JCSC Rules For The Summer Swim Season
Home
Future Swimmer
Join the BPR Swim Team
Parent Handbook
JCSC Rules For Summer Swim Season
Spotlight On Our Head Coach
Spotlight On Our Assistant Coaches
Team Calendar
2008 JCSC Schedule
Swimmers' Information and Links
BPR's Swimmers' Album
BPR Neighboring Swim Team
Contact Us
Blog
SECTION 1: JCSC RULES
(A) The most current US Swimming (USS) rules shall apply in all instances except where they differ from the following Jefferson County Swim Council (JCSC) rules. JCSC rules shall supersede USS rules in event of conflict. (B) Neither meet officials, meet workers nor swimmers may wear year-around swim team apparel at any JCSC sanctioned swim meet. Nor shall any year-around team give logo items as awards. (C) The Vice-President of Rules of the Jefferson County Swim Council shall be in charge of all swim meets held under JCSC Charter. Protests, disputes or questions concerning rules and meet governance shall be emailed to:Vice-President of RulesJefferson County Swim Councilrules@jcscswim.org The Vice-President of Rules has the authority, upon consultation with the Board of Directors, to determine appropriate action when a JCSC team violates the rules when such violation results in unfair competition and no formal complaint is received.(D) Changes to these rules, except for spelling corrections and formatting improvements from the prior year, are denoted by italics. An underlined phrase is of particular importance.
SECTION 2: COMPLAINTS
(A) Written complaints and/or protests may be submitted only by the team delegate or coach. Complaints must be submitted to the Vice-President of Rules, or in his/her absence, a member of the Board of Directors, concurrently with a copy to the team named in the complaint. Complaints arising from a specific competition must be submitted within seventy-two (72) hours after the purported rules infraction occurs. Failure to do so will make a complaint invalid. Complaints should be delivered in person to an Officer of the Board. After submission of a complaint, the President, upon the request of the Vice-President of Rules, may at his/her discretion and, when necessary, convene an Ethics Committee which shall:i. Consider written complaints received by the Vice-President of Rules following the violation of any JCSC rule by any coach, swimmer or parent.ii. Determine and impose action fitting the violation up to and including forfeiture of the meet during which the incident occurred, suspension of the offending party for an indefinite period or loss of point in the meet in which the incident occurred.iii. Consider written complaints and render a decision within fourteen (14) days from the time the complaint is received in writing in accordance with Section 2(A) above.iv. Advise, in writing, both the coach and delegates of teams involved in the complaint of the decision of the Ethics Committee.v. Take action on the decision of the Ethics Committee before the end of that competitive season. No action shall be carried forward to the next year. SECTION 3: SWIMMER REGISTRATION AND COACHES CERTIFICATION
(A) Each swimmer must be registered with the Vice-President of Registration by 12:00 noon of the day preceding the first JCSC approved meet in which he/she intends to participate. No swimmer may register after the date outlined in the attached schedule of JCSC events.(B) Without exception, swimmers must participate in a minimum of two (2) JCSC sponsored meets to be eligible to participate in any Championship Meet as recognized by the JCSC Board. This rule acknowledges the high priority JCSC places on the team approach to competitive swimming. Local year-round USS programs offer excellent opportunities for individual competitive swimmers who cannot meet this requirement.
(C) JCSC Registration: The current year registration records for each swimmer shall be maintained by the Vice-President of Registration. The JCSC registration fee shall be $10.00 per child. An initial late payment fee of $100 will be assessed to teams that do not turn in correct and complete registrations by the first registration deadline . This fee will increase by $100 per day until the correct and completed registrations are received by the VP of Registrations. Registration information must be submitted on disk from each team’s Team Manager database via “team athlete registration export”. The list must be in alphabetical order by last name. The following information with fees due must be submitted to JCSC at the time of registration:Club Affiliation Telephone NumberName (Last, First, MI) Age and Date of BirthAddress, including Zip Code Gender The Waiver of Liability, included in Appendix J, must be signed, dated and returned for EACH swimmer with the swimmer registration information.
