Does anyone know if there are any rules on pacing? I tried to find information on it but couldn't. The question was raised at our meet yesturday when one of the swimmers had someone swim next to her just to pace her on her 500. Is this legal?
I would need to read through the rulebook carefully... but my impression is that if someone is already in the heat with you, they're free to swim their race any way they want. However, it would be inappropriate to put someone in an empty lane as an unofficial competitor simply for the purpose of pacing.
That is... the person doing the pacing must be a regular competitor, and must be seeded into their lane under normal seeding protocol. If it's a meet that has entry fees, for example, they need to pay the entry fee for that event.
-Rick
I would need to read through the rulebook carefully... but my impression is that if someone is already in the heat with you, they're free to swim their race any way they want. However, it would be inappropriate to put someone in an empty lane as an unofficial competitor simply for the purpose of pacing.
That is... the person doing the pacing must be a regular competitor, and must be seeded into their lane under normal seeding protocol. If it's a meet that has entry fees, for example, they need to pay the entry fee for that event.
-Rick
