Beginning in 2009, club scoring awards at Nationals have been divided into two separate categories: Regional and Local. A formal description of the two club categories is below (104.5.6B & from page 35-36 of the 2012 USMS Rule Book):
(1)Regional - For competition at national championship meets, a Regional Club consists of a club 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 - For competition at national championship meets, a Local Club consists of a club that does not qualify as a Regional Club.
Based on these definitions, the following scoring categories will be in place for 2012 Nationals:
Regional Clubs:
AFAM
AKMS
ARIZ
CMS
FACT
GAJA
HIMA
HMS
IAMA
IM
MICH
MM
NCMS
NEM
NIAG
NMMS
OREG
PNA
SKY
SMS
SWOM
UTAH
WMAC
WMSC
Local Clubs: all other registered USMS clubs.
Please note clubs may contest their designation or the designation of another club by filing an appeal with the chair of the Championship Committee (Jeff Roddin, Championship@usms.org) at least 45 days prior to the national championship meet (those deadlines would be March 12 for Greensboro and May 21 for Omaha).
Jeff Roddin
Championship Committee Chair
It seems that the lines are fuzzy in determining who is a regional team and who is a club. How do the state of Nebraska and people from at least 2 states who don't know one another qualify as local teams?
I'm guessing that nobody protested by the deadline, and somehow they technically met the definition. The real club teams don't have a chance while competing with mega-teams. I thought that was why we went to the regional vs. local club concept. I hope this is revisited soon.
God, I sure hope not. It always wastes a lot of time and ultimately just ends up sounding like sour grapes.
The concept doesn't seem very fuzzy: "A Regional Club consists of a club 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." One can, of course, disagree about the appropriateness of the definition. Any definition is going to be problematic both conceptually and practically.
The host club, whether regional or local, has a major advantage at nationals bc of travel. The "mythical national championship" (taken from Top 10 rankings) is a little less biased by that factor, though it still exists.
It seems that the lines are fuzzy in determining who is a regional team and who is a club. How do the state of Nebraska and people from at least 2 states who don't know one another qualify as local teams?
I'm guessing that nobody protested by the deadline, and somehow they technically met the definition. The real club teams don't have a chance while competing with mega-teams. I thought that was why we went to the regional vs. local club concept. I hope this is revisited soon.
God, I sure hope not. It always wastes a lot of time and ultimately just ends up sounding like sour grapes.
The concept doesn't seem very fuzzy: "A Regional Club consists of a club 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." One can, of course, disagree about the appropriateness of the definition. Any definition is going to be problematic both conceptually and practically.
The host club, whether regional or local, has a major advantage at nationals bc of travel. The "mythical national championship" (taken from Top 10 rankings) is a little less biased by that factor, though it still exists.
