Meet Information

Location
Indiana University Natatorium, 901 West New York Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (on the campus of I. U. P. U. I.)

Facilities
The Natatorium is an indoor facility with spectator seating for 4,700 and a 50 meter championship pool set up as two 25 yard courses, each with eight nine foot lanes and a water depth of nine to ten feet. The Natatorium includes an eight lane, 25 yard diving tank and a 25 yard instructional pool, available for continuous warm-up during the meet. The I. U. Natatorium will be the site of the 2000 US Olympic Trials.

Meet Officials
Meet Referee: Lucy Duncan 
Admin. Referees: Walt & Anneliese Eggert 
Meet Directors: George Quigley, Mel Goldstein and Doug Church

General Meeting
All swimmers, coaches and officials should be represented at the general meeting at the Natatorium on Wednesday, April 26, at 7 p. m. Matters pertinent to the operation and conduct of the meet will be discussed.

Coaches Meeting / Coaches School
A MACA coaches school will be held April 26, from 1 to 5 p. m. For more information, contact Brian Stack, phone: (510) 235-6842, E-mail: StackB@aol.com

Registration
All participants must register prior to competing in order to sign an emergency card and safety information statement and receive a meet program and other meet information. Registration will be held at the Natatorium on the upper level on Wednesday, April 26, from 1 p. m. to 7 p. m. and on Thursday through Sunday from 6: 30 a. m. until the end of the day's events. Check-in for distance events and relays will be available in the same area.

Check-in (General)
CHECK-IN IS REQUIRED FOR 400 IM, 500 FREE, 1000 FREE AND 1650 FREE --NO EXCEPTIONS! and may be done in person at registration area. Coaches and teammates may check in for those swimmers whose travel plans do not permit check-in by deadlines. There will be NO telephone or internet check-in on any day either preceding or during the meet. Failure to check-in will result in a swimmer being scratched from the event.

Check-in Deadlines
The following times are the check-in deadlines for each deck seeded event.

1000 Free Women	Thurs.	4/27	6:45 AM
1000 Free Men	Thurs.	4/27	8:00 AM
1650 Free Women	Thurs.	4/27	9:00 AM
1650 Free Men	Thurs.	4/27	11:00 AM
400 IM W & M	Friday	4/28	12:00 PM
500 Free Women	Sat.	4/29	6:45 AM
500 Free Men	Sun.	4/30	6:45 AM

Eligibility
The National Championships are open to any swimmer at least 19 years of age as of March 24, 2000. If a swimmer wishes to affiliate with a Masters club, the club and swimmer must both be registered with the same Local Masters Swim Committee (LMSC). If there are questions about affiliation, the swimmer shall be entered "unattached." Foreign entries must include a copy of swimmer's International Travel Permit and fees in U. S. dollars.

Age Groups
Individual events: 19-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49 ... 100-104. Relay events: 19+, 25+. 35+, 45+ ... (ten year increments as high as necessary). Age for the meet is determined as of the last day of the meet (April 30, 2000).

Scoring
Individual events: 11-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Relay events: 22-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2

Team Scoring
Team scoring will be divided into three divisions: Division I (large team), Division II (medium team), and Division III (small team), each containing three categories - men, women, and combined. Mixed relays are scored only in the combined category.

The USMS Championship Committee will determine divisions after the entry deadline based on number of entrants from each club.

Awards
Customized medals will be awarded for first through tenth places in each age group. A USMS Championship patch will be given to each individual and relay team member for the first event won. Swimmers winning more than one event may purchase additional patches for each additional event won. Unclaimed awards will not be mailed unless arrangements are made in advance at the meet. Awards will be presented to the top three teams in each category of each division.

Gold Medal Sponsorship
Gold Medal Sponsors will be recognized in the official program as supporters of Masters swimming, entitled to V. I. P. hospitality on deck and receive a commemorative gift. Cost of one sponsorship will be $50. Order sponsorships on meet entry form.

Final Results
Complete final results, to be mailed after the meet, may be ordered for $15. Complete final results for an individual, including splits, will be available at the meet for $5 each.

Seeding
Individual events 200 yards or less will be pre-seeded and swum slowest to fastest within each age group, oldest to youngest. Partial heats may be combined. Women's heats will precede men's heats for each event. The 1000 and 1650 freestyles will be deck seeded slowest to fastest by time only for each sex. The 500 Free will be deck seeded first by age group, then by time. The 400 IM may be deck seeded slowest to fastest by time, or by age group and time, at the discretion of the Meet Director.

Warm-up Times
The competition pool will be open for warm-up from 6: 30 a. m. to 7: 45 a. m. on each day of competition. On Wednesday, April 26, warm-up is from 1 p. m. until 8 p. m. at the Natatorium. On competition days, all warm-up pools will be open from the start of the first event until the conclusion of the day's event.

