conference meet rules

MIAA: 18 scorers, divers count as 1/3 (3 divers = 1 swimmer).

MIAC: Same

@RadAGator wrote:

is this just because the whole teams combined are too large to be accomodated at the school’s pools, or what?

I am sure it is done to try to even the playing field – teams like the Gustavus men probably left swimmers home who would have scored points at the meet.

UAA = 22 (including divers)

I too was curious about how other conferences enforce event restrictions, number of participants, and exhibition swims. I coach in the Northwest Conference and we have a limit of 18, 7 event max. (with only 3 being individual), and no exhibition swims. I was also curious about time trials. We have always done them between prelims and finals, but some conferences have them during the breaks at night……thoughts?

Bluegrass Mountain Conference:
18 scoring, unlimited exhibition swimmers in prelims
Time trials after prelims

Well, while we’re at it……

Presidents’ Athletic Conference
Limit of 18 athletes (divers count as 1/3 of an athlete)
Limit of 7 events per athlete, no more than 3 individual events.
Unlimited exhibition entries, with the same limit on number of events per athlete. Exhibition athletes can only swim in prelims and cannot be seeded in the night heat of the 1000 or 1650.
Time trials after prelims.
Relays (as my understanding is it’s a bit different from most): each team can swim an A and a B in the morning. Only the A can advance to finals. If the B DQs in the morning, the A can advance but swimmers from the B can’t swim on the A in finals. If the A DQs in the morning, the team gets no relay in finals.

If I remember correctly, The CCIW limited 18 scorers, but unlimited exhibition and they score “B” relays (“C” can be swum if entered but are exhibition)

@Look Up wrote:

MIAC: Same

MIAC: no entries beyond the 18 possible scoring swimmers. Only one relay/team. Relays only at night, no prelims. Timetrials only in the morning before the prelims.

All this makes for a relatively short morning, (and very few time trials) but means that big teams have a bunch of swimmers whose taper meet is the last dual and they are left out of the Conference excitement. This probably made sense when the MIAC conference meet was rotated from small pool to small pool and men and women were on separate weeks but now that it is a 3-day, male and female meet at the UM pool (last 7 years) with tons of space, I would think a change would be appropriate.

Thank you for the input to this point. The coaches in the NWC have gone round and round on the issue of participants being capped at 18, or allowing #’s 19+ to swim exhib. in the prelims. I want them to swim but am in the minority so the 19+ and there seasons are over at the last dual. It appeared that at the WIAC, Point and La Crosse had a 200 FR time trial after the final heat was finished, prior to the women’s 500. Can someone confirm this? SCIAC in So Cal have time trials prior to the beginning of the last event each night in finals. They also allow for a 4th individual swim that is exhibition only. Then there’s the New England smalls and their 50’s…….All these things are great….. IMO….giving the swimmers every opportunity to advance to Nats. I am really just compiling what I hope is positive ammo to share with my NWC brethren to see if we might improve our meet.