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)
Dorothy,
This may sound like semantics to you, but what's printed in the host's meet information is policy, not rules (although some of their policy is restating USMS rules). Only what appears in the USMS rule book is a rule. The reason this distinction is relevant is that the procedure for changing a rule is different than for changing a policy. To change a rule, your LMSC or a USMS committee submits an amendment to the Rules Committee. To change a policy, you lobby the Championship Committee. There is no USMS rule forbidding swimmers who miss their heat from swimming in an open lane in a later heat. But the Championship Committee can set whatever policies it sees fit for a particular national championship, as long as it states them in advance and applies them fairly.
At the local meets I've been involved in, it's been no big deal to let people swim in open lanes. I can imagine it would be much harder (maybe impossible) to do the same thing at Nationals.
Bill, you'd have to ask someone from Championship if they have a written policy manual. If such exists, I'd love to see it posted online. Probably contains much more information than the average USMS member would want to know, but for some of us, it would be a great resource!
Dorothy,
This may sound like semantics to you, but what's printed in the host's meet information is policy, not rules (although some of their policy is restating USMS rules). Only what appears in the USMS rule book is a rule. The reason this distinction is relevant is that the procedure for changing a rule is different than for changing a policy. To change a rule, your LMSC or a USMS committee submits an amendment to the Rules Committee. To change a policy, you lobby the Championship Committee. There is no USMS rule forbidding swimmers who miss their heat from swimming in an open lane in a later heat. But the Championship Committee can set whatever policies it sees fit for a particular national championship, as long as it states them in advance and applies them fairly.
At the local meets I've been involved in, it's been no big deal to let people swim in open lanes. I can imagine it would be much harder (maybe impossible) to do the same thing at Nationals.
Bill, you'd have to ask someone from Championship if they have a written policy manual. If such exists, I'd love to see it posted online. Probably contains much more information than the average USMS member would want to know, but for some of us, it would be a great resource!
