2008 USMS Nationals ENTRIES DUE BY June 23rd, 2008 at MIDNIGHT!!!

Online Entry here: http://www.usms.org/comp/lcnats08/onlineentry.php

Meet Information

DATES
Competition: Thursday, August 14 - Sunday, August 17 2008.
Pool available for warm-ups Wednesday, August 13 from 12 - 8 p.m.

LOCATION
Mt. Hood Community College Aquatic Center
26000 SE Stark Street
Gresham, OR 97030
503-491-7243

FACILITIES
Mt. Hood Community College Aquatic Center is home to the Mt. Hood Swim Team and the Oregon Reign Masters. The recently remodeled facility has an outdoor, 50-meter championship pool with eight 2.5-meter-wide lines. Water depths range from six to 16 feet. A 25-yard indoor pool with six lanes will be available throughout the meet for warm-up and warmdown. Parking and seating is available for 4,000 participants and spectators. New features are state-of-the-art starting blocks and a matrix scoreboard. The center is at sea level to ensure fast swimming. Mt. Hood is a 45-minute drive away.

ELIGIBILITY
The Championships are open to any registered Masters swimmer at least 18 years of age as of August 13, 2008. Eighteen-year-olds must enter the meet by the entry deadline and only 18-year-olds may register with USMS on August 13 at the venue. If a swimmer wishes to affiliate with a Masters club, the club and swimmer must both be registered with the same Local Masters Swim Committee (LMSC). If there are questions about affiliation, the swimmer shall be entered as "unattached." Please clear up affiliation questions early by contacting the meet director. International entries must include a copy of the swimmer’s Masters Swimming registration card and fees in U.S. dollars.

AGE GROUPS
Age for the meet is determined as of Dec. 31, 2008, except that 18 year olds must be 18 by August 13, 2008.
Age groups for Individual events: 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39 ... (five year increments as high as necessary).
Relay events: 72-99, 100-119, 120-159, 160-199, ... (40-year increments as high as is necessary).

REGISTRATION
Prior to warm-ups or competition, all participants must register at the meet by signing an emergency card, safety information statement, and liability release. Registration will be held at Mt. Hood Community College Aquatic Center on Wednesday, August 13, from noon to 8 p.m. and on Thursday, August 14 through Sunday, August 17 from 6:30 a.m. until the end of each day’s competition.

SEEDING
All events 100 meters or less will be pre-seeded. 200s will be pre-seeded if the meet timeline allows. Otherwise, they will be deck seeded by gender, time and age group. Women’s heats will precede men’s heats for each event except for the 400, 800 and 1500 Free. Men and women will be seeded together for the 800 and 1500 Free and will be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time regardless of age or gender. The 400 IM will be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time for each sex, regardless of age. All other events will be seeded by age group with the oldest age groups first, slowest to fastest within each age group.

CHECK-IN FOR EVENTS 200 METERS AND LONGER
Positive check-in is required separately for all individual events 400 meters and longer. If the 200s are deck seeded, positive check-in also will be required for the 200s. If the meet timeline allows, the host will pre-seed the 200 meter events and only require check-in for the 400 IM, 400 Free, 800 Free, and 1500 Free, which may be done in person in the registration area, or via online event check-in. The decision on whether to pre-seed the 200s will be announced here by July 31.

CHECK-IN DEADLINES
For each of the following events, online check-in opens Tuesday, Aug. 12 at noon PDT and closes at the same time as on-site deadlines. On-site check-in for all events will open Wednesday, Aug.13 at noon PDT and will close according to the following schedule:

HEAT AND PSYCH SHEETS
Psych sheets for all individual events will be available here on or about July 26, 2008. Heat sheets for pre-seeded events will be available here around August 2, 2008. Heat sheets for deck-seeded events will be posted at the pool deck approximately 30 minutes after the entry deadline.

WARM-UP TIMES
The competition pool will be open for warm-ups on Wednesday, August 13 from noon until 8 p.m. On competition days, the competition pool will be open for warm-ups from 6:30 a.m. until 7:50 a.m. The warm-up pool will be available from 7:50 a.m. until conclusion of the final event. On Thursday through Sunday, the competition pool will also be open for warm-up for 30 minutes following the last heat of the first event, the 400 IM and 400 Free. The competition pool will be open for 30 minutes following the last event each day.

WARM-UP PROCEDURES
Swimmers must enter the pool feet first in a cautious and controlled manner. No diving or backstroke starts will be allowed, except in designated sprint lanes. No diving or backstroke starts will be allowed into the warm-up pool. One or two lanes shall be designated as one-way sprint lanes during the pre-meet warm-up sessions in the competition pool only. No sprint lanes will be designated in the warm-up pool. Any swimmer who acts in an unsportsmanlike or unsafe manner within the swimming venue, may be considered for appropriate action or penalty by the referee (rule 102.15.3). Pull-buoys, kick boards, fins and hand paddles are not allowed in the competition pool or the warm-up pool.

SCRATCHES
Any swimmer failing to report to the proper lane in the correct heat of his or her event shall be scratched from that event, and shall not be permitted to swim that event at another time.

GENERAL MEETING
All swimmers, coaches, and officials should be represented at the general meeting at the Aquatic Center on Wednesday, August 13 at 6 p.m.. Matters pertinent to the operation and conduct of the meet will be discussed.

