New England Swimming End-of-the-Summer Challenge

New England Swimming

Last Chance End-of-the-Summer Challenge
(All age groups events offered with a Special 8 & Under sessions)

The Nikolai Rau Memorial Meet

Proudly hosted by the Greenwood Memorial Swim Club, Inc.
Friday, Saturday & Sunday, July 17-19, 2009

Greenwood Memorial Outdoor Pool, Gardner, MA

Sanctioned by NE Swimming #NE-09-68 & NE-09-68 TT

Please note session time changes (7/13)

Events List (updated 4/29)

Entry Cover Page (Adobe PDF)

Hy-Tek Events File for Team Manager (updated 4/29)

Results

Results (Adobe PDF)

Hy-Tek CL2 File for Team Manager

CONTACTS

Meet Director: Phil Harty (978) 632-8070 phil.harty@sodexo.com

Meet Referee: Bob Menck (603) 357-9638 rmenck@ne.rr.com

Entry Chairperson: Cathryn Sundback (978) 456-9023 csundback@gmail.com

Safety Chairman: Jane Cheney (978) 632-9561 jagcheney@verizon.net

For GMSC Team information, warm-up schedules, timing needs, and/or “day-of-the-meet” weather or emergency notices, access the GMSC web page at: http://www.greenwoodswim.com

MEET FORMAT: All events will be swum as timed-finals and will be seeded after the positive check-in deadline before the start of the competition session. Coaches and swimmers must check-in with the Clerk of the Course no later than 45 minutes before the session is scheduled to start (i.e., by 7:45 AM for morning sessions and 1:45 PM for afternoon sessions). Heat and lane assignments will be posted and handed out to coaches prior to the start of competition. There will be no bullpen. Swimmers are to report directly to their assigned lane before their event and heat is called. Coaches are responsible for ensuring their swimmers are in the correct heat and lane.

SITE: The Greenwood Memorial Pool is an 8-lane, 25-yard outdoor pool with 7’-wide lanes and non-turbulent lane lines. Fully-automatic Colorado Time Systems electronic timing with touchpads at the finish end of the pool with single-line electronic display. There are no touchpads at the turn end of the pool. A separate section of the pool is reserved for warm-up and warm-down. Spectator seating space is available around the pool. Bring your own lawn chairs, blankets, and tents. The pool is located outdoors at the Greenwood Memorial Pool Complex, 69 Park Street, Gardner, MA 01440. Please enter through the gates on Park Street, and not through the indoor pool. Directions may be found later in this document. The competition course has not been certified in accordance with 104.2.2C(4).

COURSE: Short course yards (25 yards).

SESSIONS (NOTE TIME CHANGES):

Warm-up

Start

Friday Twilight Session:

Sat & Sun Morning Sessions:

* 4:00 PM *

7:00 AM

* 5:00 PM *

8:30 AM

Sat & Sun 8&Under Sessions:

Sat & Sun Twilight Session:

* 2:30 PM *

5:00 PM

* 3:00 PM *

6:00 PM

ELIGIBILITY: All contestants must be 2009 USA Swimming registered athletes and must be registered before the entry is submitted. In accordance with NE Swimming rules, teams that enter unregistered swimmers will be subject to a fine of $100 per unregistered swimmer. New England teams are required to check their entries with the on-line registration check tool on the New England Swimming website. Please contact the New England Swimming Office for registration information. Disabled swimmer forms are available from the New England Swimming Office. New England Swimming Office: 20 Cleveland Road, Needham MA 02492, 781-449-0270, office@neswim.com. Age eligibility is determined by the age of the swimmer on the first day of the meet and must be shown on the entry form. All coaches on deck must be registered with US Swimming and present their coach membership cards.

12 & UNDER AGE GROUP QUALIFIERS: If the End of Summer Challenge Meet is oversubscribed, swimmers with age group cuts will be the first cut from the meet. New swimmers who qualify for 14 & Under Age Groups at the End of Summer Challenge will be able to enter 14 & Unders (new events only) only if 14 & Under Age Groups is not full.