(D) The JCSC registration fees and Team Manager information on disk should be sent to:Jeanne DockeryVice-President of RegistrationJefferson County SwimCouncil1324 West Navajo DriveAlabaster, AL 35007: Or emailed to: registrations@jcscswim.org (E) The head coach of each team and at least one other coach are required to have attended Red Cross First Aid, CPR and Coaches Safety Training courses prior to their work with the children on the deck and in the pool. Lifeguard certification may not be substituted for any of these requirements. JCSC coaches are required to submit copies of their certification as proof of attendance at these courses to the Vice-President of Registration, or designated Coaches Certification Coordinator (see Appendix A). Prior to the first meet, each coach not presenting the required documentation will instead provide a statement indicating the date(s) when training for the proper certification will be complete. In any case, required training will be complete and coaching certification will be provided to the Vice-President of Registration or Coaches Certification Coordinator before the JCSC team begins competition per Section (F) below. To facilitate the certification requirements for coaches, every spring the JCSC arranges for the necessary classes to be held.
(F) The head coach of each team and at least one other coach must be fully certified with documents submitted to JCSC by the date of the first dual meet. All coaches must have completed all certification, with documents submitted to JCSC, by the date outlined in the schedule of JCSC events.
(G) Swim coach registration and certification is a JCSC requirement intended to enhance the safety of our sport. Failure to conform to these requirements may place the league at risk and jeopardize the safety of our swimmers. Teams who do not have at least one fully certified coach shall be fined $100.00 per week for each week of the season or until certification is obtained which ever is less.
SECTION 4: DUAL MEETS
The rules referenced in this section are applicable to all JCSC meets. (A) JCSC dual meets (or sometimes “Tri” meets) shall be scheduled by the Board of Directors and announced at the April meeting. If a team registers with 25 or fewer swimmers or is a new team within the JCSC, all efforts will be made to schedule those teams as visitors in tri-meet formats.(B) Member clubs will be responsible for providing first through sixth place, and heat winner ribbons for each hosted meet. (Ribbons can be ordered through JCSC. Ribbon order forms must be received by the date outlined in the attached schedule of JCSC events.)
(C) Meets shall be open to all swimmers of each club (open meets), or shall be limited to “B” swimmers (“B” meets) by mutual agreement at the time that the meet is scheduled.
(D) The JCSC has a stated policy of non-discrimination. In the event a member of the host team and refuses to permit a team access to their facilities, the Board of Directors of JCSC will determine the disciplinary action to be taken against the host team. The Board will consider all salient factors in arriving at a decision. While the Board reserves the right to determine the action, a forfeit by the host team will be considered.
(E) Dual meets will normally be held on Tuesday evenings. Every effort should be made to begin the meet by 5:00 PM. Pools with insufficient lighting for the pool and deck should make every attempt to finish the meet before dark. In the event the meet is cancelled due to inclement weather (Section 6, (J)) or other reason, the following Thursday will be the makeup day of choice. Other makeup dates may be used at the discretion of team delegates and/or coaches.
(F) If a club desires to cancel a dual meet or participation in a tri-meet, it must give at least 24-hour notice to the host team. Failure to abide by this rule could result in disciplinary action by the Board of Directors of JCSC. The board will consider all salient factors in arriving at a decision.
SECTION 5: DUAL MEET EVENTS
(A) The rules referenced in this section are applicable to all JCSC meets. Occasionally JCSC may schedule a triangular meet or “tri-meet”. Except where specifically noted, the rules referenced in this section are also applicable to tri-meets. (B) Dual meets shall consist of the following:Age Group Individual Event Distance Age Group Relay Event Distance6 & under 25 yards/meters 8 & under 25 yards/meters 8 & under 4 by 25 yards/meters9 & 10 50 yards/meters 10 & under 4 by 50 yards/meters11 & 12 50 yards/meters 12 & under 4 by 50 yards/meters13 & 14 50 yards/meters 14 & under 4 by 50 yards/meters15 – 18 50 yards/meters 18 & under 4 by 50 yards/meters Note: For a pool that is not 25 or 50 yards/meters in length, distances should be the closest to that described in Section 5(B)Note: Multiple heats in any event are recommended when a team has more than three (3) swimmersNote: The number of events that each swimmer may participate in is limited. See Section 6(F). (C) Events and order of events for each age group:i. Girls first within a given stroke; and,ii. Order of events: Freestyle, Breast, Back, Butterfly, Relaysiii. During the odd weeks of each season (ie. Weeks 1,3, etc), the Freestyle Relay will be swumiv. During the even weeks of each season (ie. Weeks 2,4, etc.), the Medley Relay will be swum
(E) Changes to events and order of events:Any event/distance may be added, changed, or modified upon agreement of all coaches involved by 11:00 AM the date of the meet. The agreement must be recorded in writing. The agreement must be submitted to the Vice-President of Scheduling together with the final results. No further changes can be made without the agreement of both coaches and approval of the Meet Referee in writing.