TIME VERIFICATION (FORMERLY OVCs)
Swimmers needing verification of time(s) or wish their times to be entered into the USA Swimming SWIMS Database (for entry into USA-S national meets) should complete a form at the meet and prior to the swim. Contact the Administrative Referee at the meet.

GOLD MEDAL SPONSORSHIP
Gold Medal Sponsors will be recognized in the official program as supporters of Masters swimming. They will receive a commemorative gift and will be entitled to V.I.P. hospitality, which will include breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks, and a shade tent. Cost of one sponsorship will be $65. Order sponsorships on the meet entry form.

SOCIALS
Two spectacular socials are planned. One will be Friday night at the historic Edgefield Inn by McMenamins. Buffet style dinner with no host bar featuring some of the most outstanding microbrewed beer in the world. Cost is $20. The second social is Saturday night on site at the meet venue. This will be an ’Old Fashioned BBQ’ with a blend of live music and will start approximately one hour prior to the end of the meet. Cost is $15. The ticket price for both socials is $30 (children: $10 per event).

ONLINE ENTRIES
Online entries are encouraged. This method provides immediate confirmation that the entry has been received. Online entry is available here.

ENTRY PROCEDURES
Use official entry form or a photocopy of the entire form. Read all instructions and fill out the form completely. Incomplete forms or forms with "pending" in place of a USMS registration number will be rejected (except for 18 year olds who must enter by the meet entry deadline but may register with USMS at the venue on August 13). A legible copy of the swimmer’s Masters registration card must accompany the entry form for international entrants. Failure to include a copy of your Masters registration card may result in the swimmer being charged a fee before being allowed to compete. A USMS swimmer whose club affiliation differs from what is listed on his/her USMS registration card must send either a new USMS registration card or a letter from the local registrar with the new club affiliation and effective date.

NATIONAL QUALIFYING TIMES / NUMBER OF EVENTS / SIXTH EVENT
Competitors may enter up to three events without meeting the national qualifying time (NQT), or a maximum of six events if they meet the NQTs (i.e. have swum a time equal to or better than the NQTs during the past two years). All swimmers are limited to three events per day. All events must include an entry time. If the meet is deemed too large, an athlete’s sixth event will be dropped. On the entry form, indicate this event with a "6" in the designated column. Distance Events: Swimmers may enter only the 800 or 1500 Free but not both.

ENTRY DEADLINE / VARIABLE SURCHARGE / MAIL ENTRY
All U.S. entries must be postmarked with an official US postmark (no business meters). Surcharge: $40 if entry is postmarked by June 23 or received by June 30. $50 if entry is postmarked by June 30 or received by July 11. Entries received after July 11 will be returned to sender. Online entries are encouraged and will be accepted until midnight PDT on each of the above dates. No telephone or email entries will be accepted. Mail entries early. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with entry for proof of receipt. Do not send certified or overnight mail requiring a signature. Photocopy completed entry forms and personal checks for your records and verification.

FEES
Fees are $4 per individual event plus a surcharge per swimmer. The surcharge varies according to date of entry. (See Entry Deadline/Variable Surcharge/Mail Entry below.) Fees must accompany the entry form and must be paid in U.S. dollars by check or money order. Do not send cash. The entry is not complete until the check has cleared the bank. If there are questions about an entrant’s check, full cash payment in U.S. dollars will be required before the entrant is allowed to swim. Refund requests must be in writing and received by July 11, 2008. No refunds will be given for events not swum. The surcharge also applies to relay swimmers not entered in an individual event. Relay-only swimmers must submit an entry form with payment of the surcharge by the entry deadlines. All fees should be payable to "United States Masters Swimming."

MAIL ENTRY TO:
Long Course Nationals
USMS National Office
8 Rockwood Lane
Londonderry, NH 03053

RELAY INFORMATION
Swimmers may enter relays until 4 p.m. on the day before the relay is scheduled. Each competitor shall be allowed to swim only one freestyle relay, one medley relay, one mixed freestyle relay, and one mixed medley relay. The entry fee for each relay is $12. Relay entries may be submitted at the relay desk in the registration area. Each of the four members of any relay team must be registered with the same Masters club. The relay entry fee is in addition to individual events. Relay entry forms are available for download here.

SCORING
Individual Events: 11-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Relays: 22-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2.

TEAM SCORING
Team scoring will be tabulated in three categories: Men, Women, and Combined. Mixed relays score points only in the Combined category.

AWARDS
Medals will be awarded for first through 10th places in each age group. A USMS Championship Patch will be given to each individual and relay team member for the first event won. Swimmers winning more than one event may purchase additional patches. Unclaimed awards will not be mailed unless arrangements are made at the meet. There will be a charge for mailing awards. Awards will be presented to the top ten teams in each category (Men, Women, and Combined).

FINAL RESULTS
Complete final results may be ordered in advance or at the Awards Table during the meet. Cost will be $15.00 per copy. The USMS website will post results.

QUESTIONS?
Contact Dennis Baker at 503-679-4601, or by email at dbakenats08 -AT- yahoo -DOT- com; or Brandon Drawz at 503-491-7244.