As we continue to unpack the nuance of the new NCAA Championship rules, one great question popped up from a reader today:
Can the top 8 adjust their lineups according to morning results
The answer from the NCAA is a clear “no.”
Context: under the new format, which hopes to make the finals sessions more compact for a television schedule, the 8 fastest seeded relays in each event will swim in the evening session, while the other entered relays will race in the morning session.
This creates some interesting changes to entry strategy, because the different timing changes the onus of who will have to do more doubles and triples from the fastest individual qualifiers in finals to the slower individual qualifiers in prelims.
One of those is not, however, the ability to see other times and then swap your top 8 relay around.
In short, relay cards are due for all relay heats, whether they in the morning or evening, at the same time. Teams can change their relay order, as they always could, but not the swimmers on the relay.
Each medley relay can have up to two alternates listed and each free relay can have one alternate listed, with those alternates only being allowed to race in the case of a documented medical emergency.
The relay format is my second most hated thing about the changes–right behind the B finals elimination. You cannot tell me that it is fair to any of the teams who have to swim their relay in the morning after most of their swimmers have already competed in an event. The relays at night will have more rest, more time between the last event because of diving, and also a good chance that a majority of the swimmers on the relay won’t have swam in the evening session. Ridiculous. Samantha Barany is the President of the CSCAA who ruled on the changes. I was told that coaches cannot contact the President, but parents can. If you choose to email her… Read more »
Yeah, gotta save time. 2-3 extra heats of a 200 free relay is what… 5 min? I’m sorry but people who aren’t existing fans of swimming aren’t watching this meet anyway, why are we catering to them? It’s unfortunate to approach this meet with a “let’s get this over with” mindset
This is a thing across other sports as well. Changes are being made to cater to people who aren’t interested, in hopes that they will now watch. And the changes that are made negatively affect the viewing experience for actual fans. NHL is a really good example of this
And baseball is an example of it working at expanding the fan base and increasing interest amongst fans.
Of course baseball still has lots of people complaining that it is all wrong and that they don’t want ”those” kinds of fans that like the changes.
Only time will tell if changes like this are more like MLB or NHL.
Splitting the timed relay finals between the morning and night session is an awful idea. I hate it so much. Maybe I can live with it for the 800y free relay because that takes a little while, but the others relays don’t even take that long.
Also I seem to remember within the last few years a team that wasn’t in the final heat winning the relay. Just a terrible decision.
So dumb
Even more evidence that they have turned this meet into a joke. Please get people who know something about swimming to bring back the greatest meet in the world. Come of coaches – speak up for the swimmers who got totally screwed by being left at home while slower swimmers are included. I’m sure people will be lining up to watch this meet that would not have last year because of the new format. That mentality is breathtakingly stupid.
Upon further review….. 2 heats of relays in the PM session would have made it more interesting…. Seeds 9-16 in heat 1, Seeds 1-8 in heat 2
Seems to me that we’re going to be learning a lot of nuances with the meet this year pretty much in real time / day of.
The concept of 2 alternates for the medley relay is really interesting. That’s probably not as complicated a decision as it seems and swimmers probably rarely get replaced but sorting out which strokes to have alternates for.
I can attest that sometimes this is a last minute decision. I was thrown on a 4 medley relay 20mins before it went off at NCs one year after our lead leg was in the can after a 4IM