2012 USMS Speedo One Hour Postal National Championship

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Registration Schedule

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Remember: Swim First~~~Then enter/register for the USMS One Hour Postal National Championship. Have your completed split sheet handy to enter your splits at the prompt.

***FOR 2012 Online entries***

Customized meters entry pathway--NO METERS TO YARDS CONVERSION required by the entrant. The software does it for you! The software will also round down to the nearest 5 yard increment for you! (See ONLINE ENTRIES section below for full information)

NO completed sheets need to be submitted to the event director for individual online entries UNLESS you have broken an individual National Record. (Please see Splits section below for full information and split sheet retention policy)

**IMPORTANT DATES**

ONLINE INDIVIDUAL ENTRY OPENS ON JANUARY 1, 2012

ONLINE RELAY REGISTRATION WILL OPEN ON February 13, 2012

Hosted by Blue Wave Aquatics


Sanctioned by Pacific Northwest Association of Masters Swimmers (PNA) LMSC for USMS, Inc. #362-01

Date: The One Hour Postal must be swum in its entirety during January 2012.

Deadlines: 

All online individual entry submissions must be completed by 11:59PM HT onFebruary 10, 2012.

Complete split sheets will not be required to be submitted to the event director for individuals entering online UNLESS that entrant has broken an individual national record. However, split sheets must remain available upon request of the event director; if it is not provided upon request, the individual entry and applicable relays may be disqualified. Please retain a copy of your completed split sheet for one year after the entry deadline. (see Splits below).

Completed split sheets for individual National Record breakers must be received by the event director by February 10, 2012.

Mailed paper individual entries must be received by February 10, 2012.

All online relay entry submissions must be completed by 11:59PM HT on February 20, 2012.

Mailed paper relay entries must be received by February 20, 2012.

Objective: To swim as far as possible in one hour in any pool you choose that is 25 yards or longer. 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 One Hour Postal event for competition, while others do it for fitness; all who wish to participate are welcome. The recorded distance (total yards swum) that you submit determines the order of finish. If two or more swimmers report the same distance, a tie will be declared.

Location: Swimmers shall swim the One Hour Postal in any pool 25 yards or longer. Please submit your splits and final distance in the course that you swam your event. For events swum in meter pools, the final distance will be converted automatically by the online entry system by multiplying the distance swum in meters by 1.0936 and then rounded down to the nearest five yard increment and integrated with the yard distances.For online entries for events swum in meter pools, please see the ONLINE ENTRIES section below)

Eligibility: This is a USMS-sanctioned event and all participants must be registered for 2012 with USMS (or the equivalent FINA organization for foreign swimmers) on or before the day of their swim. Foreign swimmers are not eligible for USMS records or All-American status. Entries submitted by mail must include a copy of your current 2012 registration card. Online entries for USMS members will be verified automatically. All foreign swimmers who enter online must submit an electronic copy or mail a copy of their equivalent organization 2012 registration card to the event director by February 10, 2012. 

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. Participants shall be allowed to swim in only one same-gender and one mixed-gender relay event. The youngest relay member’s age shall determine the relay’s age group. Age groups are 18+, 25+, 35+,…95+. The cumulative yardage for the individual swims will be the relay yardage.

Club Event: Each Club will be entered automatically in the Club event. At least three divisions will be recognized, based on the number of individual entries from each club, as determined by the event host and the Long Distance Committee Chair. Relay yards will not be included.

Fees: $7.00 for each individual USMS entry ($10.00 for foreign swimmers) and $18.00 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 each relay age group 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. Awards will be presented to the top 3 clubs in each division of the club event.

Rules: The 2012 USMS Rules govern these events, including  USMS Rule 102.12.1regarding swimwear. Drafting, flotation, and propulsive devices (pull buoys, fins, paddles, snorkels, 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 50 yards or 50 meters. The timing of the event may be done with a stopwatch or electronic timing device. Distances are to be rounded down to the nearest completed five yard increment (i.e., round 2764 yards to 2760 yards). SeeLocation section for conversion from meters to yards for paper entries. Online entries will be converted automatically from meters to yards if necessary. 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.

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

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 athttp://www.usms.org/longdist/1hr_3000_6000_splits.pdf.  Any split submitted without tenths or hundredths will be defaulted to .99 second.  Any split submitted with tenths (.x) will be defaulted to .x9 second. Do not enter .00 if you have no tenths or hundredths of a second as a documented split. This split sheet must be kept for each swimmer.

  ONLINE ENTRIES: If submitting your results online, please enter your total distance swum IN THE COURSE that you swam it and select the corresponding unit - yards or meters. You will then be asked to enter your 500 yard or meter cumulative split times for the One Hour Postal. At the bottom of the page, your Official Distance will be displayed in yards rounded down to the nearest 5 yard increment. IF you entered your total distance swum and your cumulative splits in meters, your Official Distance that will be displayed will have been automatically converted to yards and rounded down to the nearest 5 yard increment. Individuals entering online WILL NOT be required to submit a completed split sheet UNLESS that entrant has broken an individual national record. However, split sheets must remain available upon request of the event director; if it is not provided upon request, the individual entry and applicable relays may be disqualified. Please retain a copy of your completed split sheet for one year after the entry deadline.

Completed split sheets for individual National Record breakers must be received by the event director by February 10, 2012.  Scan and email to MeetDirector@BlueWave-Aquatics.com or mail to Blue Wave Aquatics, P.O. Box 24083, Federal Way, WA 98093

  MAILED ENTRIES: If mailing in an entry, you must mail the split sheet with the entry form which must be received by February 10, 2012. 

T-Shirts/Caps: The 2012 USMS One Hour Postal National Championship long and short sleeve performance T-shirts are available at a cost of $21-$26 for USMS swimmers or $24 - $29 for foreign swimmers. Caps are available for $7.00 (USMS) and $8.00 (foreign).

Results: Complete results will be available via the internet. Preliminary results will be posted on the USMS website at www.usms.org by February 21, 2012 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 open on February 13, 2012. All online individual entries and all currently processed individual paper entries will be displayed by USMS Club and will include the entrant's time for the Club Relay Coordinators/Builder's reference. You will only be able to view a listing of YOUR CLUB'S USMS entries. Online relay entries must be completed by 11:59PM HT on February 20, 2012.

Mailed Relay Entries: Please visit www.usms.org/longdist/ldnats12/ to download relay entry forms or send a SASE to: Relay Forms,

Questions: Contact Event Director: Judy Williams
MeetDirector@BlueWave-Aquatics.com 
or Registrar Angela Turley Registrar@BlueWave-Aquatics.com

Mailing Address: Blue Wave Aquatics, P.O. Box 24083, Federal Way, WA 98093

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