CANCELLED: Occoquan USMS Invitational

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Registration Schedule

This competition is limited to the first 50 entrants.
Currently there are 44 entrants.

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MEET DIRECTOR:  Matthew Mast, coachmattmast@swimoccs.org
CO-MEET DIRECTOR:  Christine Haslem, christine.haslem@gmail.com
MEET REFEREE:  Jan Van Nimwegen, jnimwegen@earthlink.net

SANCTION
Sanctioned by LMSC of Virginia for USMS, Inc. Sanction #121-S001

In granting this sanction it is understood and agreed that USMS Swimming, Occoquan Swimming, and Central Park Aquatic Center shall be held free and harmless from any and all liabilities or claims for damages arising by reason of injuries to anyone during the conduct of this event. 401.1 Protection

FACILITY
Central Park Aquatic Center 10371 Central Park Drive 
Manassas, VA 20110 
(703) 393-2632
8 lanes, 25 yards

• Water depth range of 7.0’ at the starting end and 6’ 7" at the turning end. 
• Warm up and cool down lanes (5) will be available during the entire meet.
• The competition course has been certified in accordance with current USMS Swimming Rules and Regulations, Article 101.5.6 (B).  The copy of such certification is on file with USMS Swimming.

ENTRY DEADLINE
Thursday, December 9th, 2021, 8:00pm 
IMPORTANT:  The above date is the deadline for swimmers to submit their entries to the Meet Director.

SCHEDULE
See bottom of this page.  Start times are approximate.

Meet Director reserves the right to adjust times/sessions after entries are received. This may include combining events, splitting genders, changing session order or other measures to maximize the space and time limitations. 

ELIGIBILITY

• Open to all registered and invited teams from USMS Swimming.  No swimmer will be permitted to compete in the meet unless the swimmer is registered as an athlete member of USMS Swimming as provided in USMS Swimming Rules and Regulations 401.2.2
• One-event registrants must be considered unattached and agree to be governed by the rules and regulations of USMS, except that their times shall not be considered for Top 10 tabulation and USMS or world records, All-American status, or any other USMS special awards. One-event registrants shall be identified as such in the meet results. 
• One-event registrants will pay an additional fee as per USMS Article 201.1.5

DISABILITY SWIMMERS
Host club along with their meet directors are committed to the Inclusion Policy as adopted by the USMS BOD. Athletes with a disability are welcomed and are asked to provide advance notice of desired accommodations to the Meet Director. The athlete (or athlete’s coach) is also responsible for notifying the session referee of any disability prior to competition.

TIMING SYSTEM
Automatic Timing (touchpads primary) will be used.

COVID-19 CONSIDERATIONS

• An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present.  COVID-19 is a contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, senior citizens and individuals with underlying medical conditions are especially vulnerable.
• USMS, Inc., cannot prevent you from becoming exposed to, contracting, or spreading COVID-19 while participating in USMS sanctioned events.  It is not possible to prevent against the presence of the disease.  Therefore, if you choose to participate in a USMS-sanctioned event, you may be exposing yourself to and/or increasing your risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19.
• BY ATTENDING OR PARTICIPATING IN THIS COMPETITION, YOU VOLUNTARILY ASSUME ALL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSURE TO COVID-19 AND FOREVER RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS USMS, Inc., OCCOQUAN SWIMMING, AND CENTRAL PARK AQUATIC CENTER AND EACH OF THEIR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, EMPLOYEES OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVES FROM ANY LIABILITY OR CLAIMS INCLUDING FOR PERSONAL INJURIES, DEATH, DISEASE OR PROPERTY LOSSES, OR ANY OTHER LOSS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS OF NEGLIGENCE AND GIVE UP ANY CLAIMS YOU MAY HAVE TO SEEK DAMAGES, WHETHER KNOWN OR UNKNOWN, FORESEEN OR UNFORESEEN, IN CONNECTION WITH EXPOSURE, INFECTION, AND/OR SPREAD OF COVID-19 RELATED TO PARTICIPATION IN THIS COMPETITION.
• We have taken enhanced health and safety for all attending this meet, however we cannot guarantee that you will not become infected with COVID-19.  All attending this meet must follow all posted instructions while in attendance. An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By attending this meet, you acknowledge the contagious nature of COVID-19 and voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19.
• By choosing to attend this meet you agree to comply with all health and safety mandates and guidelines of USMS Inc., the Commonwealth of Virginia, and Prince William County.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

