2014Creekside Blues & Jazz Blast Swim Meet
Held under the Sanction of USA Swimming Inc. OH-14LC-11
SPONSORED BY / The Greater Columbus Swim Team of Ohio:Steve Nye, Head Coach: or (614) 478-5445
DATE / June 13-15, 2014
LOCATION / The Gahanna Swimming Pool - 148 Parkland Drive, Gahanna, OH 43230
Maps available on the GCSTO website:
WARM-UP & MEET START TIMES / Friday, Saturday & Sunday Morning 15 & Over Events (held in conjunction with the preliminary session of the Senior Circuit Meet)
Warm Up: 7:45–8:15 a.m./ Prelims Start – 8:20 a.m.NOTE: Positive check-in ends at 7:30 since we must also have this check-in for the Senior Circuit Meet (whose warm-ups start at 7:15) so get there early!
Friday, Saturday & Sunday Afternoon 14 & Under Events
Friday Warm-up: All 10 & under swimmers 11:20 – 11:40 a.m./ All 11 & over swimmers 11:40 a.m.-12:10 p.m. Prelims Start: 12:15 p.m. / Positive check-in closes at 11:35 a.m. for ALL swimmers
Saturday Warm-up: All 10 & under swimmers 11:20 – 11:40 a.m./ All 11 & over swimmers 11:40 a.m.-12:10 p.m. Prelims Start: 12:15 p.m. / Positive check-in closes at 11:35 a.m. for ALL swimmers
Sunday Warm-up: All 10 & under swimmers 11:00 – 11:20 a.m./ All 11 & over swimmers 11:20-11:50 a.m. Prelims Start: 11:55 a.m. / Positive check-in closes at 11:15 a.m. for ALL swimmers
- GCSTO reserves the right to adjust warm-up times based on the timeline of the Senior Circuit meet being held in conjunction with this Creekside Meet.
MEET MANAGEMENT / Meet Directors: Julie Pastor: (614) 530-4100
Steve Nye: (614) 478-5445
Meet Referee:Mike Yeager (614) 284-3997 or
Local Officials Coordinator: Mike Yeager (614) 284-3997 or
Administrative Official:Dave Shumaker (614) 895-9969 or
Entry Chair: Dave Shumaker/ 2000 Brookhurst Ave.,Columbus, OH 43229
(614) 895-9969 or
POOL/FACILITY INFORMATION / The Gahanna Swimming Pool is a heated, stainless steel 50 meter outdoor pool with 8 competition lanes and 1 lane available for consistent warm-up and warm-down all with 4 inch Kiefer lane lines. The competition course has not been certified in accordance with USA Swimming rule 104.2.2C(4). Water depth at the starting block end of the pool is 6.0ft deep for at least 18M off the wall. Water depth at the shallow end of the pool is 3.5ft deep at its shallowest and quickly deepens to 4.5ft approximately 15M off the wall. Electronic timing is by Colorado Systems.
During the meet, we leave the lane nearest the diving bay open for swimmers in the meet for warm-up and warm-down purposes. There is NO diving or jumping into the pool in this lane. Athletes must enter the pool in a very controlled manner (basically sliding into the pool) to ensure that a competitor in the next lane is not disturbed. There is an attached 15yd diving bay in the competition pool and a separate unmarked area in the front pool available for warm-up and warm-down, as well.
Use of audio or visual recording devices, including a cell phone, is not permitted in changing areas, rest rooms or locker rooms.Except where venue facilities require otherwise, changing into or out of swimsuits other than in locker rooms or other designated areas is not appropriate and is prohibited.
PHILOSOPHY OF THE MEET / The Creekside Blues & Jazz Blast is open to all swimmers but is truly designed to service the swimmers of central Ohio first and foremost as this provides these swimmers with the only local long course meet which does not have qualifying time standards. As such, central Ohio teams who have supported past GCSTO sponsored meets are given first priority to enter this meet. Teams from outside central Ohio who have supported this meet in the past are given equal priority for entry into this meet although any team is welcomed to enter in the event that any of the preceding teams do not enter and leave room available for others.
ENTERING THE MEET
ENTRY DEADLINE /
- Entries open at noon on Monday, May 19, 2014 and close at noon on Wednesday, June 4, 2014.
ELIGIBILITY /
- All contestants must be registered athletes of USA Swimming, Inc. (NOTE: USAS registrations will not be accepted at this meet). Team entries must contain the USA Swimming registration number of all participants being entered.
- All coaches, officials, and participating teams must be registered members of USA Swimming (USAS). No coach shall be permitted on the pool deck unless that coach is a valid “coach member” of USA Swimming with all his/her certifications current. It is required at all Ohio USAS sanctioned meets that the coaches present and wear their USA Swimming membership card.