(E) Scoring for Dual Meets Scoring for Tri MeetsIndividual Events Relays Individual Events Relays5 – first place 7 – first place 6 – first place 8 – first place3 – second place 0 – second place 4 – second place 4 – second place1 – third place 3 – third place 0 – third place2 – fourth place
1 – fifth place
If multiple heats are held in any event, the best times overall will be awarded points as outlined above.SECTION 6: DUAL MEET ADMINISTRATION
(A) Both visiting and host teams are responsible for tendering and exchanging a complete list, and /or a computerized disk from Hytek Team Manager software, of all swimmers and their respective events. The head scorer of the host team shall receive a copy of both lists. These entries are due no later than 3pm the day before the dual meet. A $25 late fee will be assessed if entries are received by the host team later than the due date/time.(B) As required in Section 6(A) above, the entry listing will reflect the swimmers for each event, seeded in the order of fastest to slowest, and tendered to the head scorer no later than noon the day before the meet. A 20-point penalty will be assessed for each team failing to comply with the punctuality rules prescribed herein. Consequently, the official team score shall be the team points after reduction for the penalty. The Board of Directors has authority to abate the penalty in the event of reasonable cause due to “extreme, unusual, and non-recurring circumstances”.
(C) Unless specifically advised to the contrary by the host team, the visiting team will furnish entry cards to the host team reflecting the name of the swimmer, the event number, and the stroke and distance ONLY in the order of fastest to slowest, to match and coincide with entry sheets described in Section 5(B) above. The entry cards will be tendered no later that noon the day preceding the meet. Failure to do so shall result in the same penalty outlined in Section 5(B) above. (D) Substitutions can be made after the list is turned over to the head scorer only if a swimmer is unable to compete in the meet as follows:i. Substitutions can be made for swimmers who fail to show up for a meet. If the swimmer arrives late, no substitutions may be made in subsequent events.ii. Late entries may be made only if there is an open lane. The team originally assigned to a particular lane shall have first priority.
(E) At least thirty (30) minutes warm-up time must be provided, permitting an equal number of the available lanes for each club. This warm-up period must be within one hour of the scheduled starting time of the meet.
(F) Swimmers will be permitted to swim a maximum of three (3) individual events and two (2) relays unless the involved coaches mutually agree, in writing, to a larger number. These agreements must be submitted to the Vice President of Rules together with the final results. All swimmers must compete in their own age group in individual events. (G) Lane assignments shall be as follows:
| Tri Meets | |
| Host team – odd numbered lanes (lanes 1,3,5) | Host – lanes 3 & 6 |
| Visiting team – even number lanes (lanes 2,4,6) | Team A* – lanes 1 & 4 |
| Team B* – lanes 2 & 5 | |
*Team A & B are determined by alphabetical order | |
(I) A Marshall shall be present at all JCSC sponsored meets. He/she shall have full police charge of the immediate starting area, the sides of the course and the finish. He/she shall take a position as instructed by the Referee to maintain stillness in the rear of the starting platform, and at each start to prevent spectators or swimmers from crowding the course. He/she shall maintain order among competitors, spectators, officials, and coaches. He/she shall have authority to remove from the vicinity of the competition anyone using profane or abusive language, or whose actions are disrupting the orderly conduct of the meet.
