Losers who daydream and miss their heat

I just read the meet information concerning relays. It only says relays need to be submitted the day before and name changes cannot affect the age of the relay after the submission deadline, but that name changes can be made. It says nothing about restriction of name or order changes, so I think the Rowdy thing is wrong, and the order should have been changed in the meet information. When issues come up at a meet such as these, we always go back to the meet information and how it is worded. So in this case, the meet information should have been shown as proof that the relay order needed to be changed in the official results.

Originally posted by TheGoodSmith As for the meet officials and workers that run USMS events. I hate to be blunt, but they are there to help conduct the meet for the dues and meet fee paying members...... not the other way around. John, I’m not sure how many meets you’ve run but I can assure you that the meets I run or volunteer for are not to generate the big bucks for me. And for the most part my meet officials and workers are non paid volunteers who are not in it for dues and meet fee paying members. These events are being run as a service to our members not as a service to our volunteers. And while I respect your opinion that we are a kind of rigid, the officials are only following the rules of the sport. If there are unfair rules, then get them changed. But please don’t ask officials to ignore them.

It only says relays need to be submitted the day before and name changes cannot affect the age of the relay after the submission deadline, but that name changes can be made. It says nothing about restriction of name or order changes, so I think the Rowdy thing is wrong, and the order should have been changed in the meet information. I seem to recall that "prior to the actual start of the relay, the order and names must be correct".

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 jim clemmons I seem to recall that "prior to the actual start of the relay, the order and names must be correct". I know with age group meets, this is true. In the meet information it says nothing about relay name switches, except it has to be in the same age group. However, there may be other rules that govern this in the USMS rulebook. I am suppose to be working ;) so cannot poke around right now. To explain why lane hopping can cause bad results: A meet is seeded in the computer, and the computer and timing system are tied together. The timing system does not have names, it has distance, number of swimmers, number of heats. Times come off the pads, into the timing system, no match on names. Then the computer picks up those times from the timing system when the heat is complete and just places the times into the corresponding heat and lane. If swimmers have switched lanes, and the table does not know it, then the names do not get switched in the computer, and the times are tied to a lane. The timers also may not know about the switch, so don't change it on their sheets. If using MM, it is somewhat easy to switch names, there is a function which allows dragging people across heats and lanes, but many times when this happens, the table and the refs may not even be aware of it, because the swimmer does not realize the importance, or may not even be aware they swam in the wrong place. Then results get printed incorrectly, especially if the swimmer jumps in a lane that was empty but was really assigned to a swimmer who simply did not show up. The easiest catch is someone jumping into a lane that truly was empty on the seeded heat. That is when I start asking meet refs, who swam in lane such and such, I have a time, and no name!

Nkfrench, The "compelling" reason for each participant to keep up on their lane assignment is the main reason they are at the meet to begin with .......... i.e. to race with their peers as well as the clock. We are all adults, and we pay a lot of money to attend this event. I can assure you that swimmers would MUCH rather participate in their own assigned heats and lanes than "beg" the official to swim in an open lane. As far as the mix up on medals are concerned, most people would be satisfied with just getting in to swim the event for a time with no points or places awarded should they miss their heat. I mean really........ we're there for self improvement, general physical fitness and above all to see old friends (which is partly why I missed my heat) ..... not because we are 10 years old and need a medal. Rick (Osterber) seems to have a better view of this situation than most officials in my opinion. John Smith

I DO write my heat at lane on my hand for my events, and refer to it regularly through the day. Compulsive I know but it works.

I think that John, as penance and in the spirit of well-earned humility, should volunteer at NCAA meets to help foreign scholarship swimmers to avoid making the mistake that he made.

Hi John, You may submit this idea and any other ideas about championship pool competition directly to the USMS Championship Committee Chair Mark Moore at: championship@usms.org The committee is very active and reviews new ideas all the time. Over the years it has adopted national qualifying times, online entries, new team scoring, and it has contributed tremendously to the ongoing evolution of the national championship pre-meet materials in the magazine. You may also talk to your local delegates from Texas about ideas for administrative changes. It is their job to represent your ideas to their committees and ratify changes at the annual convention. South Central Zone Director Carolyn Boak is a longtime member of the Championship Committee. If they host a meet at the Woodlands, I bet she'd be there. You may also reach her by e-mail at: SouthCentralDirector@usms.org At the very least, you will find out why the rule is the way it is. But if the committee likes the proposal, it could adopt a change. Hint: persistence pays off. SB

Originally posted by Matt S "I've been through the backstroke on a swimmer with no name. "It felt good to be out of the rain. "On the backstroke you can't remember your name, "'Cause they're lots of idle yakkers there to give you a pain. "La lala la lalala, la lala la la..." I hate backstroke :D Could be why I missed my heat!