Split requests seem to be all the fashion lately. I know they're perfectly legal, though I haven't read the rule itself. I'm wondering about them though ... It seems oddly unfair, for example, that a person never (or rarely) swimming open 50s could hold world or national records or #1 rankings in those events. (I'm just saying it's odd, while recognizing it could be perfectly legal.) But, aside from that and further, what if someone really played the system. What if, for example, someone was after a 50 free record. They entered a meet in the 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 free and led off free relays and requested split requests in each event to try to set a record. Is this legitimate or legal? Would a meet director be bound to accept split requests for all these events? Is there a limit? Do meet directors have discretion to deny multiple split requests? I can see a situation where multiple attempts at a 50 might result in a better time ...
One of the interesting things is that the USMS relay initial split rule is in tension with the FINA rule. Compare:
FINA SW 11.5 In the case of a relay disqualification, legal splits up to the time of the disqualification shall be recorded in the official results.
with
USMS 103.13.1 An official time shall be achieved in a USMS-sanctioned competition or -recognized event in accordance with all applicable rules. It may be achieved in:
C A relay leadoff leg provided the swimmers complete the event without being disqualified.
Even though you might not agree per se with the split rules, I don't see how you would get around them. FINA dictates the procedure for the world records and world Top 10's, and it would be somewhat silly to create a national procedure that is completely contrary to that (oh wait, that darn yards thing....).
I like having the opportunity to get an initial split for my own purposes because sometimes, for whatever reason, you don't always get a chance to swim a particular event. For example, I was at a meet in April doing the 1650, so I asked for the 1000 split too.
Sure there may be inequities in the competition with initial splits, but what stops someone from setting up a time trial, or sanctioned intrasquad meet, or something like that where the deck is loaded in their favor?
Patrick King
One of the interesting things is that the USMS relay initial split rule is in tension with the FINA rule. Compare:
FINA SW 11.5 In the case of a relay disqualification, legal splits up to the time of the disqualification shall be recorded in the official results.
with
USMS 103.13.1 An official time shall be achieved in a USMS-sanctioned competition or -recognized event in accordance with all applicable rules. It may be achieved in:
C A relay leadoff leg provided the swimmers complete the event without being disqualified.
Even though you might not agree per se with the split rules, I don't see how you would get around them. FINA dictates the procedure for the world records and world Top 10's, and it would be somewhat silly to create a national procedure that is completely contrary to that (oh wait, that darn yards thing....).
I like having the opportunity to get an initial split for my own purposes because sometimes, for whatever reason, you don't always get a chance to swim a particular event. For example, I was at a meet in April doing the 1650, so I asked for the 1000 split too.
Sure there may be inequities in the competition with initial splits, but what stops someone from setting up a time trial, or sanctioned intrasquad meet, or something like that where the deck is loaded in their favor?
Patrick King
