Competition
THIS MEET IS CANCELLED!
Due to public health concerns, the venue is closed through the scheduled dates of the meet, and no alternative venues are available so there was no choice but to cancel the meet. Colorado Masters Swimming will consider an alternative meet at a later date and will announce decisions on their website at www.comsa.org.
Refunds for prepaid entries (minus processing fees) will be credited to the payment credit card by April 1, 2020. COMSA apologizes for any inconvenience and appreciates your understanding.
COMSA invites you to the 2020 COMSA Masters Short Course Swimming Championships–March 27-29, 2020!
Venue: Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center (VMAC), 5310 E. 136th Ave, Thornton, CO 80241. The pool is 25 yards by 50 meters, and will be set up with bulkheads creating 10 short course yards competition lanes and separate warm-up/cool down areas. A Colorado Electronic Timing System with backup timing and scoreboard readout will be used. Bleacher seating is available, with additional on-deck seating available. We recommend bringing your own chairs if you plan to sit on deck.
As a bulkhead course, the length of the competition course is subject to length confirmation. Eligibility of times for USMS Top 10 and Records will be contingent on verification of compliant bulkhead placement.
Eligibility: This is a USMS sanctioned meet. Swimmers must be at least 18 years of age on the day they swim. A valid 2020 United States Masters Swimming (USMS) membership is required to compete, and must be furnished with the entry. Online USMS registration is linked on the COMSA website (comsa.org). Contact the COMSA Vice Chair at theggy@performancepress.com with questions.
Rules: All current USMS Rules apply, including a NO FALSE START RULE and whistle alerts announcing the start of each race. Pull buoys, kickboards, fins, hand paddles, and snorkels are not allowed in the competition or warm-up pools.
Except in the actual competition, swimmers must enter the pool feet first in a cautious and controlled manner. No diving or backstroke starts are allowed except in designated sprint lanes. One or two lanes will be designated as one-way sprint lanes during the pre-meet warm-up sessions in the competition pool only.
Any swimmer who acts in an unsporting or unsafe manner within the swimming venue may be considered for appropriate action or penalty by the referee (rule 102.13.3).
Entries and Fees:
$15 surcharge per swimmer, including relay-only swimmers
$4 per individual event (max of 6 events per day), excluding relays
Fees must accompany registration, and must be paid in U.S. Dollars by credit card, check or money order.
Entry Deadlines:
All entries will be online and must be completed by March 22nd, 2020 at midnight. Online entries receive email confirmation. No entry verification will be made via telephone.
Entry Confirmations:
All entry confirmations are via email from Club Assistant. Psych sheets will be posted at www.comsa.org 2-3 days before the first day of the meet. Contact the meet facilitator (theggy@performancepress.com) with corrections to errors found on the psych sheet.
Event Seeding: All events will be seeded SLOW to FAST, except for the 1000 and 1650, which will be seeded FAST to SLOW. “No Time” entries will not be accepted. All events are timed finals, one swimmer per lane. Men and Women will be combined in the 1000 and 1650 freestyle and may be combined in other events of 200 yards or longer (including relays) at the discretion of the meet director. Deck seeding is strictly at the discretion of the meet director. Any swimmer who fails to appear at the starting platform ready to swim in time for the initial start of the assigned heat cannot score points in that event and will be recorded as NS (no swim).
Timeline: Because this is a long meet attended by busy people who may have to travel to participate, the meet officials will generally try to compress the timeline to speed up the meet. Therefore, any calculated meet timeline will almost certainly be inaccurate, indicating later start times than when the events will actually occur. Please arrive early to ensure you don't miss your events. No accomodations will be made for people who miss their assigned heat.
Positive Check-in for Distance Events: Check-in is required for the distance events. Participants in the 1650 Free, 1000 Free, 500 Free, and 400 IM, MUST positively check-in for those events using SWIMPHONE ONLINE CHECK IN: https://www.SwimPhone.com/meets/meet_menu.cfm?smid=12866.
The 1000 and 1650 freestyle events are seeded FAST to SLOW. All other events are seeded SLOW to FAST.
