2023 Spring Nationals Meet Information

Dates

Competition days are April 27 - 30, 2023
Pool will be open for warm-up on Wednesday, April 26, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Location

The William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center
4601 Walnut Ave
Irvine, CA 92604

Hosted By

Irvine Novaquatics and City of Irvine
Irvine Novaquatics: Kim Hoesterey
City of Irvine: Cory Hilderbrand

Have Questions?

Please contact the National Office at events@usmastersswimming.org or 941-256-USMS (8767). 

Facility

William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center (Woollett) was completed as a major renovation of the original Heritage Park Aquatics Complex – site of the 1980 USA National Championships, the 1990 Junior Nationals West Championships and the 1981 USMS Short Course National Championships. The newly renovated Center was completed in September of 2004. The center is an outdoors facility consisting of one constant depth (7 feet) competition pool (50 meter by 25 yard) and variable depth warm-up pool (50 meter x 25 yard). In addition, a 25 yard by 25 meter teaching pool will be  available for additional warm-up space. Expansive locker room facilities for both men and women are adjacent to the warm-up pool. The center has hosted multiple National and Junior National Championships. Most recently, Woollett hosted the 2022 Phillips 66 National Championships and 2022 Speedo Junior National Championships. 

Entry Deadlines and Surcharge

Online entries will be accepted between the below dates and will close at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, on the last day of the entry period. Fees are $8 per individual event, plus a surcharge per swimmer. The surcharge varies according to date of entry:

January 25 - February 28 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific: $80 surcharge*
March 1 - April 3 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific: $100 surcharge*

Refund requests must be made to the National Office at events@usmastersswimming.org by April 10. No refunds will be given for events not swum. 

Relay-only swimmers must enter and pay the meet surcharge by the April 3 entry deadline. See the relay page for full details. 

If you cannot enter online, call 941-256-USMS (8767) between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern Time, during the online entry periods above, to provide your entry information. A member services representative will complete the entry for you. Please have your desired events, times, and credit card information available.

National Qualifying Times/Number of Events/Sixth Event

Competitors may enter up to three individual events without meeting the national qualifying times, 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 three years). Exception: Competitors entering the 1650 freestyle must meet the NQT. All swimmers are limited to three individual events per day. If the meet is deemed too large, an athlete’s sixth event will be dropped. Swimmers entering six events must indicate which event is to be dropped in case the timeline is too long. No refunds will be given if the sixth event is dropped. A decision on the sixth event will be announced at usms.org by April 7, 2023. If a swimmer enters an event with a time significantly slower or faster than that swimmer's recorded time in the previous three years, the Championship Committee may, after a discussion with the swimmer, change the seeded time to a realistic time.

The sixth event will be dropped. All swimmers who entered six events will be limited to five events. (Updated 4/7)

Eligibility

Participants must be registered Masters swimmers and at least 18 years of age as of April 26, 2023. Swimmers turning 18 after the meet entry deadline and by April 26, 2023, must enter the meet by the meet entry deadline and register for USMS either before or on April 26, 2023.

If a swimmer wishes to affiliate with a Masters club, the club and swimmer must both be registered with the same Local Masters Swimming Committee (LMSC). If there are questions about affiliation, the swimmer will be entered with the affiliation “UC” (Unattached). 

International entries are subject to verification and may require additional documentation. Please submit a copy of your Masters Registration card/letter from your governing body to events@usmastersswimming.org. Verification is required at the time of online entry. If you do not present verification, you will not be permitted to swim in the competition.

Age Groups

Age for the meet is determined as of April 30, 2023, except for 18-year-olds, who must be 18 by April 26, 2023. Age groups for individual events: 18–24, 25–29, 30–34, 35–39 … (five-year increments as high as necessary). Relay events: 18+, 25+, 35+, 45+, etc (10-year increments as high as necessary, determined by the age of the youngest relay member).

Registration

Prior to arriving at the facility, all participants must complete a form which includes a liability waiver and emergency contact information. The form will be emailed one week prior to the event and replaces the paper waiver used in previous years. Swimmers can then pick up  goody bags upon arriving at the facility. Registration will be held at the Woollett Aquatic Center on April 26, 2023, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., and on all other days from 7 a.m. through the end of competition.

Seeding

Two courses, A and B, will be used for all events. Depending on the estimated timeline, day 1 may have swimmers competing the 1650 and 1000 as combined genders or men and women separately. If time allows, on day one and three, the men will compete in course A, the women will compete in course B. On day two and four, the men will compete in course B, the women will compete in course A. Should combining genders on day 1 be necessary due to timeline constraints, the two courses will be labeled as Odd or Even for day 1 only. 

The 1000 and 1650 freestyles will be deck seeded slowest to fastest by entry time, regardless of age. The 500 free and 400 IM may be seeded slowest to fastest by entry time, regardless of age. The 200-yard events may be deck seeded and may be seeded by entry time, regardless of age, for each gender. All 50 and 100 events will be pre-seeded by age group, with the oldest age groups first, slowest to fastest within each group. All seeding decisions will be announced at usms.org by April 11, 2022.

Seeding updates (4/11)

• The sixth event has been dropped. All swimmers who entered six events will be limited to five events. 
• The 50s, 100s, and 200s will be pre-seeded with the oldest groups first, slowest to fastest within each age group, men and women separate.
• Age groups will be swum oldest to youngest per USMS rules.
• All events 400 yards and longer, will require positive check-in.
• The 400 IM and 500 free will be seeded by age group, slowest to fastest, men and women separate.
• Men and women will compete in separate courses for all events with the exception of the 500, 1000, and 1650 yard freestyle. The 1650 and 1000 will be swum as combined genders, contested in the odd/even course format, and seeded by time.

