I'm curious as to what others think. That's not a bad idea. I'd say something similar, for the first two weeks you have to have a 500 or longer swim in the usms database in order to register for the friday events. After that, it's first come first served.

Well I have solved my problem of getting shut out of the 1650/1000at GMU by moving my annual family visit to Texas to April. I'll be swimming at the South Central Zone SCY Champs in Austin TX at the Longhorn Pool. Not only that but the bonus is the 1650 is Fri nite, the 500 is Sat and the 1000 is the last event Sunday. Throw in a few backstroke events and the 50 fly and I am good to go. A $50 meet fee. The pool looks impressive and Austin is a great town.