team scoring

Hello, Here is the current version of what Pacific LMSC would be proposing to the Rules Committee this year. Please feel free to provide comments. Sorry for the long post, but we would like to get input from members before the Convention to provide an alternative that many people (not all -- we are not that optimistic!) can agree on. Several years ago, as a result of perceived inequities, scoring at Nationals was changed from small, medium and large divisions to scoring all teams in a single division. There has been significant dissatisfaction with the single division method of scoring also. Last year, Pacific LMSC proposed a means of scoring in two divisions, which raised significant debate at the House of Delegates, and afterwards on the USMS Discussion Forum for “Team Scoring at Nationals”. Pacific LMSC again proposes to change the method of scoring at National Championships, using a two division system, as follows. These proposed Rules changes reflect the final proposal as proposed in the USMS House of Delegates, as well as comments on this discussion forum from the following participants (among others): Jim Clemmons, Paul Smith, Rob Copeland, Meg Smath, Jim Matysek, Carolyn Boak, Jerry Clark, Michael Moore, Leianne Crittenden, Scott Williams, Betsy Durrant. This is a very long forum discussion (showing how much interest there is!), but if you want to see some of the posts that were taken account of, please see Posts on this forum numbered: 7, 90, 105, 131, 139, 141, 144, 159, 187, 189, 192, 195, 212, 226, 240, 245 as well as any others that you may be interested in! RATIONALE FOR PROPOSED RULE CHANGES: Several years ago, team scoring at Nationals changed from Small/Medim/Large divisions to a single division. Since 2004, posts on two USMS Discussion Forums have criticized the current method of scoring. Participants have noted thatunder the single division method of scoring, teams that draw from a local area are at a strong disadvantage when competing against teams drawing from an entire state or region. For a complilation of team scoring results in recent SCY Championships (2003-2007), made by Michael Moore, go to Post #7 of the “Team Scoring at Nationals” USMS Discussion Forum. However, going back to the previous method of scoring (using small, medium and large team categories) is also unsatisfactory, because of the arbitrary nature of determining what will be a small, medium or large team, and who will determine those categories. Many suggestions have been made on the USMS discussion forum: (1) Score the meet using the highest average scores by number of splashes (the number of swims by a team, divided by the number of swimmers to derive the average score per swimmer), (2) Using Regional and Local team divisions with the following ideas: (a) defining regional and local teams using a geographic component by requiring that 90% (or another portion) of all club members reside within a certain distance from a club’s designated headquarters (prevents national recruiting of an elite team, but would be difficult to confirm the number of registered swimmers on a specific club that live close to the club headquarters); (b) using small/medium/large classes within each division (forum participants thought this was an arbitrary measure); (c) using specified classes of small (10 or less swimmers)/medium1(11 to 24 swimmers)/large (25 or more swimmers) teams within each division (to prevent teams from discouraging participation so that they could be in a specific classification, but still viewed as arbitrary, and many participants did not believe that coaches discouraged swimmers from going to Nationals); (d) using mens/womens/combined within each of the two divisions (no consensus, except a concern about the number of team awards to be given at Nationals) (3) No team scoring at Nationals at all (generally rejected by Forum participants as not in keeping with a Championship meet); (4) Scoring addressed by the Championship Committee only (rejected by forum participants as not adequately representing members’ concerns, given that the volume of posts on this forum was more than three times the traffic on other USMS discussion forums). Most of these alternatives would create administrative difficulties, which is why Pacific is proposing a very simple proposal, in keeping with the general comments on the Discussion Forum to “Keep It Simple Stupid”. Recognizing that there is no perfect method of scoring National Championships, Pacific submits this proposal to define what is a “Regional” or LMSC team, and then to score Nationals based on two divisions: “Regional” Club Teams and “Local” Club Teams, through ten places in each division (twenty total team awards). The proposed Rule change spells out how a Regional and Local team is determined, based on a swimmer’s registration with a club that is a member of the LMSC. Swimmers register with USMS as a member of a “club” and the club sends swimmers to Nationals, who compete as the “team” that represents the club. ******** A. PROPOSED REVISIONS TO TEXT OF APPLICABLE RULES: Regional Team and Local Team Categories: Article 104: NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MEETS 104.5.6 Club Scoring at National Championships A Scoring—All national championship meet scoring and awards shall be treated as if the meet were swum in a 10-lane pool, regardless of the actual number of lanes available. Points shall be awarded as in article 102.12.3. B Categories—Club scoring will be tabulated in two categories. (1) Regional Teams. For competition at National Championship Meets, a “Regional Team” consists of a team made up of those swimmers who represent a club at Nationals, but at competitions within their LMSC, they compete for an entity or subgroup (such as a workout group) that is different than the one they compete with at