Who's to say if the closing swimming date is September 15 as on the entry form or September 30, as stated in the margins of the calendar? In past years it has always been the 30th. Any reason for suggesting a change to the 15th? What USMS body has the authority?
Parents
Former Member
Hi Doug,
The USMS Long Distance Committee makes these decisions, and I believe that one was made last year at the convention.
As I recall, the change in the 5K/10K schedule was part of a larger proposal involving the schedule of the 3000/6000 yard postal.
The deadline for the 3000/6000 was pushed to a later date to allow participation from swimmers who join USMS during the new registration period. Prior to the change, new swimmers who wanted to participate in the 3000/6000 needed to register for the current year, and then re-register for the next year just a couple months later. The committee wanted to encourage new swimmers to participate without requiring them to spend the money to register twice within a couple months.
When the committee was discussing the 5K/10K, it was also decided to have just a little lapse between the end of the 5K/10K and the beginning of the 3000/6000 yard postal. Even with the change, the 5K/10K participation period is the longest of any long distance national championship event: May 15-September 15...that's 4 months! Certainly, that should be enough time.
Personally, I'm glad they made the changes. I first suggested the idea about changing the 3000/6000 deadline to the previous USMS Long Distance Committee chair in 1998. At that time, I was coaching some young swimmers who were new to Masters. They wanted to do the 3000/6000, but couldn't afford to register for USMS in September and then re-register a couple months later for the following year.
Bill
Hi Doug,
The USMS Long Distance Committee makes these decisions, and I believe that one was made last year at the convention.
As I recall, the change in the 5K/10K schedule was part of a larger proposal involving the schedule of the 3000/6000 yard postal.
The deadline for the 3000/6000 was pushed to a later date to allow participation from swimmers who join USMS during the new registration period. Prior to the change, new swimmers who wanted to participate in the 3000/6000 needed to register for the current year, and then re-register for the next year just a couple months later. The committee wanted to encourage new swimmers to participate without requiring them to spend the money to register twice within a couple months.
When the committee was discussing the 5K/10K, it was also decided to have just a little lapse between the end of the 5K/10K and the beginning of the 3000/6000 yard postal. Even with the change, the 5K/10K participation period is the longest of any long distance national championship event: May 15-September 15...that's 4 months! Certainly, that should be enough time.
Personally, I'm glad they made the changes. I first suggested the idea about changing the 3000/6000 deadline to the previous USMS Long Distance Committee chair in 1998. At that time, I was coaching some young swimmers who were new to Masters. They wanted to do the 3000/6000, but couldn't afford to register for USMS in September and then re-register a couple months later for the following year.
Bill
