2nd Annual Thanksgiving Classic (SCM) at The College of New Jersey

hosted by
EASTERN EXPRESS SWIM TEAM

Eastern Express is extremely “thankful” to have The College of New Jersey as our full-time training facility, and as a way of “giving” back to the swimming community, we would like to invite all Masters Swimmers to join us for our Second Annual Thanksgiving Classic.

Meet Dates: Saturday & Sunday, November 10-11, 2012.

Meet Sanction: Sanctioned by New Jersey Masters for USMS Inc. Sanction #: 072-S004

Meet Director: Michael Randazzo. Michael.Randazzo87@gmail.com (908) 448-8476

Meet Referee: TBD

Location: The College of New Jersey, Packer Hall Aquatic Center. 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ, 08268.

Parking: Ample parking will be available in on-campus garages and lots on both days of the competition. All parking areas are located on TCNJ’s closed-campus within a 5-minute walk of the natatorium.

About the Venue: The TCNJ Aquatic Center boasts a beautiful eight-lane, 25-meter competition course, complete with starting blocks, new non-turbulent competition lane-lines, and overflow gutters. The pool depth is 12.5ft (starting end) and 4.5ft (turn end) In addition, there will be six 22-yard warm-down lanes available in the diving well throughout the meet for athlete warm-up and cool-down. An electronic timing system, along with two backup timers per lane, will be used to record results.

Eligibility: This meet is open to all currently (2012 or 2013) USMS-registered athletes age 18 and older. A swimmer’s age for this meet will be determined by his/her age as of December 31st, 2012. A copy of your current USMS registration card must accompany swimmers’ entry forms to corroborate membership. This will be done automatically for those entering online.

USMS: The 2012 USMS Swimming Rules and USMS Handbook will apply to and govern this competition. If you have lost or misplaced your USMS card, simply log on to www.clubassistant.com/club/usms_member_card_request.cfm? for an e-mailed copy of your card. Need to register with USMS to participate? Go to: http://www.usms.org/reg/ to signup in ten minutes or less!

Entry Limits: Swimmers may enter a maximum of five (5) individual events per day and two (2) relay events per day. Note that events 400 Meters and longer will be contested in separate sessions with their own additional warm-up periods.

Entry Times: All entry times should be submitted in Short Course Meters. ‘NT’ or ‘No Time’ entries will NOT be permitted. Swimmers should provide actual OR estimated entry times for all events; no official “proof of time” will be required. Unsure of your Short Course Meter Times? Use this handy time conversion utility at: www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/results/conversions.asp 

Individual Event Entry Deadline:

• All Online Entries due by 11:59 PM EST on Friday, 11/02/12. (PREFERRED)
• All mailed-in entries must be RECEIVED (not postmarked) by Friday, 11/02/12.
• Late Entries WILL be accepted Saturday, 11/03 thru Wednesday 11/07 at 11:59 PM ... LATE FEE WAIVED!
• No faxed or deck entries will be accepted.

Relay Entry: Relays may be deck-entered at the meet. Entry forms will be available before and during warm-up, and will be due 30 minutes prior to the start of the session. Relays wishing to enter in advance may do so by having one “spokesperson” e-mail me directly and provide me with Team Name, Event(s), and Entry Time. It is NOT necessary to declare the age of your relay or names of its members in advance – just having the basics in the system will go a long way toward saving time and confusion on race day!

Entry Fees:
$30 per day flat rate Entry Fee (covers up to five (5) individual events per day)
$10 per Relay Team per Event (includes exhibition relays as well)
Online Entries: Credit Card Payment to “Club Assistant.com Events“

Online Entry (PREFERRED): EEX strongly encourages and prefers that you utilize our Online Event Registration to ensure that your entries and USMS Membership are quickly and accurately processed. Online Entries open at 9:00 AM EST Friday, 09/21/12, and close at 11:59 PM EST Friday, 11/02/12. Late entries will be accepted 12:00 AM EST 11/03 to 11:59 PM EST 11/07, but with $10 / athlete surcharge. USMS Registration Info will be verified automatically, no need to send copy of USMS Card. You will need a credit card on hand to satisfy the meet fees upon completion of your entry form.

Warm-up: Warm-up will be conducted in accordance with the current USMS Policies and Procedures. Feet-first entry only during general warm-up. Designated sprint lanes will be available beginning 30 minutes prior to clearing the pool.

Check-In: No check-in will be required for swimmers competing in events 200-meters and shorter. Positive check-in will be required for swimmers competing in events 400-meters and longer. Check-in will close 30 minutes prior to the start of the event, and swimmers who fail to confirm their participation in these events will be scratched automatically. Check-in sheets will be available on-deck before and during warm-up each day.

Seeding: Swimmers will be seeded in heats according to entry time, not by age. All Events 200 Meters and shorter will be pre-seeded before the meet, and will be contested slowest to fastest. All events 400 Meters and longer will be deck-seeded following positive check-in, and will be contested fastest to slowest.

Distance Events: The 400, 800, 1500 Freestyle and 400 IM will be gender-mixed events (combined heats of Women & Men based on entry times). Eastern Express will provide all swimmers participating in the 800 and 1500 Meter Freestyle with their own lap-counter and backup timer.

Psych Sheets: Psych Sheets will be posted at least 48 hours prior to the start of the meet online at www.expressswimming.com 

Results: While all events will be seeded and contested as “Open Events,” results will be recorded and published in accordance with USMS Age Group designations. All times achieved at this Meet will be imported into the USMS SWIMS Database and will be eligible to set NJ LMSC and/or USMS Age Group Records. Results will be posted on the NJ LMSC and Host Club’s (EEX’s) website within 48 hours of the competition’s conclusion.

Hospitality: Eastern Express will be providing complimentary snacks (granola / power bars, fruit, veggies, etc) and drinks (water / Gatorade), for all participating athletes. There will be a table setup right on-deck, so please don’t hesitate to stop by and fuel up before or after a race!

Awards: Ribbons will be written and awarded upon request.

Food Drive: Eastern Express will be sponsoring a Thanksgiving Food Drive, collecting non-perishable food items to be donated to a local homeless shelter. Please consider making a contribution to help those in need during the Holiday Season.

T-Shirts: Back by popular demand, we will again be offering Meet T-Shirts for $15. They can be ordered in advance (as part of the online entry process) or purchased at the meet. Design is illustrated below:

Order of Events (SC Meters)
Women/Men

Day I: Saturday Afternoon, November 10, 2012

SESSION I
Warm-up: 12:00pm ; Start: 12:35pm

1          Mixed 1500 Freestyle

SESSION II
Warm-up:1:45pm ; Start: 2:45pm

2          Mixed 200 Freestyle Relay
3/4       200 Individual Medley
5/6       50 Breaststroke
7/8       100 Backstroke
9/10     200 Butterfly
11/12   100 Freestyle
13/14   200 Breaststroke
15/16   50 Butterfly
17        Mixed 400 Medley Relay

SESSION III
Start: 20 minutes after Session II

18        Mixed 400 Freestyle

Day 2: Sunday Morning, November 11, 2012

SESSION IV
Warm-up: 7:15am ; Start 8:00am

19        Mixed 400 Individual Medley

SESSION V
Warm-up: 8:30am ; Start 9:30am

20        Mixed 200 Medley Relay
21/22   100 Individual Medley
23/24   200 Backstroke
25/26   100 Breaststroke
27/28   50 Freestyle
29/30   100 Butterfly
31/32   200 Freestyle
33/34   50 Backstroke
35        Mixed 400 Free Relay

SESSION VI
Start: 20 minutes after Session V

36        Mixed 800 Freestyle