Q-times in National Meet

Yep.

Sorry but that is not quite right. The meet referee now has the authority to remove a swimmer who is so slow that they are causing a significant and unanticipated delay in the swim meet. So if you enter a time of 11 minutes for the 1000 yard free, and after 5 minutes you have only done 200 yards, the person would be asked to stop. Unfortunately similiar things have happened before. Our Nationals are very inclusive by allowing everyone to enter 3 events, but it is not a learn to swim program. This was done because Nationals can be very long days of competition. People who enter so badly as to disrupt the entire meet can now be stopped. Don't let this stop you from entering the 500 and 1000 free events. If it takes you 16 minutes to do a 1000, enter that time. It is the people who take 20 minutes but entered 12 minutes that mess up the meet. That person would be swimming with 7 others who swim close to 12 minutes and so the next heat would have to wait for over 8 minutes before starting. I hope you enjoy Nationals. take time and meet new friends.

So if you enter a time of 11 minutes for the 1000 yard free, and after 5 minutes you have only done 200 yards, the person would be asked to stop. The "would be asked to stop" would probably be better put as "may be asked to stop". But, getting back to his original question, he may enter up to 3 events without making the qualifying times according to the rules. Whether or not he's allowed to finish them after starting is a different matter.

“The "would be asked to stop" would probably be better put as "may be asked to stop".” Actually the “would be asked to stop” should be put “shall be removed from the lane as soon as practical.” The “may” only comes in to play with the referee’s decision to disqualify the swimmer for significantly delaying the meet. Once the referee disqualifies the swimmer, the swimmer must be removed from the lane. USMS Rule 102.15.14—A swimmer who misrepresents a seed time, causing a significant delay of the meet, may be disqualified at the discretion of the referee. The disqualified swimmer shall be removed from the lane as soon as practical. But back to the original question, YES, you can enter 3 events without meeting the NQT established for those events. Just make sure you don’t misrepresent a seed time, causing a significant delay of the meet. So, if you swim the 1000 in 25 minutes, make sure to seed yourself at 25:00.

Originally posted by Rob Copeland Actually the “would be asked to stop” should be put “shall be removed from the lane as soon as practical.” So now we know why they have all those shepherd's crooks around the competition pool! :D

I can't remember of the top of my head about the SCY nationals, but as far as I remember, in LCM people won't be able to swim the distance if they don't qualify (1500 and 800) ? Someone, please refresh my memory!

For the 2005 SCY Nationals, you may enter both the 1000 and 1650 Free only if you meet the NQT in at least one of these events. You can enter either the 1000 or the 1650 Free without meeting the NQT. For the 2005 LCM Nationals, you can only enter the 800 Free if you meet the NQT. You can enter both the 800 and 1500 Free if you meet the NQT in both events. You can enter the 1500 Free without meeting the NQT.

Connie, You have a correct interpretation of the rule as it applies to the Mission Viejo Long Course Nationals. The idea behind this rule is that it gives the championship committee a way to help the meet host prevent one day of the meet from being too long, but still allow swimmers the ability to enter one distance event at nationals without having met the NQT. In addition to the 800 free, we are also swimming other events and a relay on the first day of the meet. This is something new we are trying. The committee felt that too large of a turnout in the 800 free could cause problems, thus we set that as the event that a swimmer must meet the NQT in. If we were looking at the meet in Savannah last summer, we probably would have made the 1500 the event with a required NQT. It is a balancing act between trying to make an event open to everyone and also keep the day from being too long.

Originally posted by barryf For the 2005 LCM Nationals, you can only enter the 800 Free if you meet the NQT. You can enter both the 800 and 1500 Free if you meet the NQT in both events. You can enter the 1500 Free without meeting the NQT. May I rephrase this, to see if I understood a part of it correctly... For the 800 the NQT is required. For the 1500 NQT is not required, but it, as it should, counts as one of your 'free' events that you don't have to qualify for. You can't make it a fourth Non-NQT event. If you're planing on entering both, the 800 and the 1500, you must have NQT in both events. Can't have one (800), and do the other (1500) as a freebie? But, if you're swimming only the 1500, and not the 800, then you don't have to have the NQT for the 1500? Am I understanding this correctly?