age up dates

So, Swimmer Bill and Jayhawk, would there be any possibility of a rule change that changed the rule to "age at last day of the meet" for all three venues be a possibility or does that get in the way of FINA rules? First let me say that I am definitely not the expert here, and I would appreciate it if some of the experts would weigh in. But in my inexperienced opinion I think what you are proposing would be at odds with the FINA world records. Here is an example of the system you are proposing and its consequences. Let's take Swimmer Joe, whose 50th birthday will be on 12/31/08. Swimmer Joe swims a SCM meet in January, 2008. His "real age" is 49 years old. His "FINA age" is 50 years old. Now let's pretend that USMS rules say that Swimmer Joe's age is his age on the last day of the meet. That means that he's 49 years old (in the eyes of USMS) for this meet. BUT, he's 50 years old in the eyes of FINA. Now let's pretend that the current records for his hypothetical event are as follows: USMS record, 45-49 age group: 2:05.00 USMS record, 50-54 age group: 2:07.00 World record, 50-54 age group: 2:07.00 Now let's pretend that Swimmer Joe swims his event in 2:06.00. The consequences would be: --Swimmer Joe does NOT set a USMS record, because he's 49 in the eyes of USMS. --Swimmer Joe DOES set a world record, because he's 50 in the eyes of FINA. So, you have a swimmer who holds a world record but doesn't hold a USMS record. I can also see this being very confusing for meet directors and Top Ten tabulators. Anna Lea

So, Swimmer Bill and Jayhawk, would there be any possibility of a rule change that changed the rule to "age at last day of the meet" for all three venues be a possibility or does that get in the way of FINA rules? First let me say that I am definitely not the expert here, and I would appreciate it if some of the experts would weigh in. But in my inexperienced opinion I think what you are proposing would be at odds with the FINA world records. Here is an example of the system you are proposing and its consequences. Let's take Swimmer Joe, whose 50th birthday will be on 12/31/08. Swimmer Joe swims a SCM meet in January, 2008. His "real age" is 49 years old. His "FINA age" is 50 years old. Now let's pretend that USMS rules say that Swimmer Joe's age is his age on the last day of the meet. That means that he's 49 years old (in the eyes of USMS) for this meet. BUT, he's 50 years old in the eyes of FINA. Now let's pretend that the current records for his hypothetical event are as follows: USMS record, 45-49 age group: 2:05.00 USMS record, 50-54 age group: 2:07.00 World record, 50-54 age group: 2:07.00 Now let's pretend that Swimmer Joe swims his event in 2:06.00. The consequences would be: --Swimmer Joe does NOT set a USMS record, because he's 49 in the eyes of USMS. --Swimmer Joe DOES set a world record, because he's 50 in the eyes of FINA. So, you have a swimmer who holds a world record but doesn't hold a USMS record. I can also see this being very confusing for meet directors and Top Ten tabulators. Anna Lea