• Outside seating is permitted.
• All attendees (athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, spectators) must wear a mask to enter the facility and throughout the facility, with the exception of athletes when competing or warming up/cooling down and at any time 10 feet of social distancing cannot be maintained in any area of the facility. 
• Swimmers should bring a minimum of two masks and a container or waterproof type bag to place their mask in while swimming.
• Masks must be worn by athletes while sitting in the bleacher area. 
• Athletes should arrive and depart in their suits.  Locker room use should be minimized.
• Spectators will not be permitted into the facility.  The meet will be live streamed on YouTube:   www.youtube.com/occoquanswimming  
• The session will be limited to 50 swimmers. Teams/individuals will be assigned to a designated seating area.  Access to the outside seating area will be through the main entrance.
• Entry & exit for all participants, volunteers, and coaches will be through the main pool entrance.  
• Before entering the facility participants, coaches, and volunteers are asked to assess their own health by answering the following questions and only enter the facility if they are confident, they have not been in contact with anyone or are themselves feeling any of the symptoms of COVID-19 as described by the US CDC. 
  • Do you feel any of the symptoms that fall under the symptoms of COVID-19 (fever over 100.4, cough, shortness of breath, etc.)?  
  • Has anyone in your family been sick or diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 14 days? 
  • Has someone you’ve been in contact with been diagnosed with COVID-19 or been in contact with someone who has in the past 14 days?
• One timer will be assigned to each lane as a backup timer.
• Prior to each race, athletes will leave their assigned spot, walk along the turn end of the pool, down the lane 1 side of the pool, and continue behind the blocks. Staging will be along the pool deck.
• One-way traffic will be maintained on the pool deck.  Swimmers will leave their assigned spot, walk along the turn end of the pool, down the lane 1 side of the pool, and continue behind the blocks.
• For warm-ups, swimmers will adhere to an open warm up with a max of 5 swimmers/lane. Each group will be assigned an arrival time. Swimmers will not be permitted into the building prior to their arrival time. Swimmers will proceed to their assigned seating area, prepare to enter the pool, and follow marshals’ directions to enter the pool while respecting social distancing guidelines.
• During warm-ups, swimmers will wear their masks until they reach their assigned warm up lane and entry end and just before they enter the pool.  They will place their mask in their waterproof holder to store their mask while they swim.   They will put their mask back on as soon as they exit the pool.
• Dive over starts will be used for subsequent heats. 
• Staging for swimmers during competition will be:
  • Heat 1 is at the blocks and will swim.
  • Heat 2 is under the scoreboard and will remain there until Heat 1 starts swimming.  
  • Heat 3 is staging under the flag until directed to move to under the scoreboard (after Heat 2 proceeds to the starting blocks)
• During competition, swimmers will wear their masks until they reach the starting blocks.  They will place their mask in their waterproof holder to store their mask while they swim.   They will put their mask back on before leaving the starting area.
• Swimmers participating will be required to provide their own timer. The timers can be provided by anyone that is willing to help and can enter the facility following the above protocol.
• Additional sanitation will take place as well as sanitation stations will be available in various locations throughout the facility.
• HEPA Filtration system is used in high traffic rooms for additional air purification.
• UV Light is used along with chlorine to disinfect the water constantly.
•  We request that all attendees notify the meet director as soon as possible if they have tested positive for COVID-19, shown symptoms or have been in contact with anyone exposed to COVID-19 after attending the meet. 

RULES

• Current USMS rules shall govern this meet.
• In compliance with USMS Rules and Regulations 102.16, the use of audio or visual recording devices, including a cell phone is not permitted behind the starting platforms, in the changing areas, rest rooms, or locker rooms.
• Deck changes are prohibited.
• Operation of a drone or any other flying devices is prohibited over the venue (pools, athlete/coach areas, spectator areas and open ceiling locker rooms) any time athletes, coaches, officials and/or spectators are present.
• No deck entries will be accepted.

EVENT RULES

• All events are timed finals. 
• Swimmers may swim up to five events for the meet.
• The meet director reserves the right to change the format of the meet to best accommodate the space and time for each session.

POSITIVE CHECK-IN

• All Sunday events (with the exception of 500 free) will be pre-seeded on Saturday, December 18 at 12pm.  All changes must be submitted no later than 8am on Saturday, December 18th.
• Sunday’s 500 free may require positive check in online no later than 5:00pm on Saturday, December 18th.  The link will be provided to each participant’s email address. Seeding will be done following the positive check in deadline & a timeline with heat start times will be posted.  

WARM-UP

• Warm-up procedures as set out above and safety policies will be followed. The Meet Director may determine the structure of warm-up, including times/lane assignments.
• No more than 5 swimmers per lane will be permitted and warm up protocol will be provided to participants prior to the meet. 

SUPERVISION
Meet Marshals will be used to patrol the facility as well as help with crowd control and COVID regulation compliance. 

SEEDING

• All events will be pre-seeded and swum fastest to slowest based on entry time. Coach entered times are permitted.
• The meet director may determine if combining or splitting sessions is needed to provide additional competitive opportunities and time between events.

SCORING
No team scores will be kept.

AWARDS
No awards will be given.

PROGRAMS
Programs will not be sold; however, the host team will email out programs to participants via email & provide printed programs for all participants. 

CREDENTIALS
Those not working the meet as a deck official, volunteer timer or other position are not permitted in the facility. Only athletes, USMS Swimming certified coaches, and deck officials will be permitted on deck. 

OFFICIALS

• Officials interested in volunteering should complete contact Christine Oliver (cntoliver@hotmail.com).
• Officials’ briefing may be done virtually via Zoom prior to the meet.  The meet referee will provide meeting details to all officials.
• Only limited officials will be allowed in the facility.  Early pre-meet sign-up is encouraged if you plan to help. 
• Walk-on officials cannot be accommodated.

TIMERS & VOLUNTEERS

• One timer per lane.
• Timers and volunteers will be required to sign up prior to the meet and will be required to adhere to all COVID-19 mitigation processes as well as MAAPP 2.0 policies.
• Swimmers competing will be required to provide their own timer. Swimmers may time for each other. Other volunteers can also time for a swimmer.

ENTRY FEES

• Meet Entry Fee:  $25.00 (includes up to 5 events)
• Per-Swimmer Facility Surcharge:  $10.00
• USMS One-Day Event registrant (if not a USMS member):  $15.00

Note: If paying by credit card, your credit card statement will reflect a charge from "OCCOQUAN SWIMMING, INC."