Nationals. (2) Local Teams. For competition at National Championship Meets, a “Local Team” consists of a team made up of those swimmers who represent a club at Nationals, and at competitions within their LMSC they compete for the same club, and that club has a single management structure that is responsible for administering the club’s activities (including, for example, acquiring facilities and/or providing coaches). (3) The Championship Committee is responsible for publishing a list of Regional and Local Teams no later than February 15 of each year. Where a club contests its designation, it may file an appeal with the Chair of the Championship Committee at least 60 days prior to the National Championship Meet. C Overall Point Total—The overall point totals for each club shall be published in all results documentation. Article 104.5.7 – Awards A Awards—All top finishers in each race will be given awards regardless of the nationality of the swimmer. Duplicate awards will NOT be given except in the case of ties. Appropriate awards as determined by the Championship Committee will be awarded for places one through 10. B USMS championship award (i.e., patch or some similar award to be determined by the Championship Committee)—Each individual who wins a short course or long course individual or relay championship shall be awarded a USMS championship award. Swimmers winning more than one championship may purchase one additional award for each additional championship won. C. Team awards – The organization conducting the national championship meet shall provide awards to the first through tenth place for two categories: the Regional Team category and the Local Team category. B. OPTIONAL: Revert back to current scoring if not ratified in three years by House of Delegates. If this method of scoring is not ratified by a simple majority vote of the House of Delegates three years after it is enacted, team scoring at National Championships will go back to the scoring method set forht in the 2008 Rule Book. ******* In addition to these basic Rules changes, please note that there are two other points: 1. The Championship Committee, in consultation with the USMS Registrar, will determine and publish a list of Regional Teams no later than February 15 each year. If a club contests its classification, it can appeal to the Championship Committee by submitting a complete written claim not later than 60 days prior to the first day of competition at the National Championship Meet. Since SCY Nationals is usually in May, this should provide adequate time for submission of protests and decisions. 2. OPTIONAL PROVISION This scoring system is implemented for three years to see how it works – if not ratified by House of Delegates after three years, then the scoring system reverts back to the single division scoring that is in place today. Again, sorry for the long post, but I wanted to provide complete information! Leianne ^^^^

Hello, Here is the current version of what Pacific LMSC would be proposing to the Rules Committee this year. Please feel free to provide comments. Sorry for the long post, but we would like to get input from members before the Convention to provide an alternative that many people (not all -- we are not that optimistic!) can agree on. Several years ago, as a result of perceived inequities, scoring at Nationals was changed from small, medium and large divisions to scoring all teams in a single division. There has been significant dissatisfaction with the single division method of scoring also. Last year, Pacific LMSC proposed a means of scoring in two divisions, which raised significant debate at the House of Delegates, and afterwards on the USMS Discussion Forum for “Team Scoring at Nationals”. Pacific LMSC again proposes to change the method of scoring at National Championships, using a two division system, as follows. These proposed Rules changes reflect the final proposal as proposed in the USMS House of Delegates, as well as comments on this discussion forum from the following participants (among others): Jim Clemmons, Paul Smith, Rob Copeland, Meg Smath, Jim Matysek, Carolyn Boak, Jerry Clark, Michael Moore, Leianne Crittenden, Scott Williams, Betsy Durrant. This is a very long forum discussion (showing how much interest there is!), but if you want to see some of the posts that were taken account of, please see Posts on this forum numbered: 7, 90, 105, 131, 139, 141, 144, 159, 187, 189, 192, 195, 212, 226, 240, 245 as well as any others that you may be interested in! RATIONALE FOR PROPOSED RULE CHANGES: Several years ago, team scoring at Nationals changed from Small/Medim/Large divisions to a single division. Since 2004, posts on two USMS Discussion Forums have criticized the current method of scoring. Participants have noted thatunder the single division method of scoring, teams that draw from a local area are at a strong disadvantage when competing against teams drawing from an entire state or region. For a complilation of team scoring results in recent SCY Championships (2003-2007), made by Michael Moore, go to Post #7 of the “Team Scoring at Nationals” USMS Discussion Forum. However, going back to the previous method of scoring (using small, medium and large team categories) is also unsatisfactory, because of the arbitrary nature of determining what will be a small, medium or large team, and who will determine those categories. Many suggestions have been made on the USMS discussion forum: (1) Score the meet using the highest average scores by number of splashes (the number of swims by a team, divided by the number of swimmers to derive the average score per swimmer), (2) Using Regional and Local team divisions with the following ideas: (a) defining regional and local teams using a geographic component by requiring that 90% (or another portion) of all club members reside