Distance Events

Swimmers may swim both the 1000 and the 1650 freestyle.  All swimmers entering the 1650 free must meet the NQT. Swimmers will need to supply their own counter (teammate, coach, etc.) for all distance events.

Event Sanction 

Sanctioned by the Southern Pacific LMSC for USMS Inc. Sanction Number 333-S001.

Check-In Requirements and Deadlines

Swimmers must check in for events 400 yards or longer. Check-in will also be required for all the 200s if it is determined that deck seeding is necessary.

Check-in will be available on the event page available starting Monday, April 24. A link will be sent in an email to all swimmers. If you need assistance, please email events@usmastersswimming.org or visit the Solutions Table on-site near Registration during the hours of the meet. 

The deadline to check in is 7 p.m. the night before the event is contested. Failure to check in by the following deadlines will result in the swimmer being scratched from the event and the swimmer will not be permitted to swim that event at another time. 

Heat sheets for deck seeded events will be published online by approximately 8 p.m. each evening. 

Meet Roster

A real-time meet roster including name, age, sex, and club will be available on the meet information page. Please verify your information and contact events@usmastersswimming.org with any concerns by April 3, 2023.

Heat and Psych Sheets

Psych sheets for all individual events will be available on the usms.org website on or about April 11, 2023. 

Heat sheets for pre-seeded events will be available online around April 17, 2023. Heat sheets for deck-seeded events will be posted at various places around the pool deck and on Meet Mobile and SwimPhone, once the events have been seeded.

Meet Start Times 

The competition will start at 8 a.m. every day unless it is determined that the timeline will go too late into the day; then competition may start as early as 7:30 a.m. on any day. Meet start times will be announced at usms.org by April 17, 2023. Warm-ups in the competition pool will be shortened if necessary to accommodate an earlier start time.

Warm-up Times and Procedures

The competition pool will be open for warm-up on Wednesday, April 26, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. On competition days, the competition pool will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:50 a.m. and the warm-up pools will be available from 7:50 a.m. until the conclusion of the final event each day. The competition pool will also be open for warm-up for 30 minutes following the last heat of the men’s 500 freestyle  Friday, the women’s 500 freestyle on Saturday, and the 400 individual medley on Sunday. The competition pool will be open for at least 30 minutes following the last event each day. On Thursday, April 27 the competition pool will remain open until 5 p.m. or 30 minutes following the last heat of the 400 mixed freestyle relay, whichever is later.

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. A few lanes will 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 102.13.3). Swim equipment is not allowed in the competition or warm-up pools. This includes pull-buoys, kickboards, fins, hand paddles, snorkels, etc.

Scratches

Any swimmer failing to report to the proper lane in the correct heat of an event will be scratched from that event and will not be permitted to swim that event at another time. Scratches will be accepted through April 10.

Relays 

All relays must be entered online. Swimmers may enter relays until 3 p.m. on the day before the relay is scheduled with the exception of the 400 mixed free relay for Thursday. The Thursday 400 mixed free relay may be entered up to 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The 400 mixed free relay will be swum approximately 10-15 minutes following the last completed heat of 1000 freestyle, whether the 1000 is competed as combined genders or men/women separately. The mixed medley relay, event 41 on Sunday, will be swam after a short break following the completion of both the men's and women's 200 butterfly, events 39 and 40 respectively. See the Relay Information page for complete information.

Scoring

Swimmers in individual events will be awarded points for first through tenth places as 11-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, respectively. Relays will be awarded double points for first through tenth places as 22-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2, respectively.

Club Scoring

Club scoring will be tabulated in two categories (regional clubs and local clubs) and three divisions (men, women, and combined). Mixed relays score points only in the combined division.

Awards

Medals will be awarded for first through tenth places in each age group, for all events. A U.S. Masters Swimming National Champion 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. Club awards will be presented to the top 10 clubs in the local club division and top five clubs in the regional division.

Final Results

The complete results, including splits, will be posted at usms.org. 

Split Notification

Final results will indicate splits for all swims (excluding pad malfunctions). Splits will be recorded for all swimmers and submitted for records and Top 10 consideration, for initial distances of all individual events (except for backstroke) and for all relay lead-off splits. Therefore, swimmers need not submit split requests for those events. Split requests are required for initial distance(s) of an individual backstroke event. The swimmer is responsible for picking up the Split Notification Form from the administrative official, filling it out, and presenting it to the administrative official prior to the swim. Automatic split times will be submitted for USMS Top 10, however automatic split times from individual events will not automatically appear in the USMS event results database. If you would like a split time to be added to the event results database, please email your request after the meet to events@usmastersswimming.org.

Time Verification (SWIMS)

Swimmers wishing to have times entered into SWIMS (USA Swimming’s times database) must complete a form, obtained from the administrative referee at the meet, prior to the swim.

Hearing Impaired Start Assistance

Any athlete with a hearing impairment may request starting assistance from the meet referee.  The request must be made prior to the start of the meet. If portable strobes are available, one may be located in a manner to provide a visual aid. Otherwise, another appropriate method may be employed to visually assist the affected swimmer. Please contact events@usmastersswimming.org by April 3, 2023 if you require this assistance.

Service Animals

Animals other than service animals will not be permitted on deck at the venue.