(J) In the event of inclement weather, safety of our swimmers will be the top priority. The host team can decide to delay/cancel the meet based on host coach’s and/or local pool management discretion. Continuation of the meet during questionable conditions shall require mutual agreement by representatives from both teams. A date and time for a makeup meet (or continuation) should be determined and agreed upon at the time the cancellation decision is made. JCSC recommends (no requirement) that the Thursday following the cancellation be reserved for makeup meets. A meet that is completed through the last heat of the backstroke before cancellation can be considered complete. The meet score shall not include scoring for stroke or relay events that are only partially complete. Example: a meet is cancelled during the boys 9–10 butterfly. The meet should be scored only through the last heat of backstroke. A meet that is started and interrupted by weather or otherwise, shall be resumed under the following procedures:- Meet shall not be reseeded. Original seeding shall apply and swimmers’ age shall be determined as of the date the meet was initiated. Late additions (i.e., swimmers not originally entered in the meet) may be added, provided there is room in originally-seeded heats due to open lanes and/or scratches (in accordance with Section 6 (D) ). The age of late addition swimmers shall also be determined as of the date the meet was initiated. Only with the prior approval of all teams involved, a make-up or resumed meet may be conducted with more than the team (s) originally scheduled, however, the meet shall be scored as originally scheduled (unless arranged and approved in advance by all parties involved). Example – Teams A and B were originally schedules in a dual meet that is postponed or interrupted. Teams A and C were scheduled in a dual meet the following week. Due to time constraints, Teams A, B and C elect to resume the meet together. The meet may be conducted (and scored) as a tri-meet (provided all three teams agree) or may be conducted as a tri-meet but scored as two dual meets (A versus B and A versus C).
SECTION 7: SWIMMERS ELIGIBILITY
(A) The swimmer must be properly and timely registered in accordance with registration procedures as outlined in Section 3(A) prior to competing in a meet. (B) Any swimmer, age 13 years or older, whose best competitive time, obtained at any age, in an individual stroke or individual medley event obtained in any competition with automatic timing, equals or betters the times in Appendix E shall be ineligible to compete in the JCSC competitive program in the event for which his/her time equals or betters the times for that event in Appendix E.(C) Any swimmer who is receiving or has received pay as a swimming coach shall be excluded from competition.
(D) No swimmer may compete for more than one club in JCSC in one season unless approved by the Vice President of Rules.
(E) Any club that violates Section 7(B) or the JCSC rules will forfeit the awarded points plus suffer a twenty (20) point penalty.
(F) A swimmer’s age as of June 1st shall determine the correct age group in which to swim for the entire summer swim season.
SECTION 8: HOST TEAM AND VISITING TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES
(A) The host team is responsible for providing the pool.(B) The visiting team will provide the following officials. All deck officials must be USS or JCSC certified.One (1) Stroke & Turn Judge (USS or JCSC Cert.)One (1) person to work at the scoring table: and,Two (2) Place Judges (C) The host team will provide the following officials: All deck officials must be USS or JCSC certified.One (1) Referee (USS or JCSC Cert.)One (1) Starter (USS or JCSC Cert.)Two (2) ScorersOne (1) Clerk of CourseOne (1) Timer per laneTwo (2) Place JudgesOne (1) MarshallTwo (2) Stroke & Turn Judges (USS or JCSC Cert.) Note: Referee may serve as one JudgeAnd a sufficient number of runners to adequately service the meet.
(D) Referable to Sections 8(B) and 8(C), a coach from a participating team will not be permitted to serve as a meet official. However, during the warm-up period, a participating coach may serve as Marshall.
(E) All meet officials, with the exception of runners, shall be age twelve (12) or older. A penalty of twenty (20) points per non-complying person will be assessed against the negligent team failing to observe this rule. (F) All supplies including but not limited to ribbons, lane cards, judges’ cards, disqualification cards, entry cards, heat sheet, guns, shells, stop watches, etc., will be furnished by the host team.
(G) A copy of meet results together with names and team affiliation of referee, stroke judges, finish judges, head scorer and clerk of course shall be given to the visiting team and the Vice President of Scheduling within three (3) days from the date following the meet. Each coach shall receive all disqualification slips on his/her swimmers when given meet results at the conclusion of the meet. A penalty of twenty (20) points for failure to comply with this rule will be assessed against the negligent team. (H) The host team must have sign-in sheet for all volunteers working the meet; this includes officials and other workers, such as meet directors, runners, or scorers, etc. The list shall have the volunteer name, position, and club affiliation. This list shall be kept on file with the host team’s records.