ENTRY INFORMATION: Entries received before June 12, 2009 will be considered received on June 12, 2009. Entries must be received no later than Wednesday, July 1, 2009. Make checks payable to “Greenwood Memorial Swim Club,” and mail completed forms (including signed entry cover page and waiver) and payment to the entry chairperson: Cathryn Sundback at 87 Warren Avenue, Harvard, MA 01451. All entries must be typed or printed legibly, be complete and accurate and must use full names and registration numbers from USA Swimming registration. All entries must include a completed and signed entry cover sheet and waiver. No refunds will be given for entries that are accepted or for entries that are rejected due to improper entry (i.e., meet fees will not be returned or credited to new entries for scratches or errors). Any swimmer who is entered with incorrect swimmer information, or an incorrect or no ID, or is unregistered, will be scratched from the meet until corrections are made per New England Swimming policy. Deck entries will only be accepted if the meet is not designated as full on or before July 8, 2009 and then only if permitted by the meet director and/or meet referee.

Greenwood Memorial Swim Club will reserve 75% for its own team and any other teams (New England and/or out of district) that it may want to invite to this meet. The other 25% of the swims will be open to other teams to submit entries. If on the first day of acceptance, those meet entries exceed the 25% still available in the meet, there will be a lottery of those teams. The lottery will be run by the New England Office. In order to make sure that the meet is neither oversubscribed nor undersubscribed, all teams included in the 75% must submit their entry and check at least one week before the date of first acceptance. All New England 8 and Under swimmers are guaranteed entry in the 8 and Under sessions regardless of whether or not their team is included among the teams invited by the meet host.

Please include the email address of your team’s contact(s) so all future meet correspondences can be sent to this email address.

ELECTRONIC ENTRIES: Electronic entries (such as from Hy-Tek Team Manager or other team management software) that are in CL2 or SD3/SDIF format may be emailed as an attachment to the entry chairperson at gmsc_meet@yahoo.com. Please check that your team name, address, and contact information are listed correctly in this file. For email entries, payment and hardcopy of the entry (including signed entry cover page and waiver) must be received within four (4) days, excluding Sundays and holidays, of receipt of the email entry. If payment is received within four (4) days, excluding Sundays and holidays, of the email entry, the email receipt date will be considered the date of entry. If payment is received more than four (4) days, excluding Sundays and holidays, after the email entry, the payment receipt date will be considered the date of entry.

ENTRY LIMITS: Athletes may enter and swim in a maximum of 5 events per day.

ENTRY TIME UPATES: Entry times may be updated through 6 pm on Wednesday, July 15, 2009. No new updates will be accepted after that date. (New entries will be automatically excluded). Entry time updates should be sent via email to the entry chairperson and must be sent as Hy-Tek format CL2 files with updated times.

ENTRY FEES: Electronic entries: $4.00 for individual events that are less than 200 yards in length and $5.00 for distance events (400 yards or longer). Non-electronic entries: $4.50 events less than 200 yards and $5.50 for events 400 yards or longer. The Swimmer Participation Fee is $3.00.

ENTRY TIMES: All entries must be specified in short-course yard (25-yard pool) times. Meter times must be converted to yard times. Entries with “NO TIME” will be rejected.

ENTRY CUTS: Entry cuts, if necessary, will be made by the date of receipt. Teams will be notified that they have been accepted or cut from the meet within seven days of receipt of entry. If the meet becomes oversubscribed, a random selection of those entries received on the date the meet becomes oversubscribed will be conducted in accordance with New England Swimming guidelines. Teams that are cut from the meet will have their entry fee returned within four days of being cut.

25-YARD EVENTS: 25-yard events will start at the start end of the pool. 8 & Under swimmers have the choice of starting from the blocks or wall.

OFFICIALS AND TIMERS: All teams are asked to provide an appropriate share of officials and timers. The meet will be permitted to proceed only if a sufficient number of officials and timers are present as determined by the Meet Referee. Please include with your entry a list of your team’s eligible officials, their phone numbers, and the session(s) they are available to work. The Referee for this meet will be Bob Menck and volunteer officials are encouraged to contact Bob at (603) 357-9638 or email at rmenck@ne.rr.com before the meet. Team warm-up lane assignments and timer goals will be emailed to team contacts prior to the meet, posted at the meet, and included in the coach’s packet.

PROGRAMS: $2.00 for each session; $8.00 for entire meet (7 sessions)

ADMISSION: $1.00 per adult (non-swimmer over 14 years).