Deadlines for positive check-in are:
Friday’s Events:
- 1000 Free check-in opens Thursday, March 26th, at 6:00am and closes at 12:00pm on Friday, March 27th, 2020.
- 1650 Free check-in opens Thurdsay, March 26th, at 6:00am and closes at 2:00pm on Friday March 27th, 2020.
Saturday & Sunday:
- 500 Free check-in opens Friday, March 27th, at 6:00am and closes at 8:00am on Saturday, March 28th, 2020.
- 400 IM check-in opens Saturday, March 28th, at 6:00am and closes at 8:00am on Sunday, March 29th, 2020.
Warmup lanes: Continuous warmup lanes will be available in the non-competition lanes (deep end and shallow end) throughout the meet. Warmup in the competition lanes is available only before the start of the meet each day, and after the 500 Free and 400 IM events on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The officials will designate one or more lanes for starting block practice and 25-yard sprints (one way only). All other lanes are feet-first entry only with circle swimming etiquette enforced.
Times for warm-up in the competition are:
Friday: 11:30am-12:30pm
Saturday and Sunday: 7:30-8:30am and as announced by the officials following the morning distance events or other times at the head official's discretion.
Heat Sheets and Lane assignments will be posted at multiple locations around the pool. Lane assignments may be changed at any time, at the head official’s discretion.
Age Groups and Relays:
Age for the meet is determined as of the last day of the meet, March 29, 2020. Swimmers must be a minimum age of 18 on the day that they are swimming.
Individual Events: 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39,…100+
Relay Events: 18+, 25+, 35+, 45+, etc. 10-year increments as high as necessary determined by age of youngest relay member.
Relay entry sheets will be available at the timing table on the pool deck, and will be accepted each day according to deadlines announced at the meet. All relay members must be USMS members and be individually registered for the meet ($15 fee for relay-only swimmers).
Results:
Results will be posted at the results table and on the pool walls and on Meet Mobile. They will also be available after the meet on the COMSA website at www.comsa.org.
Scoring:
Swimmers may enter up to 6 individual events per day; 14 maximum for the meet, plus relays. Points are awarded for the top 10 places in each age group as follows:
Points awarded for individual events: 11-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Points awarded for 4 x 50 (200) relay events: 22-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2
No points are awarded for 400 and 800 relays, though they are eligible to count for USMS records.
Team Awards:
Team scores are determined by total point counts, Men and Women combined. Swimmers' points go to the team specified during registration. Swimmers will not be allowed to change teams after registration has closed. The top six teams will receive an award. All swimmers on a relay must be registered for the meet under the same team for relay points to count towards team awards.
Participation Awards and Meet T-Shirts:
Each swimmer receives a participation award. To guarantee that you receive a meet T-Shirt (available for purchase); you must pre-order and indicate your size on the entry form. A limited number of extra T-shirts may be available for sale at the meet.
A table will be set up near the pool doors for meet participants to pick up their meet participation award and meet t-shirts (if ordered). The table will tentatively be available during each designated warm-up session.
Individual Awards:
The top 10 swimmers in each individual event may pick up a ribbon from the self-service awards table near the diving board area. No awards are given for relays. An individual high-point award is presented to the highest scoring male and female swimmer in each age group.
Brute Squad Award:
The elite group of aquatic wonders who complete the 200 Fly, 400 IM, and 1650 Free will be presented a T-shirt after the events are concluded.
Sprint Squad Award:
The elite group of speedsters who manage to complete the 50 Free, 50 Fly, 50 Back, 50 Breast, and 100 IM will be presented a T-shirt after the events are concluded.
The Jack Buchannan Service Award:
This award is presented during the opening ceremony on Saturday to the male and female swimmers who have made major contributions to Masters Swimming. Nomination forms are available at www.comsa.org.
The Lou Parker Coaches Award:
This award is presented during the opening ceremony on Saturday to the outstanding COMSA Coach of the Year. Recipients must be current USMS members. Nomination forms are available at www.comsa.org.
Annual COMSA Meeting:
A meeting of the Colorado Masters Swimming Association will be held during a designated break on Saturday morning. An agenda will be available on the COMSA website. This meeting typically lasts about 10 minutes, and may include voting for officers or other LMSC business.