- Age on the first day of competition will determine a swimmer’s age group eligibility for the meet.
- By the act of entering this meet, each team, coach and /or swimmer agrees to abide by USA Swimming Rules and Regulations and the Ohio Swimming Policy Book (posted on the OSI website).
- Any swimmer entered in the meet, unaccompanied by a USA Swimming member coach, must be certified by a USA Swimming member coach as being proficient in performing a racing start or must start each race from within the water. It is the responsibility of the swimmer or the swimmer's legal guardian to ensure compliance with this requirement.
- All swimmers must enter under an Ohio team affiliation or as unattached. Those switching teams in the last 120 days prior to the Circuit meet must swim in unattached status unless otherwise cleared by the OSI Registration/Membership Coordinator.
ENTRY RULES & PROCEDURES /
- Entry times will be accepted as Long Course Meters, only. In order to help with having the most accurate timeline possible in this meet, please DO NOT TO ENTER ANY "NT’s" (NO TIMES) FOR ANY SWIMMERS. Instead, use a conversion of a short course yard time or BEST "guess"timate of your swimmers times without exception please. After the meet deadline, the only times that can be updated, are from a meet contested after the entry deadline. Times updates will be accepted by the entry chair until Wednesday June 4, 2014 at noon. Only individual times achieved since January 1, 2013 and are in the USA Swimming database will be accepted.
- 8 & under athletes are permitted to swim a maximum of seven (7) individual events, 9-10’s a maximum of eight (8) individual events and all 11 & over swimmers a maximum of nine (9) individual events in the course of this meet and no swimmer may swim no more than four (4) individual events per day. Swimmers may enter more than the maximum number of individual events in which they are permitted to compete and then scratch upon arrival at the meet. Again, however, there will be no refund of entry fees.
- The following must be sent (postmarked) to the Entry Chair via US Mail or other courier service within 24 hours following the entry deadline:
- Entry Summary Sheet (Appendix B)
- Check for the Total Entry Fees payable to GCSTO.
- Fax/Phone Entries – The meet does not accept faxed or phoned entries.
- Please let the host club know if you are entering any Outreach athletes.
- A swimmer who is either not entered or incorrectly entered by fault of the host club will be properly placed in the appropriate events since it is a deck seeded meet.
ENTRY FEES /
- Individual Events - $5.00 per entry
- Deck Entries - $10.00 per entry (only accepted as long as another heat is NOT added to the event)
- Surcharge - $2.00 per swimmer (Travel Fund/Site Selection Fund)
SWIMMERS WITH A DISABILITY / Swimmers with a disability are welcomed to enter OSI Meets. Entry procedures are the same as for all other swimmers. Please provide advance notice of any necessary accommodations needed by the swimmer. List with your entry the swimmer’s name, entry times, strokes/ distances, days/sessions, and how the swimmer prefers to be seeded. Disability swimmers will be seeded with the same age group in either the same distance race or a longer distance race (i.e. 50 free during the 100 free event). Qualifying time standards at regular season meets are waived for swimmers with a disability. At Ohio Swimming Championship Meets swimmers with a disability may enter if they qualify in at least one event for the US Paralympic National Championships. At the Central Zone Meet four swimmers with a disability are welcome on the Ohio Zone Team without meeting the qualifying time standards. More information is available under “Adapted Swimming” on the Ohio Swimming web site (
COMPETITION FORMAT AND PROCEDURES
RULES / USA Swimming Rules and Regulations will govern the conduct of this meet and will serve as the official guide for technical and procedural rules except as modified specifically herein.
MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENT / All meet directors, coaches and officials serving in an official capacity at a sanctioned event must be current members of USA Swimming and should be prepared to show a current USA Swimming membership card. All persons acting in any coaching capacity in a sanctioned event must be currently certified coach members of USA Swimming.
COMPETITION GUIDELINES & MEET FORMAT /
- Friday, Saturday and Sunday sessions will consist of timed final sessions for all swimmers with all events being swum slow to fast with the exception of the 1500 which will be swum fast to slow. Official 800 splits will be provided for all athletes swimming the 1500 in the Creekside portion of the meet.
- The 15 & over events from the Creekside Meet will be swum in the preliminary sessions of the Senior Circuit Meet in the mornings. This allows us to shorten the afternoon sessions of the Creekside Meet to a manageable timeline for the 14 & under swimmers while ensuring that the preliminary session of the Senior Circuit Meet does not run too quickly for those athletes. This also allows all senior swimmers the opportunity to swim in the same session to make it easier on the teams, coaches and parents of those swimmers. Swimmers participating in a Creekside Meet 15 & over event are NOT eligible to qualify for the Senior Circuit Meet finals in that like event.
