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)
Originally posted by osterber
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.
Do you really think this is reasonable for a meet the size of Nationals, though? In my opinion it would slow down the meet appreciably. In my experience there are a lot of heats with no-show swimmers and for the starter to look at the heat sheet, find the name(s) of the missing swimmers, then announce them would take a lot of time.
I have never run the timing system, scored, etc., so I'll assume Dorothy is correct that having someone jump into an open lane might also cause problems. So here's another idea. Assuming the meet is running on time, how about allow a limited number of heats at the end of the session for any swimmers who missed their events? I would propose they would have to prove they missed an event and don't just want to time trial an event they already contested. To keep it short only events 200 yards/meters or less would be eligible. Maybe limit it to a maximum of two or three heats per course on a first-come, first-served basis.
Originally posted by osterber
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.
Do you really think this is reasonable for a meet the size of Nationals, though? In my opinion it would slow down the meet appreciably. In my experience there are a lot of heats with no-show swimmers and for the starter to look at the heat sheet, find the name(s) of the missing swimmers, then announce them would take a lot of time.
I have never run the timing system, scored, etc., so I'll assume Dorothy is correct that having someone jump into an open lane might also cause problems. So here's another idea. Assuming the meet is running on time, how about allow a limited number of heats at the end of the session for any swimmers who missed their events? I would propose they would have to prove they missed an event and don't just want to time trial an event they already contested. To keep it short only events 200 yards/meters or less would be eligible. Maybe limit it to a maximum of two or three heats per course on a first-come, first-served basis.
