2018 Summer Long Course Masters UANA Pan American

Steve, Article 506.3.10 gives the emergency power to suspend any swimming rule in Part One to the Board of Directors provided that the Board, with the advice and consent of the Rules Committee for part one rules, determines that immediate action is required to serve the interests of USMS. The USMS Rules committee had a conference call on May 7 and voted to provide consent to suspend the rule and put the matter in the hands of the USMS BOD. Please consult with a member of the Rules committee to verify everything was done properly...:bolt: I posted that too quickly. And as a follow-up, the BOD agreed to suspend 2018 Summer Nationals at their summer board meeting last month in Tampa. So all is good with regard to proper procedures and protocol being followed.

very good i dont think many (any?) have seen the BOD minutes from last month to know that the 2018 summer nats were suspended. to which: July 29, 2017: 2017 Annual LMSC Meetings & Financials Southern LMSC 2017 Minutes July 16, 2017: Sports Medicine and Science Committee Conference Call Minutes July 10, 2017: Coaches Committee Conference Call Minutes July 3, 2017: Executive Committee Conference Call Minutes June 27, 2017: Fitness Education Committee Conference Call Minutes June 25, 2017: Long Distance Committee Conference Call Minutes June 19, 2017: Board of Directors Conference Call Minutes this very site doesnt even list the BOD meeting minutes for anybody to know that the rule was suspended. the june 19 meeting minutes talk about the next meeting being july 15.

Yes, Steve, they're a bit delayed with posting. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320AZ using Tapatalk

Though I usually attend most USMS National Championships and have attended a number of Pan Ams in really interesting places, I'm just not enthused about this concept. Orlando in summer....well, is Orlando in Summer. The extended meet schedule makes it difficult to attend for the whole meet. And while I've heard that the facility will be upgraded and there will be tents installed to extend the venue, I wonder if this is the right location for a combined event. I just don't think that an international event will maintain the USMS flavor for a national championship. Maybe it will work?

Though I usually attend most USMS National Championships and have attended a number of Pan Ams in really interesting places, I'm just not enthused about this concept. Orlando in summer....well, is Orlando in Summer. The extended meet schedule makes it difficult to attend for the whole meet. And while I've heard that the facility will be upgraded and there will be tents installed to extend the venue, I wonder if this is the right location for a combined event. I just don't think that an international event will maintain the USMS flavor for a national championship. Maybe it will work? Please note this will not be a combined event. This is the UANA Pan Am meet. There will be no 2018 USMS Summer Nationals. The benefit to this particular Pan Am meet (as compared to others outside the US) is that USMS swimmers in the 18-24 age group will be permitted to compete in individual events. They will not be eligible for Pan Am awards and points, but their times will be eligible for USMS purposes (e.g. Top 10, Records, All American). Jeff

Though I usually attend most USMS National Championships and have attended a number of Pan Ams in really interesting places, I'm just not enthused about this concept. Orlando in summer....well, is Orlando in Summer. The extended meet schedule makes it difficult to attend for the whole meet. And while I've heard that the facility will be upgraded and there will be tents installed to extend the venue, I wonder if this is the right location for a combined event. I just don't think that an international event will maintain the USMS flavor for a national championship. Maybe it will work? Could it be much worse than Houston (2007), Indianapolis (2009), or Auburn (2011) when it comes to heat and humidity?

Let me try and answer some of your questions John: Can it be confirmed that current USMS swimmers will not need to join UANA (I know Jim said not to worry and he believed it was because USMS is a member of UANA)? Jim is correct and USMS is a member of UANA. As long as USMS athlete have a current 2018 membership they will be allowed to participate in the event just as it was a National event. Will competitions be decided on the basis of one swim, or might there be quarter finals, semi finals and finals? All events will be timed finals Are there qualifying times? No, UANA committee has requested no Qualifying times for this event. But please be aware that we MAY have to limit entries on events or even the entire competition because of this in order to have a 10 hour competition day. We re encouraging athletes to register early as we are expecting a large number of swimmers for the pool event. Are the age groups and end-of-year basis the same for UANA as they are for USMS? yes, we are following FINA regulations and all age groups are based on their age on Dec, 31st of that year. Are there any differences in rules at the UANA Pan Am Masters competition relative to USMS rules? USMS adopts FINA rules for LCM events, so there should not be anything specific besides the 18-24 age groups. We are adding this age group for all individual events to allow all USMS members the opportunity to participate in the event. We are also looking at adding another age group (72+) for relays to allow younger members the opportunity to parcitipate. We are currently working out the details of this with our Sports Timing Management team to be able to separate the relays with athletes that are 18-24 for USMS records and top 10 only. Please let me know if anyone has any questions regarding the event.

Thank you very much, Jillian. That was very helpful. Perhaps this or other such communication should be distributed to all USMS members? Surely I'm not the only one who expected a 2018 long-course USMS meet and who now wonders how the decision to defer to the UANA meet affects their plans.

Well - now that is cleared up. I think. We will await Q times to see if we can get in. Do that allow any "free" non=Q times to enter?

I'd like to go back to the original issue. I'm pleased that USMS swimmers may not need to join UANA in order to compete, but remain hopeful for more information. The UANA site is not helpful. Jim and others have provided some details for which I am grateful, but I'm disappointed that a detailed "How the cancellation of USMS 2018 Summer Nationals will affect those USMS swimmers who planned on it" statement has not disseminated by USMS to all swimmers. If I've missed such a statement, I apologize. Among my questions: Can it be confirmed that current USMS swimmers will not need to join UANA (I know Jim said not to worry and he believed it was because USMS is a member of UANA)? Will competitions be decided on the basis of one swim, or might there be quarter finals, semi finals and finals? Are there qualifying times? Are the age groups and end-of-year basis the same for UANA as they are for USMS? Are there any differences in rules at the UANA Pan Am Masters competition relative to USMS rules? Others may have more questions. John