Warm-up Procedures
Swimmers must enter the pool feet first in a cautious manner. No diving is allowed except in designated sprint lanes, and no diving is allowed in the warm-up pools. Racing starts, including backstroke starts, are allowed only in designated sprint lanes during the pre-meet warm-up sessions, where one or two lanes shall be designated as "One-Way Sprint Lanes." No sprint lanes will be designated in the warm-up pools. 
ANY SWIMMER WHO ACTS IN AN UNSPORTSMANLIKE OR UNSAFE MANNER WITHIN THE SWIMMING VENUE MAY BE CONSIDERED FOR APPROPRIATE ACTION OR PENALTY AT THE DISCRETION OF THE REFEREE (USMS Rule 102.15.2).

Sixth Event Rule
If, in the opinion of the USMS Championship Committee, the meet is deemed too large to be run in an efficient manner, a swimmer's sixth event will be dropped. Each swimmer entering six events must indicate the sixth event as directed on the entry form. The sixth event cannot be changed after the entry is submitted.

Scratches
Any swimmer who fails to report to the proper lane in the correct heat of his/ her event will be considered scratched from that event and will not be permitted to swim that event at another time.

Official Verification Card (OVC)
For an OVC, contact the following official prior to the meet: 
Lucy Duncan
235 Poplar Grove Dr.
Danville, IN 46122.
Phone (317) 745-6817.

Concessions, Vendors, Souvenir Items
A full-service snack bar is available in the lobby of the Natatorium. Vendors will offer souvenirs, swimming apparel and other merchandise. Commemorative clothing items with meet logo will be sold.

Early Entry Raffle
Entries arriving postmarked or via the Internet prior to February 29, 2000, will be entered into one of two lotteries (male and female). Prizes will be awarded to the lottery winners during the meet.

Meet Logo
The meet logo is a trademark graphic which cannot be duplicated. Anyone duplicating meet logo will be subject to Indiana Law as it pertains to trademark infringement.

Coaches Hospitality
Coaches hospitality is available to only MACA/ ASCA members.

Entry Procedures
Use official entry form or photocopy of the entire form. Read all instructions and fill out form completely. Entries with "pending" in place of a registration number on the entry form will be rejected. A legible copy of each swimmer's International Travel Permit (foreign entries) must accompany entry form. Failure to include International Travel Permit may result in the swimmer being charged a fee before being allowed to compete. A USMS swimmer changing club affiliation prior to Nationals must send either a USMS registration card or a letter from local registrar with new club affiliation and effective date.

National Qualifying Times
Swimmers may enter a maximum of three individual events without meeting the National Qualifying Time (NQT) established for those events. Competitors may enter up to three additional events in which they have swum a time equal to or better than the NQT in the past 2 years. The NQTs for all events are listed above. Designate the events in which NQTs have been met with a T in the designated column. There are no NQTs for the 90 and over age groups.

Entry Times
All events must be entered with a time. "NT" entries will be rejected. There is a limit of three (3) individual events per day.

Sixth Event
If six events are entered, indicate with the number "6" your least-desired event in the column designated with the number "6." If not indicated, your last event on the entry form may be dropped. No changes of designated 6th event will be allowed. No refunds given for the dropped event.

1000/ 1650 Yard Freestyle
A swimmer may enter either the 1000 or 1650 freestyle, but not both.

Fees
$4 per individual event plus $30 surcharge per swimmer. Fees must accompany entry form and must be paid in U. S. dollars by check or money order. Entry is not complete until check has cleared the bank. If there are questions about an entrant's check, full cash payment in U. S. dollars will be required before the entrant is allowed to swim. Refund requests must be received in writing by March 24, 2000. No refunds for events not swum. The $30 surcharge also applies to relay swimmers not entered in an individual event. Relay only swimmers must submit an entry form with payment by March 24, 2000 deadline. ALL FEES ARE PAYABLE TO "YMCA INDY SWIMFIT."

Relay Entry Form
Relay entry forms will be sent to USMS clubs, or send SASE to address below. Relays cost $12 and each relay may be entered until 6:00 p. m. on the day prior to the relay event. Relay entry and relay-only swimmer entry are not available via the on line entry system. Swimmers wishing to enter the meet as a relay-only swimmer must use the mail-in form.

Mail Entry and Fees
Judy Goldstein 
5735 Carrollton Ave. 
Indianapolis, IN 46220 
(317) 253-8289 before 9 pm EST only

Entry Deadline
All U. S. entries must be postmarked with official U. S. postmark (no business meters) by March 17, 2000, OR received by March 24, 2000. Entries received after this date will be returned to sender. Mail entries early. Include SASE with entry for proof of receipt. Allow sufficient time for mail delivery. Photocopy completed entry forms and personal checks for your records. Internet entries via the on-line entry system must be completed by midnight of March 24, 2000. No FAX, wire or telephone entries will be accepted. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to these deadlines, even if there is a network failure in the final hours of the on-line entry system! Please register early to avoid any difficulties.

Travel Information