Last year at about this time, I had a forum entry about USMS not accepting the times because of a supposed clerical error in the pool certification application. It was pointed out to me that it was a pool measurement error and not a clerical error that caused this. It frustrated me because I had swum 5 LMSC freestyle records and 6 top ten Zone records. I had done this under duress as I had a stent placed in a blocked artery not long after the meet.
Well, since that time, I have swum in two competitions, SCY and LCM. On both of these meets, I asked the individuals if the pool measurement were certified. The SCY was in a stationary bulkhead pool that received certification before the meet and the LCM in a movable bulkhead pool.
Everything went ok in the SCY but when I looked up my times in the Zone and USMS sites, they did not appear. Just this week, I found out it was another pool measurement issue and my, once again LMSC records and top tens have been wiped out.
I know the reasoning behind the exclusion of the times but +/- 1cm would not make a difference in where I or anybody in the meet would finally appear in any top 10 or record.
This is a stiff penalty to pay for people to pay for driving good distances to swim in meets, pay good money and spend all day Saturday and Sunday for what comes to be a glorified practice. If USMS is going to be draconian with its rules, they should, in this day of instant messaging, have a set up whereby the pool measurements could be verified and certified on the morning of the meet if it is being held in a movable bulkhead pool.
Thanks for letting me rant.
Bob Sigerson
Force DJ,
Touch pad timing systems started in the late 60s with Omega Timing. I remember them during college meets in the mid-70s.
In general, competition pools are built to accommodate touchpads. The problem starts with the age of the pool. If the pool was built in the 60s, it might have been built with stop watches in mind. By the late 80s, they were built to accommodate maybe one touchpad, but not two. Two pads is the norm these days.
The issue is generally not with pools without bulkheads (but not always). The problem is with pools with moveable bulkheads so the pool can be 50 mtrs long, or split into two pools. These bulkheads are held in place a number of different ways (usually by pins or friction or simply placed on the bottom) and none are immune to slight changes. This is why measurement before and after sessions is important - to verify that the length after the bulkhead has been moved.
Because pools are expensive to build, they build them to absolute minimum lengths including the bulkhead. Allowing for spacers just adds one more variable to the equation.
I suppose that keeping the pool measurement in public view might be a good thing.
Force DJ,
Touch pad timing systems started in the late 60s with Omega Timing. I remember them during college meets in the mid-70s.
In general, competition pools are built to accommodate touchpads. The problem starts with the age of the pool. If the pool was built in the 60s, it might have been built with stop watches in mind. By the late 80s, they were built to accommodate maybe one touchpad, but not two. Two pads is the norm these days.
The issue is generally not with pools without bulkheads (but not always). The problem is with pools with moveable bulkheads so the pool can be 50 mtrs long, or split into two pools. These bulkheads are held in place a number of different ways (usually by pins or friction or simply placed on the bottom) and none are immune to slight changes. This is why measurement before and after sessions is important - to verify that the length after the bulkhead has been moved.
Because pools are expensive to build, they build them to absolute minimum lengths including the bulkhead. Allowing for spacers just adds one more variable to the equation.
I suppose that keeping the pool measurement in public view might be a good thing.
