Dual Meets

We carry 3rd party insurance (which is NOT cheap)...partly because the City of Mesa requires it and partly because there are huge gaps in both USMS & USA Swimming's insurance policies. With regard to hosting a dual meet...we want to do so for a variety of reasons (rivalry, friends, something different, shorter session, etc.). I get the whole be "inclusive" deal but this is not an elitist thing simply a dual meet just like high schools, club teams, colleges, etc. all do every weekend! Anyhow...thanks for the assistance in clarifying this folks, we are moving forward!

this is not an elitist thing Sure, that's just what an elitist would say.

Paul: Good luck with your dual meet. It sounds fun! I have an idea for a "Workout Group" meet that would be structured like a high school invitational: Each team gets one male and one female in each individual event with one mixed relay. Trophy for the winner. Out of curiosity, how are you going to score your dual meet while taking ages and genders into consideration? Hope all is well with you and Laura in AZ. Any plans for visits to Colorado and Lowry this summer? Mark Johnston

Paul, Southern Pacific has been holding club dual and triple meets irregularly since the 1980s. They have not been sanctioned, despite SPMA's urging to do so, because the meet host did not want to require USMS membership of all participants. In fact, there used to be a north - south dual meet (sanctioned) between Pacific and Southern Pacific LMSCs that was great fun.

The question: How often is USMS insurance actually used to pay claims, and what are the most common claims? Swimmers slipping and falling in locker rooms? Starters developing tinnitus after years of shooting blanks (in yesteryear) and blasting beeping horns (today)? Cerebral vascular events provoked by having Top 10 times from Canadian Nationals failing to count for USMS TT consideration? Really, I am curious about this. Lots of different organizations have insurance, but in my experience, I have never seen anyone make a claim and/or get paid. On a completely separate front, what would you say is the easiest way to make a fraudulent claim and not get caught? Maybe even just get paid a small settlement to "go away"? Again, this is purely intellectual curiosity and not a request for some sort of "how-to" manual, though if you did happen to have one, could you send me a copy? Having insurance is what allows us to have practices and meets and open water events. No facility or organizer would ever allow us to use their facilities without it. The fact that USMS provides this benefit as cheap part of our membership is fantastic.

Having insurance is what allows us to have practices and meets and open water events. No facility or organizer would ever allow us to use their facilities without it. The fact that USMS provides this benefit as cheap part of our membership is fantastic. I understand that, Bill. However, I think what USMS says with regards to recognized meets is that it is not responsible for insuring any of the swimmers. The facility and/or league holding the meet must make their own arrangements. There are all kinds of leagues, high school meets, etc. that hold competitions that aren't covered by USMS insurance. Presumably, they are insured in other ways. I suspect that wherever Paul plans to hold his dual meet, the pool facility would have its own insurance, which would either cover meets or not, in which case I am not sure who would be on the hook if someone filed a claim. Perhaps Paul himself? This might be something he should look into. As for Jeff Roddin and the Albatross meet, I was in the lockerroom at the end of the competition, and this guy slipped on the tile and banged his head pretty hard. I went out and found someone who was able to get him a bag of ice and file an accident report. Was this the incident for which a claim was filed? Yikes! Is it possible I played a part in the litigious melodrama?