(I) If all dual meet results are not in the possession of the Vice-President of Scheduling by the entry deadline for the Divisional or County Championships, the team(s) may be prohibited from participating in the Championship Meets. The Board of Directors shall consider all relevant and salient factors and determine whether the team(s) are eligible to participate in said meets. (J) The meet results shall be mailed to the Vice-President of Scheduling no later than three days following the meet. The results shall include a cover page that lists officials who worked the meet as well as the total team scores. An example of the requested cover sheet can be found in Appendix I.
(K) Meet results and pertinent information shall be sent to: David ParsonsVice-President of SchedulingJefferson County Swim Council 3813 Carisbrooke Drive Hoover, AL 35226 (L) Each JCSC certified official will be required to attend a stroke and turn seminar prior to the beginning of the summer season. JCSC will provide the date, time and location of the clinic(s). This rule shall be waived in the event no clinic is scheduled. (Note: Certified USS officials whom have already satisfied this requirement in prior months are exempt from this requirement.)
SECTION 9: GUPPY MEETS
(A) The purpose of a Guppy Meet is to promote competition for the new and less experienced swimmers. The time standards are to be structured for the new and less experienced swimmer.(B) A swimmer shall be eligible to participate in a Guppy Meet until he/she has obtained the guppy meet standard in more than one event. (C) A swimmer shall be eligible to participate as a guppy in a particular stroke until he/she has achieved the guppy meet time standard in the stroke (D) The cut off date for the above disqualifying factors shall be five (5) calendar days prior to the first scheduled date of the guppy meet. Rain dates shall not effect a swimmer’s status, i.e. if he/she was eligible to swim on the originally scheduled first meet day, then he/she will be eligible for the meet regardless of when it is held.
(E) Advancement to the next age group does not restore guppy status.
(F) All participants in the JCSC sponsored guppy meets shall be registered in accordance with the registration procedures set forth in Section 3 above.
(G) Minimum Standard awards for Guppy Meets are as follows:i. Token heat ribbons for each lane of each heat in individual events. For example, first through sixth place of each heat would receive a ribbon for guppy meets contested in a six lane pool. Eight places would be awarded for an eight lane pool and so on;ii. Three medals for each individual event; andiii. Team trophies shall not be awarded. (H) If there are more than two guppy meets to be held, the JCSC will determine, based loosely upon geographic criteria, which guppy meet each JCSC team will support. See Appendix B. Additionally, entry fees for these meets shall be the same at each location.
The JCSC Board will supply the awards for the Guppy meets (detailed in 9H above). Additionally, total fees charged for these meets are limited to $10 per swimmer. (I) Guppy Meet Events will be as follows: 6 & Under 25 yards all 4 strokes 8 & Under 25 yards all 4 strokes 9-10 50 yards all 4 strokes 11-12 50 yards all 4 strokes (K) The Guppy Meets will be limited to only swimmers aged 12 and below who have not yet reached the Guppy Time Standards in more than one event and/or stroke.
SECTION 10: CHAMPIONSHIP and Invitational MEETS
(A) The bid for Jefferson County Championship and Invitational Meets shall be presented to the delegates at the April meeting for JCSC. The meets shall include the County Championship, the Divisional Championship. JCSC Sponsored Invitational and Guppy meets. In any given year the JCSC Board may suggest an alternative Championship meet format including additional meets or substitutions. The membership present at that time will vote to decide on acceptance of meet format and acceptance of meet bids.(B) The date for the Jefferson County Championship Meet shall be the first weekend (weekend defined as a Friday, Saturday or Sunday) following the Southeastern Long Course Championship Meet. The Divisional Championship Meet or alternative championship meet(s) as approved by the board shall precede the County Meet by two (2) weeks.
