Hi everyone,
I am an unattached swimmer who is looking to enter meets soon.
Do master swimmers have to stick to only competing in masters swim meets or can we branch out to meets listed on USA Swimming (I am aware that many require qualifying times)?
Second, I noticed if I am not accompanied by a coach many meets require that the swimmer be certified as proficient in starts...Below is a clip from one of the meets I was looking at. Has anyone ever done this or know the process?
"Any swimmer entered in the meet must be certified by a USA Swimming member-coach as being proficient in performing a racing start or must start each race from within the water. When unaccompanied by a member-coach, it is the responsibility if the swimmer or the swimmer’s legal guardian to ensure compliance with this requirement."
Any info would be great!!
I've been in a few dual sanctioned USA and Master swim meets and most of the master swimmers had no coach present. Masters have their own warm up lanes in the meets that I have been in. I would say do not worry and if you have any questions you can always ask the meet director for clarification. It was not too long ago that I too was an unattached swimmer and in my first meet after a 35+ year absence, I went to the sprint lane to try a few starts. You should try a masters meet first to get a few starts under your belt before going to a meet with USA swimmers.
I've been in a few dual sanctioned USA and Master swim meets and most of the master swimmers had no coach present. Masters have their own warm up lanes in the meets that I have been in. I would say do not worry and if you have any questions you can always ask the meet director for clarification. It was not too long ago that I too was an unattached swimmer and in my first meet after a 35+ year absence, I went to the sprint lane to try a few starts. You should try a masters meet first to get a few starts under your belt before going to a meet with USA swimmers.
