DATES
Competition: Monday, August 9 - Thursday, August 12, 2010.
Pool available for warm-ups Sunday, August 8 from 1 - 6 p.m.

LOCATION
The Olympic Natatorium of San Juan
Parque Central
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907

FACILITIES
The Natatorium of San Juan is a world-class facility with 10 50-meter lanes for competition. The pool is a uniform 10 feet deep. There is also a nine lane,  25 meter warm-up area in the diving well. The facility was modeled after the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Natatorium at Georgia Tech. The pools are covered to protect swimmers from the sun but open on the sides to provide an outdoor swimming environment. The natatorium seats 2,000 people and is located on the east side of San Juan's Central Park. Water temperature in the competition pool is kept at 79 degrees.

ELIGIBILITY
The championships are open to any registered Masters swimmer at least 18 years of age as of August 8, 2010. Eighteen-year-olds must enter the meet by the entry deadline and only 18-year-olds may register with USMS on August 8 at the venue. A swimmer whose club affiliation differs from what is listed on his/her registration card must send either a new registration card or a letter from the local registrar with the new club affiliation and effective date. If there are questions about affiliation, the swimmer shall be entered as "unattached". Please clear up affiliation questions early by contacting the meet director. International entries must include a copy of the swimmer's Masters Swimming registration card or a letter from their governing body stating that they are in good standing.

AGE GROUPS
Age for the meet is determined as of 12/31/10, except that 18 year olds must be 18 by August 8, 2010.

REGISTRATION
Prior to warm-ups or competition, all participants must register at the meet by signing an emergency card, safety information statement, and liability release. Registration will be held at the Natatorium of San Juan in Parque Central on Sunday, August 8, from 1:00pm to 6:00 p.m. and on Monday, August 9th through Thursday, August 12 from 6:30 a.m. until the end of each day's competition.

SEEDING
All 50 meter events will be pre-seeded. All other events may be deck seeded by gender, time and age group. Women's heats will precede men's heats for each event except for the 800 and 1500 Free. Men and women may be seeded together for the 800 and 1500 Free and will be seeded slowest to fastest by entry. The 400 IM and 400 Free will be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time for each sex, regardless of age. All other events will be seeded by age group with the oldest age groups first, slowest to fastest within each age group.

CHECK-IN
Coaches or teammates may check in for those swimmers whose travel plans do not permit check-in by the deadlines. Failure to check in will result in the swimmer being scratched from the event.

CHECK-IN FOR EVENTS 100 METERS AND LONGER
Positive check-in is required separately for all deck seeded individual events 100 meters and longer. If the meet timeline allows, the host will pre-seed the 100 and/or 200 meter events and only require check-in for the 400 IM, 400 Free, 800 Free, and 1500 Free, which may be done in person in the registration area, or via internet. The decision on whether to pre-seed an event will be listed here by July 24, 2010.

CHECK-IN TIMES
For each of the following events, on-line check-in opens Saturday, August 7 at noon AST* and closes at the same time as on-site deadlines. On-site check-in for all events will open Sunday, August 8 at 1:00 pm AST and will close according to the following schedule:

* All times are Atlantic Standard Time (AST) which is the same as Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

HEAT AND PSYCH SHEETS
Psych sheets for all individual events will be available here on or about July 23, 2010. Heat sheets for pre-seeded events will be available online around July 30, 2010. Heat sheets for deck-seeded events will be posted at various places around the pool for swimmers after the check-in deadlines.

WARM-UP TIMES
The competition pool will be open for warm-ups on Sunday, August 8 from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. On competition days, the competition pool will be open for warmups from 6:30 a.m. until 7:50 a.m. The warm-up pool will be available from 6:30 a.m. until conclusion of the final event. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the competition pool will also be open for warm-up for 30 minutes following the last heat of the first event, the 400 IM and 400 Free. The competition pool will be open for 30 minutes following the last event each day.

WARM-UP PROCEDURES
Swimmers must enter the pool feet first in a cautious and controlled manner. No diving or backstroke starts will be allowed, except in designated sprint lanes. One or two lanes shall be designated as one-way sprint lanes during the pre-meet warm-up sessions in the competition pools only. Any swimmer who acts in an unsporting or unsafe manner within the swimming venue may be considered for appropriate action or penalty by the referee (rule 102.15.3). Pull-buoys, kick boards, fins and hand paddles are not allowed in competition or warm-up pools.

SCRATCHES
Any swimmer failing to report to the proper lane in the correct heat of an event shall be scratched from that event and shall not be permitted to swim that event at another time.

