USA Swimming has announced that it will allow competitions to resume in July with some restrictions.
However, times achieved during meets in July will not count towards qualification for any USA Swimming programs (including national select camps) or meets above the LSC level, including Zones, Sectionals, Futures, Junior Nationals, Nationals, the US Open, or Olympic Trials. LSCs will be allowed to use times under their own guidelines.
In its press release, USA Swimming said that this is being done, “with the recognition that many of our clubs have limited or no access to facilities, and to maintain a level playing field.”
Notably, USA Swimming has not released updated time standards for the Olympic Trials after they were postponed until 2021 due to coronavirus.
The organization also announced that during the month that it will only sanction meets composed of teams from the same LSC. The LSC represented will be determined by the host team.
USA Swimming has already announced its “crawl, walk, race” guidelines for returning to competition, which will still be implanted under the new plan.
Additionally, all meets will be subject to state and local guidelines, while all clubs planning to attend meets must develop return to competition plans.
USA Swimming has not sanctioned meets since they recommended that they be cancelled on March 12. The organization later mandated cancellation of all meets and suspended all sanctions through June 30.
At the level where athletes are hoping to qualify for elite meets, teams often travel to other states to compete. While it is unfortunate that many swimmers have had no access to the water, I don’t think that all swimmers should be punished. I think the window to have any times at all will likely close along with pools again this year, so why not sanction swims for a couple of months for as many states as possible while we can? There are many kids on the high school level that would love to have a single time count that might allow them access to higher level meets next year.
Completely wrong, horrible idea. This doesn’t level any field. Unfair to everyone.
The most frustrating part of all of this is that USA swimming is “encouraging” getting back to racing. However the only assistance that are providing to LSCs is a required section in Meet Announcements that absolves them of liability should someone contract Covid-19.
USA swimming should provide many detailed meet plans which account for different scenarios and pool set-ups. The Host team would then adopt one of the plans and insert it into the Meet Announcement.
USA Swimming is leaving this all up to the Meet Host. Wiping their hands clean of any work or responsibility is what USA swimming does best!!
#defundusaswimming, #defundlscs, #firetimhinchey
A great read from an actual docs perspective:
https://www.orlandomedicalnews.com/article/3545/letter-to-the-editor-why-increasing-number-of-cases-of-covid-19-is-not-bad-news
Time to open it all up and get back to swim meets
Just putting MD behind someone’s name does not make them the sole expert. It means they have an opinion, perhaps with a greater weight, perhaps not.
Look at all the drug scandals or snake oil sales that were propagated by someone with an MD.
Sure, the case count isn’t an end all. It’s good that people are getting immunity, although it isn’t proven yet to last. Hope it does!
But the hospitalization count appears to be following the same trend. That is my biggest concern – the number sick outpaces the number that can be treated.
And just being called an epidemiologist or state health director doesn’t make them a sole expert either …. I would trust many MDs over some of these unelected officials. Why? Because they are actually seeing patients.
Here’s a perfect recent example of how bad Covid was going to be:
On 5/14/20, with 203 COVID-19 ICU patients, Minnesota was told to brace for “a peak of cases on June 29 that would require 3,397 ICU beds with ventilators”
Actual 6/29/20 data: 140 MN COVID-19 ICU patients (lowest since May 2).
Covid is burning out but the media can’t and won’t let it go until November. Sad state of affairs
What ever
Defund USA swimming …. no really. AAU May be worth checking out for some organizations.
With the corruption and incompetence of the current and past governance of USA Swimming, I totally agree with this.
The AAU website does not mention swimming as one of its disciplines, which is too bad because I have heard great things about this organization. If there was an alternative to USA Swimming, I know that many people would be interested.
They have swimming. I know that. It’s fairly small at this point but it’s still one of their sports.
https://aauswimming.org/
The AAU has swimming.
Some Florida teams are running AAU meets this summer instead of USA Swimming meets. I believe they will be held in Clearwater.
Some teams started registering their 10 & under and noncompetitive swimmers with AAU instead of USA Swimming because the cost is so much cheaper with AAU (to which USA Swimming responded with the FLEX program). Swim Atlanta is one of the larger teams that switched to AAU a few years ago.
That is great info to know. They have always been a great organization.
This is wildly subjective and inconsistent. What criteria has to be established for USA Swimming to determine when a ‘level playing field’ has been established? While the largest swim club in our city has been back to business in a very limited format, the largest swim team in the city right next to us is shut out until June of 2021 because the city has closed the pool until then. If USA Swimming is saying that NAG’s can’t happen until all kids have equal access, then that will be a very long wait.
It sucks that people have differing pool availability, a fact that is true virus or not. I acknowledge and have felt the frustration that comes with others getting back in while we are still held back. But putting these kind of limits on those that have finally gotten going again is a bad idea. We are saying to the people that have committed the most to the sport over the last 4-10 years that “hey great job staying fit and motivated during these struggles, keep that up, maintain those goals and even enter some meets to get some revenue for your club and lsc but we’re really not going to let you make that next step even if you earn… Read more »