2026 Summer Nationals event cap

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

01Z5R — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:37:13 GMT

Thx Kurt! Then I guess I can conclude we're only dealing with a LCM summer issue here. ☺️

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

Kurt Dickson — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:36:16 GMT

Irvine will not be deja vu. It's short course and while I would suspect a big turnout, it will have two pools to run. Very few places with two long course pools.

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

01Z5R — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:00:55 GMT

Erin, the Summer Nationals is a wrap! I competed and watched from start to finish, and thought it was very well run at a beautiful facility. Appreciations as always to you and all the dedicated people who sacrifice a lot of time before and during to make these events possible. There was some controversy and frustration before the meet however, well documented on this thread. After competing, watching and communicating I have some constructive recommendations for modifications for how 200 and over event caps (if needed) and a related issue, seeding, are handled. I plan to post them on a new thread I created, "USMS National Pool Championship Endurance Event Caps and Seeding - suggestions for improvement", and email them to the championship committee in the near future. Before I do, however, I would like to learn what perspectives others might have and what if any changes the championship committee are considering. There has been no new post on this thread since the meet. Is event caps at Nationals no longer an issue? Because of location it might it be Deja Vu all over again for Irvine this Spring. Also, time is a bit of the essence as the USMS annual meeting is September 18 to 19. I’ll hone my thoughts a little while longer while I wait to see if any other perspectives come in. Here is my email if you want to contact me directly, rogershardy@gmail.com, but I think this is a great forum. Finally, USMS has posted a meet survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/97DXC85. I’ll take my survey after hearing from anyone who wishes to post on this thread or email me.

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

03WKA — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 16:41:03 GMT

I will add a sixth...

How can USMS be allowing a 6th event for people before allowing a waitlist event which, at least in some cases, is only a second event?

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

03WKA — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 13:22:44 GMT

The way this was done is absolutely ridiculous for multiple reasons:

First off, there was no cutoff given in the meet info - when someone is trying to decide whether to go to the meet, they need to be able to watch the number.

Second, the number in the men's and women's athletes is not equal in the cutoff events, which is insane.

Third, the number is not even a multiple of 8, so what is going on there?

Fourth, it is 2 days before the meet and according to email reply, they still haven't decided on some waitlist people. How are people supposed to make travel plans? One email said they will be letting people know as they come off the waitlist, and a next email asking when they would know was not replied to. And there has been nothing about the waitlist in the email updates. Horrible communication.

Fifth, this is a national championship meet. If numbers are an issue, the qualifying times should be a lot faster and should be enforced in all events. This isn't just some average meet. This is supposed to be a national championship. How do you not allow the fastest person in an event to swim when they entered the meet before the entry deadline?

I question whether the USMS staff has any prior experience running meets. They should have people who have run USA Swimming Nationals in the past involved and advising, at a minimum.

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

Kurt Dickson — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:43:24 GMT

Other than you traditionally can't do 1500 and 800, no. The cap/waiting list seems to have occurred over the last 3 or 4 years.

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

Jennifer Tran — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:10:32 GMT

I'm also bummed that it was not possible to swap distance events for another distance event, even if you are freeing up time! For example, I wanted to swap the 800 free for the 200 free and was told that I still had to go through the waitlist! Instead, I had to swap the 800 free for the 50 free.

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

Jennifer Tran — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:08:49 GMT

Was there no cap in 2013?

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

Kurt Dickson — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 02:12:29 GMT

I guess I do not care either way. The knowledge of past caps and a summer nationals in a popular location such as California make it sort of a rookie move not to enter early if you swim 200 and above (apologies to the actual rookies who were shut out). My 1500 in 2013 at Mission Viejo finished after or right around 9pm. Understandable if they don't want 14 hour days. Now if they had the will/bucks/volunteers to split in to two 7 hour shifts on longer days, that would be another story. With that kind of will/bucks/volunteers, you could probably also put 1500 first day and 800 last day and let people swim both.

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

0A0SE — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:50:32 GMT

I was caught completely off guard by the caps. The caps should have been communicated clearly when registration opened. I entered the 800 free shortly after registration opened and did not get in, put my name on the waitlist and just learned that I didn't get in when Psych sheets came out. At that point I asked if I could enter the 50 fly as a substitute and was told "no." There are 2 heats of the 800 free in my age group. The real competition is not in the pool for this event, but who can register the fastest. I understand needing to manage a timeline, I hope there will be more transparent, early communication about caps in the future.

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

sarahwelch — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 21:44:37 GMT

You've stated your 'position'. I'd like to request that the NO or the Championship Committee do an analysis of the application of caps at LCM Nationals (say over the past 20 years). Year, meet, location, and how many days the meet ran 1) when was the cap imposed - days from cutoff, 2) what events were capped, eg 'distance' 1,500 and 800, the 400's if different, and the 200 events.3) the projected timeline at the day caps were imposed and the final timeline once waitlist swimmers are moved into the meet, 4) number of people per event moved from the waitlist to the event, 5 ) and comparative data for how long the meet 'should be' for each day--this info would show if the planning parameters have changed. That's what I can think of right now to have a transparent approach to something that seems like such a big change and such an impact on our athletes. I'm happy to discuss my ideas with the NO staff or championship committee members. You know where to find me. Thanks for considering. Sarah

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

Erin Sizelove — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 15:08:49 GMT

We understand that having to cap entries is not a popular option. The caps are put in place to ensure that the meet is enjoyable and manageable for those participating and the volunteers. The possibility of caps on 200s and longer is in the rule book and the published meet information. From 104.5.3.C(2), the Championship Committee may choose to put an entry cap on events 200 yards/meters and longer.

We are excited that many people entered early. However, this meant that caps needed to go in place earlier. We are continuing to look for other ways to limit the timelines for future National meets. We do appreciate your feedback.

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

sarahwelch — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:42:55 GMT

I too find the early caps a complete surprise. At least one of my colleagues of international ranking didn't enter the meet b/c she was locked out of 3 of her 6 events. I've never seen waitlists, esp this early, for past meets. This occurred 4 weeks prior to the meet closing. This feels like an impactful change on USMS or the Meet Host's part, one that warranted advance notice IMO. Is it due to considerations of hot days for officials? If so notice would have been nice. I'm also interested in seeing how the waitlists play out in the end. Will this turn out to be a 'false alarm' and people miss Nat'ls as a result, or was it warranted and we just need earlier notice and good communication in the future. Waiting to see....

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

Jennifer Tran — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 18:43:49 GMT

I'm disappointed that the longer events have already been capped. I registered early and was able to enter all of my top events (200 breaststroke and 400 freestyle), but some of my teammates were caught off guard, especially since the cap didn't apply in the past.

Like you, I would like to hear about the time constraints USMS is facing and to participate in an open forum to propose solutions for this and the upcoming Summer Nationals!

RE: 2026 Summer Nationals event cap

Elaine Krugman — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 18:33:49 GMT

I wasn't planning on going to Nationals, because Sacramento in August can be ridiculously HOT! But if this is how it went down, I absolutely agree with you. I would be 😡.