Meet Announcement

Date
Friday 3rd May & Saturday 4th May 2019

Meet Director
Jem Babbington: jembabbington@btinternet.com

Meet Referee
Brad Nielson will be assigned Meet Referee for the entire competition. The meet referee will have the final say in any dispute over the rule interpretations or any other technical matter related to the swimming of the events in this meet. Any official protest must be submitted in writing using the Disqualification Protest Form that can be found on page 21 of this document. The protest should be submitted to the meet director within 30 minutes of posting the event results in question. Protests will only be accepted from the assigned team representative.

Venue
Saudi Aramco Compound, Dhahran, home of DYSL, housing a 25m, eight (8) lane outdoor pool with Permanent starting blocks (at one end) and an adjacent 25m, eight (8) lane outdoor pool with two lanes reserved for warm up / cool down. Official times will be recorded using a Colorado Timing System with backup times recorded manually in each lane.

Age
Age as of May 3rd, 2019, will determine a swimmer’s age group for the duration of the Championships. Swimmers must have achieved qualifying times for entered events in the age group in which they are competing at the Championships.

Events
See attached list.

Meet rules
USA Swimming Short Course rules for 2019 will apply. The technical Rules and Regulations can be accessed via the 2019 Rule book on the following website: usaswimming.org

Eligibility
Registered swimmers of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia (EPSA), Riyadh Swim League (RSL) and Western Region sanctioned teams with swimmers who are currently residing and enrolled in one of Kingdom’s schools and who have achieved the National Qualifying Times (NQT), for each event in which the swimmer is entered as listed in the attached table entitled ‘2017-2020 Saudi Age Group Swimming Time Standards’ are eligible to enter this championship.

Entry Times for each swimmer shall be official meet result times that were posted in a competitive meet conducted within the EPSA, RSL, or Western Region in Saudi Arabia or while representing their team/region, during an event in a 25 meter or 50-meter pool between May 6th, 2018 and May 2nd, 2019. Any times obtained in a 50 meters pool shall be converted to a short course time using a conversion rate of 1.001, while all yard times must be converted to metric times using a conversion rate of 1.11. (Note: equivalent yard times for the 400 meters Freestyle event must come from a 500-yard Freestyle event).

Consideration entries which meet the NCT times as listed in the attached table entitled ‘2017-2020 Saudi Age Group Swimming Time Standards’ will be considered only for swimmers who have at least one NQT event entered. Late entries will only be accepted if they meet the National Qualifying Time (NQT) time standards, and upon the availability of an empty lane following acceptance of consideration times. The Meet organizers will impose a late entry fee.

No qualifying times are required for relay entries; however, a minimum of two teams must compete in an event to be eligible for awards. Relay teams should consist of the fastest swimmers from each of the three regions for the legs of the relay they are swimming. Relay teams may not consist of swimmers from an age group other than that posted for the event. Each region shall be allowed two relay teams (Relay Team A and Relay Team B) in each event, except the mixed relays (event #83 and #159) which may have three teams. Mixed Relay Teams shall consist of two boys and two girls each. The teams from the Western Region will swim in Lanes 2 & 5. The Central Region will swim in Lanes 3 & 6, and the Eastern Region will swim in Lanes 4 & 7. Mixed relay events may be reseeded if more than six (6) teams are competing. The Meet Director may elect to change the relay format for any age group depending on the number of entries for that group. Regions and Teams will be advised of any such change. Swimmers are limited to a maximum of 1 Relay entry per day.

The Meet Director reserves the right to request verification of the entry times submitted for each swimmer and will reject any entry time that cannot be substantiated by the results of an officially sanctioned meet within the dates specified above.

Entries
Swimmers are limited to five (5) individual events and one (1) relay event per day. Swimmers in the 7-8 and 9-10 age groups are limited to a total of nine (9) individual events for the competition.

All entries should be submitted as HyTek entry files by Monday, April 22nd, 2019 @ 6 pm.
The entries file should be sent to drd_delcarmen@yahoo.com AND CC dysl.dolphins@gmail.com
Qualifying (NQT) entries should be submitted by e-mail as a Hy-Tek Team Manager Meet Entries export file (.c12 or .hy3) along with a Word or PDF entry listing.
Meet events files should be submitted, along with two PDF files listing the entries with proof of time provided. Any entry without proof of time will be discarded.

• One file for the NQT listing all the events the swimmer has NQT times
• One file for the NCT listing all the events the swimmer has NCT times

Please ensure The Hy-Tek Meet Entry Report is sorted by name and the Hy-Tek Fee report is attached with your entries. Times and Poof of Time when creating the report is also required.

The decision to accept NCTs is based on the fastest NCTs taking into consideration empty lanes and number of participants. We shall inform teams about the final decision once all entries are submitted.

For the 6 and under, the total events the swimmer can enter is five (5) and two (2) for the relays. For the 7-8 and 9-10 age groups, the total events the swimmer can enter are nine (9) as individual entries and two (2) for the relays. For the other age groups, the total events the swimmer can enter is ten (10) and two (2) for the relays. The swimmer can enter a maximum five (5) events per day (excluding relays).

Relay Entries shall be submitted via the respective Medley Relay Form and the Free Relay Form attached to these instructions. Relay entries will be due to the meet organizers no later than 11:00 a.m. on the morning of the event. Relay entries shall be submitted through the designated team representative only.