within a certain distance from a club’s designated headquarters (prevents national recruiting of an elite team, but would be difficult to confirm the number of registered swimmers on a specific club that live close to the club headquarters); (b) using small/medium/large classes within each division (forum participants thought this was an arbitrary measure); (c) using specified classes of small (10 or less swimmers)/medium1(11 to 24 swimmers)/large (25 or more swimmers) teams within each division (to prevent teams from discouraging participation so that they could be in a specific classification, but still viewed as arbitrary, and many participants did not believe that coaches discouraged swimmers from going to Nationals); (d) using mens/womens/combined within each of the two divisions (no consensus, except a concern about the number of team awards to be given at Nationals) (3) No team scoring at Nationals at all (generally rejected by Forum participants as not in keeping with a Championship meet); (4) Scoring addressed by the Championship Committee only (rejected by forum participants as not adequately representing members’ concerns, given that the volume of posts on this forum was more than three times the traffic on other USMS discussion forums). Most of these alternatives would create administrative difficulties, which is why Pacific is proposing a very simple proposal, in keeping with the general comments on the Discussion Forum to “Keep It Simple Stupid”. Recognizing that there is no perfect method of scoring National Championships, Pacific submits this proposal to define what is a “Regional” or LMSC team, and then to score Nationals based on two divisions: “Regional” Club Teams and “Local” Club Teams, through ten places in each division (twenty total team awards). The proposed Rule change spells out how a Regional and Local team is determined, based on a swimmer’s registration with a club that is a member of the LMSC. Swimmers register with USMS as a member of a “club” and the club sends swimmers to Nationals, who compete as the “team” that represents the club. ******** A. PROPOSED REVISIONS TO TEXT OF APPLICABLE RULES: Regional Team and Local Team Categories: Article 104: NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MEETS 104.5.6 Club Scoring at National Championships A Scoring—All national championship meet scoring and awards shall be treated as if the meet were swum in a 10-lane pool, regardless of the actual number of lanes available. Points shall be awarded as in article 102.12.3. B Categories—Club scoring will be tabulated in two categories. (1) Regional Teams. For competition at National Championship Meets, a “Regional Team” consists of a team made up of those swimmers who represent a club at Nationals, but at competitions within their LMSC, they compete for an entity or subgroup (such as a workout group) that is different than the one they compete with at Nationals. (2) Local Teams. For competition at National Championship Meets, a “Local Team” consists of a team made up of those swimmers who represent a club at Nationals, and at competitions within their LMSC they compete for the same club, and that club has a single management structure that is responsible for administering the club’s activities (including, for example, acquiring facilities and/or providing coaches). (3) The Championship Committee is responsible for publishing a list of Regional and Local Teams no later than February 15 of each year. Where a club contests its designation, it may file an appeal with the Chair of the Championship Committee at least 60 days prior to the National Championship Meet. C Overall Point Total—The overall point totals for each club shall be published in all results documentation. Article 104.5.7 – Awards A Awards—All top finishers in each race will be given awards regardless of the nationality of the swimmer. Duplicate awards will NOT be given except in the case of ties. Appropriate awards as determined by the Championship Committee will be awarded for places one through 10. B USMS championship award (i.e., patch or some similar award to be determined by the Championship Committee)—Each individual who wins a short course or long course individual or relay championship shall be awarded a USMS championship award. Swimmers winning more than one championship may purchase one additional award for each additional championship won. C. Team awards – The organization conducting the national championship meet shall provide awards to the first through tenth place for two categories: the Regional Team category and the Local Team category. B. OPTIONAL: Revert back to current scoring if not ratified in three years by House of Delegates. If this method of scoring is not ratified by a simple majority vote of the House of Delegates three years after it is enacted, team scoring at National Championships will go back to the scoring method set forht in the 2008 Rule Book. ******* In addition to these basic Rules changes, please note that there are two other points: 1. The Championship Committee, in consultation with the USMS Registrar, will determine and publish a list of Regional Teams no later than February 15 each year. If a club contests its classification, it can appeal to the Championship Committee by submitting a complete written claim not later than 60 days prior to the first day of competition at the National Championship Meet. Since SCY Nationals is usually in May, this should provide adequate time for submission of protests and decisions. 2. OPTIONAL PROVISION This scoring system is implemented for three years to see how it works – if not ratified by House of Delegates after three years, then the scoring system reverts back to the single division scoring that is in place today. Again, sorry for the long post, but I wanted to provide complete information! Leianne ^^^^