(C) The team(s) hosting the Jefferson County Championship Meet, Divisional Championship Meets and JCSC Sponsored Invitational Meet shall provide the following:i. The County Championship Meet, Divisional Championship Meets, and JCSC Sponsored Invitational Meet shall have electronic timing. Timing in alternative Championship Meets shall be governed by JCSC Board ruling.ii. Non-turbulent lane ropes properly installed between ALL lanes and where there are no gutters, the ropes should be installed on the outside of Lanes 1 and 6 (lane 8 if an 8 lane pool); andiii. The host team shall supply ALL meet workers. (Referees, starter, stroke and turn judges, marshal, scorers, timers and runners.)To ensure certification requirements are met, the names of the above officials and meet information must be approved by the JCSC Board of Directors before the meet information is mailed.iv. All championship and invitational meet results shall be mailed to the Vice-President of Scheduling no later than three days following the meet.v. Event results in championship and invitational meets shall include individual place, time and JCSC time standard achieved (i.e. AAA, AA, A etc.) during the meet. Computerized time standards will minimize errors during end of year award determination. (D) The basis for determination of the minimum time standards to enter the County Championship Meet (Appendix F) shall be current USS “B” minimum times plus ten (10) percent to be published and distributed to each club by the April scheduling meeting. (Appendix F)
(E) If time standards for other JCSC recognized Championship Meets are necessary, they shall be provided to each team as soon as details are available. (F) The events offered for the County Championship Meet shall include the following:Age Group Individual Event Distance6 & under 25’s in every stroke8 & under 25’s in every stroke, 50 free and 100 IM9 & 10 50’s in every stroke, 100 free and 100 IM11 & 12 50’s in every stroke, 100 free and 100 IM13 & 14 50’s in every stroke, 100 free and 100 IM15 – 18 50’s in every stroke, 100 free and 100 IM
(G) The relay events for the County Championship Meet shall include the following:Age Group Event Distance8 & Under 4 by 25 free and medley relays10 & Under 4 by 50 free and medley relays12 & Under 4 by 50 free and medley relays14 & Under 4 by 50 free and medley relays18 & Under 4 by 50 free and medley relays Note: Swimmers are allowed to swim a maximum of two relays in Championship Meets.
(H) The Divisional Championship Meets shall be conducted with the same events as a dual meet (refer to Section 5 (B) and (C)). The Divisional Championship meets shall be conducted with two (2) levels of competition, referred to as “gold” and “silver”. The time standards for separating the level of competition shall be the same as the minimum Senior County time standards published in Appendix F. Team awards shall be based on combined totals for both the gold and silver levels, i.e. score the meet as if there was only one level of competition.
(I) Scoring for Championship Meets:Individual Events Relays6-lane pools: 7-5-4-3-2-1 14-10-8-6-4-2
(J) Minimum award standards for the JCSC County Championship Meet and Divisional Meets are as follows:i. County Championship Meet(a) Heat ribbon for the winner of each heat(b) Three (3) medals and (3) ribbons for each event(c) Individual high-point and runner-up trophy, per boy and girl per each age group; and.(d) Trophies for first, second and third place team finish ii. Divisional Championship Meets(a) Heat ribbon for the winner of each heat(b) Three (3) medals and (3) ribbons for each event in each level of competition (gold and silver)(c) Standard breaker awards for those swimmers achieving a gold time standard(d) Trophies for first, second and third place team finish (K) Each team must participate in a minimum of three (3) dual meets to be eligible to compete in the JCSC County Championship or Divisional Championship Meet. In the event a club is unable to participate in three (3) meets, the Board of Directors will attempt to arrange additional meets for the club. Alternatively, the Board of Directors may waive the minimum participation rule.
(L) The JCSC shall have the option of sponsoring any approved JCSC meet and retaining the proceeds therefrom, in the event a satisfactory bid is not received for hosting any such meet. (M) A swimmer’s age shall be determined on the first day (original schedule) of the championship meet.
(N) The JCSC board will supply the awards, medals and trophies for the Divisional Championship Meets (detailed in 10 (J) ii above). Additionally, the total fees charged for these meets are to be limited to $10 per swimmer.
Attachments
Appendix A: JCSC Board and CoordinatorsAppendix B: Divisional and Guppy Meets Team DesignationsAppendix C: Important DatesAppendix D: Meet ScheduleAppendix E: Maximum Time Standards for Eligibility (13 years old and up)Appendix F: JCSC Motivational Time Standards and Time Standards for Championship MeetAppendix G: Awards CriteriaAppendix H: Procedures for Officials’ CertificationAppendix I: Meet Worker FormAppendix J: Waiver of LiabilityAppendix K: Awards Order Form