I propose a rule change for the championship committee. If someone misses their heat at USMS Nationals due to general stupidity and day dreaming, they should be allowed to swim in an open lane in that same event.
John Smith
(2006 psuedo champion, 50yd back)
My general policy for meets that I run is that if there is an empty lane, the starter will pause briefly and call for the swimmer by name. If you're daydreaming behind your lane, I want to get you on the blocks. If you're in the warmdown area and can't hear us -- tough luck.
For college championship meets, where time is much less of a concern, we generally have even more leniancy. If a lane is empty, we'll step people down and call for the missing swimmer. I ran a meet several years ago where the person who arguably would have won the event was DQed because she didn't show up for prelims. She was in the warmdown pool, daydreaming. Yes, she should have been more on top of things. But nobody wanted to see her not swim because of that.
-Rick
My general policy for meets that I run is that if there is an empty lane, the starter will pause briefly and call for the swimmer by name. If you're daydreaming behind your lane, I want to get you on the blocks. If you're in the warmdown area and can't hear us -- tough luck.
For college championship meets, where time is much less of a concern, we generally have even more leniancy. If a lane is empty, we'll step people down and call for the missing swimmer. I ran a meet several years ago where the person who arguably would have won the event was DQed because she didn't show up for prelims. She was in the warmdown pool, daydreaming. Yes, she should have been more on top of things. But nobody wanted to see her not swim because of that.
-Rick
