2017 U.S. Masters Swimming 5K/10K ePostal National Championships

Hosted by Swim Fort Lauderdale Masters Booster Club

Sanctioned by Florida Gold Coast LMSC for USMS, Inc

You MUST be a currently registered member of USMS or a FINA member National governing body on or before the day of your swim!

Swim First~~~Then enter the 2017 USMS 5K/10K ePostal Nationals.

Have your completed split sheet handy to enter your splits at the prompt.

2017 Swim Date: The 5-km and/or 10-km ePostals must be swum in its entirety on or between May 15 and September 15, 2017.

2017 Entry Deadlines—ONLINE ONLY:

• All individual entries must be submitted by 11:59PM HAT on September 25.
• Completed split sheets for individual National Record breakers must also be received by the Event Director by September 25. All relay entries must be submitted by 11:59PM HAT on October 10.
• Your online entry is not complete until you have received a confirmation of your entry by email.  If you do not receive this confirmation, please contact the Event Director.

Event Information

Objective:  To swim 5-kilometers and/or 10-kilometers in a 50-meter pool of your choosing, then submit your results online to compare yourself to other swimmers doing the same event.  Some people do these events for competition, some do it for the challenge, some do it for fitness, and others do it for fun—all who wish to participate are welcome.  Your submitted time determines the final order of finish. Please note: Split times from individual postal events may not be used for entry into a separate individual postal national championship event of a shorter distance.

Location:  Swimmers must swim the 5-kilometer and/or 10-kilometer ePostal events in a 50-meter pool ONLY—no other length of pool please!

Eligibility: All swimmers must be 2017 full members of USMS (or the equivalent FINA organization for foreign swimmers) on or before the day of their swim!  One-Event memberships are not available for this event.  USMS swimmers will have their membership verified automatically. Foreign swimmers must verify their FINA Organization membership by submitting an electronic or mailed copy of their FINA organization 2017 registration card to the event director by September 15.  Foreign swimmers are not eligible for USMS records or All-American status.  

Fees:  $14 for each individual swimmer ($15 for foreign swimmers) and $16 for each relay ($20 for foreign swimmers).  Fees are non-refundable.  Entries must be paid by credit card: Visa, MasterCard, or Discover.  Your credit card will reflect a charge from "ClubAssistant.com Events", our software and merchant account provider.  Each individual must sign and submit their own entry with original signature (i.e. No club can send in a large group entry without the individual entry form including entrants signature on the waiver page).  This is per USMS legal counsel. 

Rules: 2017 USMS Rules govern these events, including USMS Rule 102.12.1 regarding swimwear. Drafting, flotation, and propulsive devices (pull buoys, fins, paddles, snorkels, wet suits, etc.) are not permitted. No more than two swimmers should share a lane. If a lane is shared, each swimmer must stay on his or her side of the lane during the entire race (i.e. no circle swimming).

Timing & Splits:

• An adult acting as a starter/head timer/referee shall be present at all times during the swim, having no additional responsibilities during the swim other than acting as a timer if necessary.  Each swimmer must have a timer who shall time and count lengths by recording cumulative split times every two lengths during the swim.  One person may serve as a timer for no more than two swimmers at the same time.
• Event timing may be done with a stopwatch or electronic timing device.
• Cumulative split times must be recorded to the nearest second on the official event split sheet, available at http://www.usms.org/longdist/5k_10k_splits.pdf.  Any final time submitted without tenths or hundredths will be defaulted to .99 second, and any final time submitted with tenths (.x) will be defaulted to .x9 second.  Enter .99 if you have no tenths or hundredths of a second as a documented final time!
• No adjustment will be made for swims completed at elevation.
• Save your split sheet!

Unsporting Conduct:  Any act of fraud, deception, dishonesty, or knowingly providing false information (including name, date of birth, age, or gender) in this event may result in disciplinary action by USMS pursuant to USMS Rule 402.3, 402.4.3, and 402.4.4

Individual Events:  Men and women compete separately in age groups of five-year increments: 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, and as far as necessary.  PLEASE NOTE: New rule regarding age of entrant this year! The swimmer’s age as of Dec. 31, 2017 will determine his or her age group.  (Reference:  USMS  new rule 301.4:  "In open water and postal swims, the eligibility of a swimmer shall be determined by the age of the swimmer on December 31 of the year of competition, except for 18-year-olds, who must be 18 on the day that they swim.") Therefore, each swimmer can only swim in one age group for the 2017 USMS 5K/10K ePostal Nationals.

Individual Entries:  When submitting your results online, you will be asked to enter 500-meter splits for the 5-km swim and 1000-meter splits for the 10-km swim.  Swimmers are not required to submit a completed split sheet unless that swimmer has broken an individual national record.  However, the Event Director may request your entry sheet for verification; failure to do so may result in individual and relay disqualification, so please retain a copy of your completed split sheet for one year after the entry deadline.  Note the deadline above.

Relay Entries:  All individual entries will be displayed by USMS Club and will include the entrant's time for the Club Relay Coordinator's reference.  You will only be able to view a listing of YOUR USMS Club's entries.  Note the deadline above.

Records:

• Completed split sheets for individual National Record breakers must be received by November 25.  Scan and email to Megan at: swim2win4u@gmail.com or mail to ePostal National Championships, Att: Megan Lassen, 501 Seabreeze Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316.  A 5-km split in the 10-km swim may be submitted for a record if requested in writing and at least two dedicated handheld watches are used to record the record split to the nearest 100th of a second.  However, this result cannot be an entry for the 5-km swim, as the two swims must be done separately.
• Records will be updated on the USMS Long Distance National Records webpage and printed in the 2018 USMS Rule Book.

Purchase merchandise AFTER completing event entry: Did you forget to buy an event T-shirt or magnet? Would you like to remember the fun long after the event is over?  You can do this all using the public shopping cart link.

Results: Preliminary results will be posted at www.usms.org by October 15 for one week.  All corrections must be sent to the event director that week.  Final results will be posted promptly after that.

Questions: Contact Event Director Megan Lassen at: swim2win4u@gmail.com or (360) 441-2241