Coaches are responsible for the accuracy of all submitted entry data and must ensure correct spelling of swimmer name, with the eligible age category, precise event name and number, correct gender designation and accurate times. The Meet Director will send back team entries to all teams for verification of entries accuracy after they have been imported into Meet Manager. We urge all respective team representative/coaches to check the imported entries for correctness and notify the meet organizer by email ASAP should there be any errors in the transferred data. In the event of late notification, after the printing of the official program, then an adjustment will be made in consultation with the concerned parties on the first day of the meet. In the event of any omission or mistakes made in the submitted entry information by the team representative / coach then the official meet program will not be altered and the swimmer may not be permitted to swim.

Entry deadline
The entry deadline is Monday, April 22nd 2019 @ 6:00 pm.
The entry report will be sent to you after processing all entries for NQT and NCT.

Seeding
Seeding will be ‘Timed Finals’ in accordance with the USA Swimming Rules & Regulations, except for Relays for which each region has been assigned certain lanes. The Meet Director shall have the right to combine events or relays should the number of swimmers or teams registered for those events warrant. The Meet Director may also choose to combine 400 meter events (Free and IM) and seed swimmers in age groups 11-18 as if swimming a single event.

Scratches
Each swimmer is expected to swim all events entered unless they have been officially scratched from an event. Scheduled scratch meetings will be conducted on each morning prior to the commencement of the day’s events. Formal announcement and notification will be made by the organizers with regards to time and location of the meeting. Team Representatives are expected to submit in writing all scratches for their swimmers for all the day’s events. Failure to swim an event without prior scratching may cause a swimmer to be barred from the remainder of the events on that day unless otherwise approved by the Meet Referee. Refunds of entry fees will not be made for non-participation in an event.

Entry Fees
30 Saudi Riyals for each event entered, including NCT consideration times; there is no fee for relays. Entries received after the deadline will carry a charge of SR60 per event. Once the meet is seeded and the number of consideration times accepted is known, the Meet Director will provide each team the amount which is due for all accepted entries. Each of the three regions shall designate a single representative who will be in charge of collecting fees for that particular region. Total fees are to be paid in FULL as per the team final submission entries regardless if swimmers are scratched. If a swimmer who has submitted a consideration time is not entered into the event because lanes are not available, then the entry fee for this event will not be charged to the team.

Visiting teams from Eastern, Western and Central regions should submit their individual payments to the assigned region representative. Kellie Nielson the DYSL treasurer will collect all entry fees, verify payments and give receipts for payment at the dinner at the Carlton Moaibed hotel on May 2nd, 2019 from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm. Teams will be subject to elimination from participation in the championships event if the fees have not been paid in FULL in accordance to the entry fees above listed guidelines. Any Questions regarding the payment of the fees should be directed to Kellie Nielson: nielsonbrad19@gmail.com

Awards

Medals will be awarded for each 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place swimmers and ribbons for places 4-8 for each event by age group and gender. Separate awards will be presented to the top six (6) high point male and female participants in each age group category.

• Each swimmer will earn 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 point(s) for finishing each event in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th place respectively, regardless of the number of entrants
• No additional points will be awarded for National Records broken during the competition.

In case of ties, the swimmer with the lowest number of individual events entered and swam shall be selected. If a tie still exists, then the swimmer with the best record in head to head competition shall be selected. If a tie still exists, duplicate awards will be presented.

Trophies will also be presented to the top three teams in the event (total points scored).

Meet Schedule

Warm-up 06:45 - 08:00
Eastern Region – Lane 1, 2, 3
Central Region – Lane 4, 5, 6
Western Region – Lane 7 & 8
(Assigned lanes are subject to change based on number of entries per region)

Open Warm-ups will take place in Pool #2 (adjacent to the main competition pool) and can be used during the duration of the meet for warm-up and cool-down swims.

Photography
Saudi Aramco Recreation Services have granted special permission for photography and video, at this swim meet. Photography and video are normally not allowed in the swimming pool area but this permission allows photography and video at the pool in certain specified areas, such as along the side of the pool and the area under the main scoreboard. Photography and video are forbidden from behind the starting blocks at any time. Please request permission before photographing any swimmer who is not your own child. Any infringement of the rules may lead to exclusion from the event.

Meet Mobile
The Meet Mobile app is free to download from the Apple App Store (iPhone Apps) and Google Play and will allow access to heat sheets and results throughout the weekend. Please note, however, that this is not a free app. Results can be followed live, as it unfolds, on Meet Mobile but results may be altered from those originally displayed due to DQ, soft touch and other relevant reasons. Final posted results will be accurate on Meet Mobile. The Meet Mobile application (app) displays meet results in real time as data is received during meets from the timer (one heat at a time). This app has the ability to display heat sheets, psych sheets, records, team scores, and time standards. It will be set up and working for the meet.

Awards Ceremony
The Awards Ceremony is scheduled at Al Waha (just outside the main Dhahran Hills Swimming Pool) shortly after the conclusion of the meet on Saturday. A few minutes will be required to ensure all points are counted correctly and ties examined before the awards ceremony can proceed so please bear with us during this time. We appreciate people will be trying to leave quickly to catch flights so will try to organize the award ceremony as soon after the meet ends as possible. During the awards ceremony coaches, parents and visitors are asked to be respectful to the announcer. All visitors are welcome to cheer for their athletes; however, a general rule is not to support them too loudly as this may cause offence to others. Swimmers are requested not to carry banners onto the podium with them and to wear suitable clothing for the ceremony.