I was trying to come up with good SCY goal times for my 200IM and 400IM this year (because I will only be able to swim at altitude) and checked the conversion charts.
I had remembered from college that there was an altitude adjustment for NCAA cuts for altitudes above 3,000 feet and that altitude adjusted time would qualify you for NCAAs. There is a larger adjustment above around 4,200 feet. Someone was telling me that NCAA track has similar adjustments. I think the adjustment for Denver is .1 seconds for a 100, 1.2 seconds for a 200, and 5 seconds for a 400 or 500. Obviously, the NCAA must feel pretty comfortable with the altitude adjustment to recognize it to NCAA cuts for multiple sports.
The altitude adjustment does not appear to be recognized by USMS. Given that the Top Ten is a virtual championship, is there a reason? I assume too much admin for the limited number of people and the people who generally care go to nationals anyway. I can see that maybe the record shouldn't be broken via an altitude adjustment, but why isn't it recognized for other purposes?
I will make my own adjustments for comparison purposes to last year, but for all the fuss about tech suit benefits I would much rather have a recognized altitude adjustment by USMS.
Tim
Patrick,
Thanks. I learned a little about the rules for USMS and USA Swimming. That is what I suspected, but it seems like a bigger exception to allow someone to qualify for NCAAs, Junior nationals, senior nationals, or I guess Olympic trials based on an altitude adjustment than to allow an adjustment for USMS top ten. It must be fairly well studied to have adjustments down to a hundreth too. USMS time standards are not exactly burdensome and you can go to even nationals without making time cuts so the altitude adjustment seems almost pointless in the USMS rules.
Anyway, I am aging up so making the top ten even at altitude shouldn't be a problem in the 400IM unless the age group gets considerably faster or I go on a big eating binge. I will make my own adjustment to see if I made any improvement over the last year.
Looking forward to joining you low-landers eventually for a competition.
Tim
Patrick,
Thanks. I learned a little about the rules for USMS and USA Swimming. That is what I suspected, but it seems like a bigger exception to allow someone to qualify for NCAAs, Junior nationals, senior nationals, or I guess Olympic trials based on an altitude adjustment than to allow an adjustment for USMS top ten. It must be fairly well studied to have adjustments down to a hundreth too. USMS time standards are not exactly burdensome and you can go to even nationals without making time cuts so the altitude adjustment seems almost pointless in the USMS rules.
Anyway, I am aging up so making the top ten even at altitude shouldn't be a problem in the 400IM unless the age group gets considerably faster or I go on a big eating binge. I will make my own adjustment to see if I made any improvement over the last year.
Looking forward to joining you low-landers eventually for a competition.
Tim