WARMUPS: The pool will open for warm-ups at 7:00 AM for the morning session, approximately 1:00 PM for the afternoon session and at 5:00 PM for twilight sessions. Teams will be assigned warm-up lanes after all entries are received, and a warm-up schedule will be posted and distributed prior to the day of the meet. The pool will be cleared approximately 10 minutes before the start of competition.

SAFETY, BEHAVIOR, IMPORTANT RULES & SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

Diving is prohibited during warm-ups with the exception of one-way sprint lanes when announced.
All swimmers must enter the pool at the starting end of the pool. Jumping into the pool is prohibited at all times during the competition.
No shaving is permitted at the competition site.
Glass containers are prohibited on the grounds, especially on the pool area and in the restroom area.
Swimmers must be under the supervision of a coach. If a swimmer arrives at the meet without a coach, the swimmer should notify the referee before he/she warms up. The referee will assign the swimmer to a registered coach for warm-ups.
No camera cell phones are permitted in the locker rooms.
No flash photography at the start of any race.

Failure to abide by these rules and any other rules that may be announced or posted by meet officials during the meet may result in ejection from the facility. Meet officials will watch for swimmers or meet spectators who violate facility regulations. Horseplay will not be tolerated. Parents must supervise younger children in attendance at the meet. Meet officials have the authority to dismiss swimmers and spectators from the grounds. Coaches are responsible for communicating this to both swimmers and parents. No pets of any kind are permitted within the gated area. The Greenwood Memorial Swim Club and the City of Gardner are not responsible for lost or stolen items.

RULES: 2009 USA Swimming rules will govern all competition. Decisions by the meet referee will be final unless a written protest is lodged within 30 minutes of the heat swum.

TIME TRIALS: Time trials will be offered at the discretion of the meet referee if time allows at the end of each session. Time trials are $5.00 for individual events.

DECK ACCESS: Only athletes, coaches, officials, and official meet staff are permitted on the pool deck. All non-athletes on the pool deck must display their USA Swimming registration card at all times. Individuals without their USA Swimming registration card will be removed from the pool deck, and will be subject to a fine by New England Swimming.

SCORING AND AWARDS: This meet is an end-of-the-summer meet designed to be fun and the season culminating meet for mid-level and younger swimmers. Swimmers may use short-course yard times to qualify for New England Swimming age group championship meets. There will be team and individual high point awards, medals awarded to the first three places; and ribbons awards for places 4 through 8 for 9 and Over swimmers. 8 and Under swimmers will be awarded “best time ribbons” as well as ribbons for places 1 through 8.

FOOD & EQUIPMENT VENDOR: A concession stand will be in operation for the duration of the meet, and possibly, a swimming equipment vendor will be selling suits, goggles, and other accessories at times during the meet if arrangements can be made.

PARKING: There is ample parking available in the streets adjacent to the Greenwood Memorial Bath House Complex.

DIRECTIONS: From the North and South: Follow Route 128 or 495 to Route 2 West. Take the first Gardner exit (#23). At the end of the ramp, which feeds into a rotary, take the first right underneath a railroad bridge. At the first traffic light, turn right onto Elm Street. Follow until you come to another rotary. Enter the rotary and exit it at 9 o’clock -- this is Central Street, which you follow until it forks. You bear right at the fork, which is Park Street. The pool is on the right, after approx. 0.2 miles.

From the East: Take Route 2 West and follow the above instructions.

From the West: Take Route 2 East; to second Gardner exit (#23), and follow the above instructions.

LODGING: The following hotels and motels are in the area:

Super 8 Motel, 22 Pearson Blvd, Gardner, MA 01440, Tel. 978-630-2888 (At exit 23 off Rte 2.)

Wachusett Village Inn, 9 Village Inn Rd., Westminster, MA Tel. 978-874-2000 (Off Rte 2 at exit 27)

Clarion Colonial Hotel, 625 Betty Spring Rd, Gardner, MA 01440, Tel. 888-214-4991 toll-free or 978-630-2500. (Leave Rte 2 at exit 24, take Rte 140N, then take the third left after about a mile.)

Rodeway Inn, 183 Main St., Westminster, MA Tel. 978-874-5951 or toll-free at 800-286-5951

Sheraton Four Points, 99 Erdman Way, Leominster, MA Tel. 800-325-3535

The Maguire House, 30 Cobb Rd., Ashburnham, MA Tel. 978-827-5053

MainFare Bed & Breakfast, 82 Main St. Ashburnham, MA, Tel. 978-827-6005