Rules Corner

RULES CORNER #11 by Kathy Casey, USMS Rules Chair July 25, 2008 QUESTIONS and CLARIFICATIONS 1. Competitor’s Age: Question: Why am I 59 years old at 25-yard meets but 60 years old at 25- and 50-meter meets this year? I’m not 60 until October 5th! Answer: The rest of the world determines the age as of December 31 of that year for meters competition. The current USMS rules for age determining date (102.2.1 and 102.2.2) are a compromise between the way the rest of the world determines age and the way USMS has traditionally determined age. For short course yard meets, age is determined as of the last day of competition in a meet. For meter meets age is determined as of December 31 of the year of competition. That way we also match the rest of the world in age determining date for World Top 10 and World Records which are meters only. 2. Breaststroke: Question: I noticed that the language for body position when leaving the wall has changed from “the shoulders must be at or past vertical toward the ***” to “the body shall be kept on the ***”. Does that mean I could now be disqualified for leaving the wall on my side? Answer: No, even though the language of 101.2.2 has changed to match the USA Swimming and FINA language, the interpretation has not changed. “Kept on the ***” means at or past vertical toward the ***, and breaststrokers should not be disqualified for leaving the wall on their sides if they are at or past vertical toward the ***. 3. Breaststroke Turn: Question: If I approach the wall with a complete stroke cycle but am still a foot or so away from the wall and after that last kick there’s not enough room for another complete cycle, can I add an extra little arm pull or kick? Answer: You can add an extra little arm pull only, since an arm pull is what would occur after the kick of that last complete cycle, and touch the wall after that little arm pull. That is an incomplete cycle which is allowed in the turn and finish rule, 101.2.4. That is not a disqualification. If you take a little extra kick following the kick of the last complete cycle, that is a disqualification. Only an arm pull can follow that last kick. 4. Pool Measurement: Question: Is it possible to accept USA Swimming pool length certifications for USMS pool measurements? Answer: Yes. USMS accepts certifications of course length that are on file with USA Swimming (105.1.6A), even though USA Swimming and USMS pool measurement and certification rules are a little different. 5. Butterfly Turns and Finish: Question: If my butterfly stroke leaves me just a bit short of the wall on turns or at the finish, can I take one dolphin kick to bring me in without an arm pull? The rule only mentions one breaststroke or whip kick. Answer: Yes. There is not a prescribed limit to the number of dolphin kicks per arm pull, and a swimmer is allowed to take extra dolphin kicks without an arm pull into the wall on turns and finishes. The kick rule for butterfly specifically addresses a single breaststroke or whip kick without an arm pull prior to the turn because an arm pull is required for each breaststroke or whip kick during the rest of the stroke (101.3.3). That is not the case with the dolphin kick. Proposed Rule Changes: Proposed changes this year address scoring at nationals, the minimum number of officials required at nationals, the location of nationals, and the deadline for bids for national championship meets. For any questions about rules contact Kathy Casey, USMS Rules Chair, rules@usms.org.

RULES CORNER #12 by Kathy Casey, USMS Rules Chair November, 2008 Major Changes or clarifications affecting swimming rules as passed at Convention (rule changes are effective January 1, 2009): 1. Deliberate Delay of the Start or Misconduct: Only the referee may disqualify a swimmer for delaying the start, for willfully disobeying an order or for any other misconduct taking place at the start. (Article 103.8.8A) 2. Recording Disqualifications: The swimmer’s name is no longer required on a disqualification slip. (Articles103.10.2 and 103.10.3) 3. Official Time from an Initial Distance of the IM: An official time for butterfly can be achieved from the first one-fourth of the individual medley (butterfly). (Article 103.13.2) 4. Bids for National Championship Meets: Bids for national championship meets shall be submitted no later than 60 days prior to the annual meeting of the House of Delegates, and if no timely, certifiable bid is received, the Championship Committee shall continue to solicit bids. (Article 104.3.1D) 5. Scoring for National Championship Meets: Club scoring will be tabulated in two categories; Regional Club and Local Club. A Regional Club is a club made up of swimmers who represent the club at nationals, but at competitions in the LMSC, represent an entity or subgroup (such as a workout group) that is different than the one they compete with at nationals. (Article 104.5.6) 6. Personnel Required to Run National Championship Meets: • A meet referee and an administrative referee who meet qualification standards established by the Officials Committee; • One deck referee, one starter, and one chief judge for each course; • Sufficient stroke and turn judges to provide fair and equitable jurisdictions; and • Sufficient administrative officials (including timing equipment operators) to ensure that rules and procedures are followed for seeding, determining official times, preparing results, and documenting records. • The meet referee may modify or combine assignments except that the deck referee and starter may not be the same person, and lane timers may not operate two similar timing devices simultaneously. • All officials shall be certified in the capacity to which they are assigned. (Article 104.5.10) 7. Guidelines for Officiating Swimmers with a Disability: Reference to the use of an ID card for swimmers who have an International Paralympic Committee-authorized classification has been deleted, and the language of the guidelines has been updated. (Article 108) For any questions about rules contact Kathy Casey, USMS Rules Chair, rules@usms.org.