- 14 & under swimmers will all swim in the afternoon session which occurs afterthe prelimsession of the Senior Circuit Meet each day.
- This is always a very large meet and, as such, we have taken steps to allow us to speed up meet operations. Positive check in will be required for ALL EVENTS in all sessions of this meet. In the 14 & under session ALL age groups have been combined in events in which this can be done with swimmers being seeded according only to their time. As well, male and female athletes will be seeded together in all sessions of this meet. Add to this the estimated times we’ve asked for in relation to swimmers who do not have official long course times and we feel we have done all that we can to have this meet run as efficiently/quickly as possible. Open lanes and extra heats in a long course meet can add a significant amount of time onto a session each day thus the reason for the institution of these procedures.
- Eight (8) lanes will be used for all events.
- The meet referee reserves the right to combine events in accordance with USA Swimming Rules & Regulations.
- A timeline will be posted in several prominent places, however, timelines are approximate.
WARM-UP AND SAFETY GUIDELINES
& PROCEDURES / General Guidelines:
Ohio LSC swimming safety guidelines will be in effect at this meet. In addition,
- Coaches will be in charge of their lanes warm-up procedure. In all cases the meet host reserves the rights to alter the warm-up schedule to ensure a safe environment for the athletes and a smooth flowing warm-up procedure.
- Warm-up procedures may, at the discretion of the host team, be modified based on number of swimmers in the meet and other safety and logistical concerns.
- Except during supervised racing starts, swimmers must enter the pool feet first in a cautious manner with one hand in contact with the pool deck.
- Entrance into the warm-up/warm-down 50M lane will be by feet first entry, only, at all times and during competition must be from the shallow end of the pool (the opposite end from the starting clocks).
- A minimum of four (4) marshals, per pool, who report to and receive instructions from the Meet Referee and/or the Meet Director, will be on deck during the entire warm-up session.
- An announcer will be available during the warm-up session to announce lane and/or time changes and to assist with the conduct of the warm-up.
- Host team will supply a certified lifeguard on duty at all times.
Coaches shall instruct their swimmers regarding safety guidelines and warm-up procedures as they apply to conduct at meets and practices.
Coaches shall actively supervise their swimmers throughout the warm-up session at meets.
Coaches should maintain as much contact with their swimmers as possible, both verbal and visual, throughout the warm-up period.
Coaches should stand near starting end of the pool when starting swimmers on sprint or pace work.
Miscellaneous Safety:
Swimmers doing a backstroke start must enter the pool feet first and shall ensure that they are not starting at the same time as a swimmer on the blocks. Swimmers shall not step up on the blocks if there is another swimmer preparing to do a backstroke start.
Swimmers shall not jump or dive into the pool to stop another swimmer on a recalled start.
Swimmers are required to exit the pool upon completion of their warm-up period to allow other swimmers adequate warm-up time.
Warm-up procedures shall be enforced for any breaks and/or any areas used for warm-up and warm-down during the competition.
SCRATCH RULES
/ A swimmer positively checking in for an event, which will be done for all events, who then fails to compete in that event, will be considered to have taken a declared false start. There shall be no other penalty levied against the swimmer but the event will be counted against their total of events for the day/meet.POSITIVECHECK-IN & SCRATCH DEADLINES
/ Positive check-in for each day’s events closes 15 minutes after the start of warm-ups that day. PLEASE NOTE: For the 15 & over swimmers in the morning session the deadline for positive check-in is actually 7:30 a.m. since warm-ups for the Senior Circuit swimmers starts at 7:15 a.m. so get there early to check in on time please!AWARDS & SCORING
/ No awards will be given for the 15 & over events in this meet. In lieu of these awards a minimum of a $200 donation will be made to Recreation Unlimited. Recreation Unlimited Farm and Fun (Recreation Unlimited) is a 501(c)3 not-for profit organization serving individuals with physical and developmental disabilities and health concerns.The mission of Recreation Unlimited is to provide year-round programs in sports, recreation and education for individuals with disabilities and health concerns, while building self-confidence, self-esteem and promoting positive human relations, attitudes, and behaviors.WARM-UP SCHEDULE /
RESULTS
/ The following information will be published on the meet host website at:- Psych Sheets
- Warm-up Schedule
- Results
- Final Results in publication order, Team Manager Results file, and Meet Manager Backup file
MEET OFFICIALS
/ GCSTO will need the help of your USA Swimming Officials. Please contact Mike Yeagerto provide names of your officials who wish to volunteer, by June 12, 2014.All USA Swimming certified officials willing to volunteer should fill out the form found on the Meet page on
Official’s uniform will be white over navy for all sessions. Blue shorts (skirts for woman) are permitted. White covered toe athletic or deck shoes for all sessions.