2009 USMS 5K and 10K Postal National Championships

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Registration Schedule

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Hosted by Minuteman Masters Swim Club
Sanctioned by New England Masters for USMS, Inc. # 040-011-SLCY

Date:  The 5K Postal and/or the10K Postal must be swum in its entirety on or between May 15 and September 15, 2009.  All online individual entry submissions must be completed by 11:59PM PDT on September 25, 2009, and complete split sheets must be received by the event director by October 5, 2009 (see Splits below). Paper mail individual entries must be received by September 25, 2009. All online relay entry submissions must be completed by 11:59PM PDT on October 5, 2009. Paper mail relay entries must be received by October 5, 2009.

Objective:  To swim 5K (5000 meters) and/or 10K (10,000 meters) in its entirety in any 50-meter pool you choose. Event results are sent in electronically or by mail so you can compare yourself to other swimmers doing the same event. Some people do the 5K Postal and/or the 10K Postal event for competition, while others do it for fitness; all who wish to participate are welcome. The recorded time you submit determines the order of finish.  If two or more swimmers report the same time, a tie will be declared.

Location:   You may swim the 5K Postal and/or the 10K Postal in any 50-meter length pool. The 5K equals 100 lengths of the pool and the 10K equals 200 lengths of the pool.

Eligibility:   This is a USMS-sanctioned event and all participants must be registered for 2009 with USMS (or the equivalent organization for non-U.S. swimmers).  Foreign swimmers are not eligible for USMS records or All-American status.  Entries submitted by mail must include a copy of your current 2009 registration card.  Online entries will be verified automatically.

Individual Events:  Men and women compete separately in age groups of five-year increments:  18-24, 25-29, 30-34,…100+.  The swimmer’s age on the day he or she actually completes his or her swim will determine his or her age group. Swimmers who change age groups during the event may enter twice, but must swim the event twice, once in each age group.

Relay Events:  Relay events will be contested in three categories:  3 men, 3 women, or 4 mixed (2 men, 2 women).  Each relay member MUST also enter the individual event and be registered with the same USMS Club.  Unattached swimmers are not permitted on relays. The youngest relay member’s age shall determine the relay’s age group. Age groups are 18+, 25+, 35+,…95+. The cumulative time for the individual swims will be the relay time.

Club Event:  Each Club will be entered automatically in the Club event.  Club point scoring will be calculated based on Quality Points, which are ratios of each individual time to the corresponding USMS record for the gender & age group.   The faster the swim the more Quality Points a swimmer earns.  Club totals will be the sum of the Quality Points of its swimmers. Since every swimmer will receive Quality Points, every swimmer counts! 

Fees:  $14.00 for each individual entry ($17.00 for non-US swimmers) and $21.00 for each relay entry.  Fees are non-refundable. Online entries must be paid by credit card (Visa or MasterCard). Mailed in entries must be paid by check or money order only – no cash.  Foreign entrants may enter online with a credit card, or enter by mail submitting fees in U.S. funds via international money order or bank check drawn on a bank with a U.S. affiliate.

Awards:  The top 10 finishers in each age group in the individual event and the top 6 relay teams in relay events will receive USMS Long Distance National Championship medals.  First place finishers in each individual and relay age group will also receive a USMS championship patch, Only one patch per event per participant will be awarded. 

Rules: The 2009 USMS Rules govern these events. Drafting, flotation, and propulsive devices (pull buoys, fins, paddles, wet suits, etc.) are not permitted. No more than two swimmers may 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).  An adult acting as a starter/head timer/referee shall be present at all times during the swim.  Each swimmer must have a verifier to count laps and record cumulative splits every 100 meters.The timing of the event may be done with a stopwatch or electronic timing device. One person may serve as a counter for no more than two swimmers per heat. No adjustment may be made for swims completed at altitude.

Splits: Cumulative split times must be recorded to the nearest second (final times for national records to the nearest 100th) on the official event split sheet available at  http://www.usms.org/longdist/5k_10k_splits.pdf . This split sheet must be kept for each swimmer, and a copy with the swimmer information completed at the top must be sent to the event director. ONLINE ENTRIES: If submitting your results online, you will be asked to enter only 500m splits for the 5K Postal and only 1000m splits for the 10K Postal. Enter the splits when asked. Online entrants MUST mail or scan/email their official split sheets to the event director for the entry to be deemed complete. Split sheets for online entries must be received no later than Monday, October 5, 2009. MAILED ENTRIES: If mailing in an entry, you must mail the split sheet with the entry form which must be received by September 25, 2009.

T-Shirts/Caps:  Fabulous T-shirts celebrating your participation in the USMS 5K and 10K Postal National Championships are available for you to order when registering online or mailing in your entry.  This is NOT a T-shirt you will see at every meet!

Results:  Complete results will be available by mail or via the internet. Preliminary results will be posted on the USMS website at www.usms.org by October 25, 2009, for two weeks.  All corrections must be sent to the event director during those two weeks. Final results will be posted approximately one week later.

Online Relay Entries: Online relay entries will be available in mid-June. Please check back then.

Mailed Relay Entries: Please visit http://www.usms.org/longdist/ldnats09/5k10kpostalrelayentry.pdf  or www.minutemanmasters.com to download relay entry forms or send a SASE to: 2009 5K & 10K Postal National Championships, 105 Lincoln Woods Road, Waltham, MA 02451

Questions: Contact event director: Sue Sotir at sue@minutemanmasters.com
 

Note: If paying by credit card, your credit card statement will reflect a charge from "US Masters Swimming."