GENERAL MEETING
All swimmers, coaches, and officials should be represented at the general meeting at the Natatorium of San Juan on Sunday, August 8 at 4 p.m. There will be a discussion about the operation and conduct of the meet.

GOLD MEDAL SPONSORSHIP
Gold Medal Sponsors help support the championship. In return for your support, you will receive V.I.P hospitality and be recognized in the official program as supporters of Masters swimming. Hospitality will consist of breakfast, lunch and snacks during the meet. The cost of one sponsorship is $75.

ENTRY PROCEDURES
Use official entry form or a photocopy of the entire form. Read all instructions and fill out the form completely. Incomplete forms or forms with "pending" in place of a USMS registration number will be rejected (except for 18 year olds who must enter by the meet entry deadline but may register with USMS at the venue on August 8). A legible copy of the swimmer's Masters registration card or verification from their governing body must accompany the entry form for international entrants. Failure to include a copy of your Masters registration card may result in the swimmer being charged a fee before being allowed to compete.

ONLINE ENTRIES
Online entries are encouraged. This method provides immediate confirmation that the entry has been received.

NATIONAL QUALIFYING TIMES/NUMBER OF EVENTS/SIXTH EVENT
Competitors may enter up to four events without meeting the national qualifying time (NQT), or a maximum of six events if they meet the NQTs, (i.e. have swum a time equal to or better than the NQTs during the past two years.) Individual swimmers are limited to three events per day. All events must include an entry time. If the meet is deemed too large, an athlete's sixth event will be dropped. On the entry form, indicate this event with a "6" in the designated column. No refunds will be given if a sixth event is dropped. Swimmers may enter either the 800 or 1500 free but not both.

FEES
Fees are $4 per individual event plus a surcharge per swimmer. The surcharge varies according to date of entry. Fees must accompany the entry form and must be paid in U.S. dollars by check or money order. Do not send cash. 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 in writing and received by July 8, 2010. No refunds will be given for events not swum. The surcharge also applies to relay swimmers not entered in an individual event. Relay-only swimmers must submit an entry form with payment of the surcharge by the entry deadlines. All fees should be payable to "U.S. Masters Swimming."

ENTRY DEADLINES/ VARIABLE SURCHARGE/ MAIL ENTRY
All U.S. entries must be postmarked with an official US postmark (no business meters).

SURCHARGE:
Entry postmarked by: June 24
Entry received by: July 1
Amount: $50
Entry postmarked by: July 1
Entry received by: July 8
Amount: $60

Entries received after July 8th will be returned to sender. Online entries are encouraged and will be accepted until midnight EDT on each of the above 'Entry Received By' dates. No telephone or email entries will be accepted. Mail entries early. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with entry for proof of receipt. Do not send certified or overnight mail requiring a signature. Photocopy completed entry forms and personal checks for your records and verification.

MAIL ENTRY TO:
Summer National Championships
U.S. Masters Swimming Membership Office
PO Box 185
Londonderry, NH 03053-0185.

RELAY INFORMATION
Swimmers may enter relays until 4 p.m. on the day before the relay is scheduled. Each competitor is allowed to swim only one freestyle relay, one medley relay, one mixed freestyle relay and one mixed medley relay. The entry fee for each relay is $12 (cash or check only). Relay entries are submitted at the relay desk in the registration area. Each of the four members of the relay team must be registered with the same Masters club. The relay entry fee is in addition to individual events. Relay entry forms are available at www.usms.org.

SCORING
Individual Events: 11-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Relays: 22-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2.

TEAM SCORING
Team scoring will be tabulated in three categories: Men, Women, and Combined. Mixed relays score points only in the Combined category.

AWARDS
Medals will be awarded for first through 10th places in each age group. A "U.S. Masters Swimming 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. Unclaimed awards will not be mailed unless arrangements are made at the meet. There will be a charge for mailing awards. Awards will be presented to the top ten combined clubs in the Regional and Local Club divisions.

FINAL RESULTS
Complete final results may be ordered in advance or at the Awards Table during the meet. Cost will be $15.00 per copy. The usms.org website will post complete results, including splits.

TIME VERIFICATION (FORMERLY OVCs)
Swimmers needing verification of time(s) or wishing to have their times entered into the USA Swimming SWIMS Database (for entry into USA-S national meets) should complete a form at the meet prior to the swim. Contact the Administrative Referee at the meet.

QUESTIONS?
Contact Mark Gill at (941)387-4490 or by email at mark -DOT- gill -AT- usms -DOT- org.