NOTICE TO ALL USMS MEMBERS FROM THE USMS RULES COMMITTEE The following notice bears important information for all USMS members regarding: 1. Breaststroke: initiation of the first arm pull 2. Backstroke: disqualification language for the turn 3. Dual sanction agreement between USA Swimming and USMS: how to run such meets BREASTSTROKE USA Swimming has issued an updated interpretation of the initiation of the breaststroke arm pull to conform to the FINA interpretation. USMS Swimming Rules: Part 1 of the USMS Rule Book are based in part upon article 101, “Individual Strokes and Relays”, of the USA Swimming Technical Rules which includes the breaststroke. The updated interpretation will apply to USMS competition (USMS article 101.2.3). See the following text published by Bruce Stratton, Chair of the USA Swimming Rules & Regulations Committee, December 8, 2008: Text from USA Swimming: “In 2005, FINA made changes to the technical rules for breaststroke which allowed a single downward butterfly kick during or at the end of the first arm pull after the start and after each turn. As required by USA Swimming Rules, we changed our technical rules for the breaststroke to conform to the changes made by FINA. During the time since the change, there has been much confusion about what constitutes the beginning of the first arm pull. Based upon the (USA-S) Rules & Regulations Committee understanding of FINA’s interpretation and actual practice in international competition, our guidance has been that the mere separation of the hands or arms does not necessarily constitute the beginning of the first arm pull. However, we have been informed that FINA’s interpretation is now different from our previous understanding of what constitutes the beginning of the first arm pull. In order for our interpretation to conform to that used by FINA, the following interpretation is being made, effective immediately. For purposes of Article 101.2.3, as it relates to what constitutes the initiation of the first arm pull and the allowed single downward butterfly kick, the following applies: After the start and after each turn, any lateral or downward movement of the hands or arms is considered to be the initiation of the first arm pull. Here ends the text from USA Swimming. For any questions about the interpretation of the initiation of the first arm pull contact: Kathy Casey, Chair USMS Rules Committee rules@usms.org BACKSTROKE TURN: DISQUALIFICATION LANGUAGE There has been NO change in the interpretation of the backstroke turn rule. Recently, USA-Swimming advised its officials that they should alter the wording typically used to report backstroke turn disqualifications. In 2005 USA Swimming deleted the following sentence from the backstroke turn rule: “Once the body has left the position on the back, any kick or arm pull must be part of the continuous turning action.” Deleting that sentence did not constitute a change in the interpretation of the turn because the previous sentence addresses initiating the turn. However, officials continued to use the statement “noncontinuous turning action” on disqualification slips. Since the USA Swimming rule no longer refers to “continuous turning action”, USA Swimming officials have been encouraged to use language such as “failure to initiate the turn after the arm pull” or “failure to initiate the turn after turning toward the ***” rather than “noncontinuous turning action”. However, USMS did NOT delete the “continuous turning action” sentence from its backstroke turn rule (USMS article 101.4.3). The USMS Rules Committee deemed that sentence a good clarification for USMS members and retained the sentence. Therefore, any of the statements listed above for describing infractions of the turn rule, including “noncontinuous turning action”, are acceptable for USMS competition. For any questions about backstroke turn infraction language contact: Kathy Casey, Chair or Charlie Cockrell, Chair USMS Rules Committee USMS Officials Committee rules@usms.org officials@usms.org DUAL SANCTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN USA SWIMMING and USMS Combining USA Swimming and USMS meets is now an official option as a result of an agreement signed by USA Swimming and USMS July 30, 2008. A number of inquiries have been received asking how to run such combined meets. Below is “Attachment A” from the signed agreement that describes three methods for running combined meets. Note that the term “organization” refers to USA Swimming and/or USMS throughout the document. ATTACHMENT A COMBINED, PARALLEL, and INTERWOVEN MEETS The number of inquiries as to what mechanisms are available for combining USA Swimming and USMS swimming meets has been increasing. The reasons for combining these meets are many, ranging from the limited availability of pool time and officials to the desire to promote the sport as a lifelong activity. There are several ways of accomplishing this goal within the rules and insurance policies of each organization. This document outlines these options. It is assumed that all competitors are a member of either USA Swimming, USMS, or both. Those that are members of both must select one organization with which to compete for the entire meet. Dual membership cannot be used to exceed the daily event limits imposed by either organization. Automatic recognition of times achieved by a USMS swimmer competing in the USA-S portion is still available. Any of the joint meets described below must have sanctions from both USA Swimming and USMS. Both sanctions must be held by the host organization. The host organization cannot be required to accept a participant from either USMS or USA Swimming that would otherwise be barred from participation by their respective organizations. USMS Record and Top Ten submissions must comply with all USMS documentation requirements. Combined Meets With the consent of all (co-)hosting teams and the LSC and LMSC, a combined meet may be sanctioned by both USA Swimming and USMS and all swimmers competing according to USA Swimming rules. This mechanism allows the meet host(s) to seed the event as they normally would, based upon times, with USA Swimming and USMS members combined in heats without specific lanes allocated to one organization or the other. There are restrictions however. A divider must separate members of each organization. A lane line is sufficient to achieve the separation. This does preclude, for example, swimming two-to-a-lane with a member of each organization in the same lane. Warm-up and warm-down should be conducted in separate lanes. Relay teams must consist of members of the same organization. Parallel Meets The two meets may be swum in parallel by assigning some number of lanes to USMS competitors and a different set to USA Swimming competitors. If possible, separate stroke and turn officials for each set is preferred. It is permissible to adjust, for example, the makeup of the USMS heats so that competitors in a given heat have approximately the same seed times. Each organization’s rules would apply to their members. Interwoven Meets The two meets may be swum with complete heats of swimmers from both organizations alternating. There would be no need for separate stroke and turn officials. Each organization’s rules would apply to their members. For any questions about combined meets contact: Kathy Casey, Chair USMS Rules Committee rules@usms.org