I'm new to the whole masters swimming thing. I retired at 15, but I'm back and ready to kick some serious booty and have lots of fun. After hearing about nationals I am so pumped, but I am confused. What do you need to do to qualify? Are there certain times you need to qualify? (I'm 24 (next month) and I'm a sprint free girl). Also, have dates been selected yet? Any info any of you can provide would be awesome.
Oh, and worlds, how does that work? I'm so excited to be back in the pool, I find myself longing to be in the pool when I have more than 24 hours off.
Thanks!!
For Nationals, you get 3 (individual) events automatically. You can swim up to 3 more, if you make the qualifying times. (Just look at the nationals from this year to see the times that were needed.) Depending on the time-line, the 6th event may be dropped. The seed times you enter are on the honor system, so unless you swim significantly off the NQTs, you don't have to "prove" your times. There are also 4 relays (medley and free, mixed and single-sex). Some people who go to Nationals only swim relays.
You get to see many new faces from across the nation. See some of the people that you saw on TV from past Olympics. (Gary Hall Jr and the Race Club went to the SCY Nationals in Indianapolis.)
I don't see the link, but the next short course yards will be in May in Ft. Lauderdale, and long course meters will be August in Mission Viejo.
I suggest looking at some of the other "Nationals" threads, and at previous Nationals (left sidebar, under "Competition"). Or talk to your local Masters team.
Mr. Mattson,
I got the feeling in your last post that the "honor system" sort of implies that you should meet the qualifying times for all (but at most 3) of the events you enter at a USMS Nationals meet....But does this mean that the seeding times I use to enter an event at a USMS Nationals can be from a "non-sanctioned" USMS meet (like say a YMCA masters meet instead of a USMS sanctioned meet??)
I only ask this because I am part of a new YMCA masters team that will probably compete at semi-local YMCA masters swimming meets exclusively.....I don't want to have to travel a long distance just to qualify for The USMS Nationals at a USMS sanctioned meet if I don't have to.
Thanks,
Jim
Originally posted by Karen Duggan
People have to prove their times if they are significantly off?
Pardon, I was getting a couple of ideas mixed up. No, you don't have to officially prove your times. That is why I had "prove" in quotes. The officials don't give you a hard time, but I'm guessing you'd have something to prove to your peers (who are giving you an evil eye for putting down blatantly false seed times :mad: ).
According to USMS rules “When qualifying times are in effect, competitors may enter and swim in a maximum of three individual events without meeting the established qualifying standards. Competitors may enter up to three additional events (or two if the maximum event limit is five) in which they have in the past 2 years achieved a time equal to or better than the qualifying time for those events.”
No where in the rules does it state any thing about these times being achieved at a USMS sanctioned/recognized event.
Karen, I agree, with all the commotion surrounding running a nationals, I find it unlikely that someone is tracking down “verified times” for everyone who does not meet the NQT.
Hi Mark :),
People have to prove their times if they are significantly off? I had never heard this. With so much going on at Nationals I can't imagine anyone even making the time to do this...
And I'd venture to say that YMCA times do count. I was always under the impression (from I'm not sure where) that you had to have swum a "qualifying" time in the two years prior to the meet. Is that right?
Let me know.
Karen
