Deadlines for Swim Meet Eligibility

To: All South Carolina Coaches, Officials, and Volunteers

From: Roy Dessloch, General Chair          

Re: Deadlines for Swim Meet Eligibility   

As many of you are aware, we have had a 5:00 pm Thursday deadline in place for years for registration to be complete for athletes to be able to swim in meets that weekend.  We appreciate everyone that has worked hard to give our athletes the opportunity to compete legally, and to keep our valuable liability insurance in effect. 

At the January Board of Directors meeting, it was brought to our attention that many coaches, officials, and other volunteers that need to be legally registered with USA Swimming to be on deck at swim meets are waiting until the last minute to either submit applications, payments, or complete MANDATORY trainings that are required to complete or maintain their registration with USA Swimming.  Going forward EVERYONE (athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers) are REQUIRED to adhere to the 5:00 pm Thursday deadline to have all everything submitted and completed (either online or otherwise) for meets to be held that weekend.  THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS. 

This is not punitive, but rather to make our pre-meet preparations smoother and less stressful for everyone.  Ignorance or procrastination is not a valid excuse.  Everyone should be already be signed on to their USA Swimming Deck Pass which tells you if you are clear to be on deck (at a meet, or a practice for that matter!).  If still you don’t know if you are legal or not, or if you have questions, please contact the LSC office.  Karen Alexander is ready and willing to provide you with answers and whatever help you need.  But NOT at 4:59 pm.

Your cooperation with this very important matter is greatly appreciated.  Please be proactive in keeping your registration status current.  It protects all of us, and is part of our responsibility to our great sport.