Meet Sanction Procedure

D. Rules and Procedure for Conduct of Interclub Meets

D1 Meets held by member clubs of MSNSW fall into one of three categories: sanctioned BPS meets, other sanctioned meets and unsanctioned meets.
D2 In a calendar year each club may hold only one BPS meet. Each club may also hold other meets, sanctioned or unsanctioned, but must not hold any two sanctioned meets on consecutive weekends / weeks.
D3 To be sanctioned, meets must receive a formal sanction and sanction number from MSNSW.
D4 Meets may lose their sanction if they fail to comply with these Rules by the time the meet is held, unless the MSNSW board grants an exemption.
D5 Only BPS meets will be included in the MSNSW Branch Point Score Trophy and Branch Average Point Score Shield competitions.
D6 Clubs may apply at any time (but otherwise in accordance with these Rules) to host a sanctioned meet. However, the MSNSW board will give a sanction to only one meet to be held on any one day, although it may in its discretion sanction two meets to be held
on the same day if they are to be held in different geographic regions.
D7 The MSNSW board will invite clubs to apply by the end of June each year for provisional dates for BPS or sanctioned meets in the following calendar year on the basis that any date clashes will be cleared by discussions between the board and the clubs involved. Otherwise, the board will decide which of the two (or more) competing applications it will sanction (subject to the host club otherwise complying with these Rules). The board will attempt to ensure that meets are spaced at least two weeks apart by not sanctioning more than two meets in any four-week month or three meets in any five-week month, unless they are in different geographic regions.
D8 Dates for sanctioned meets in the following calendar year applied for after 1 July each year will be determined on a first-come-first-served basis (subject to the host club otherwise complying with these Rules).
D9 Clubs wishing to apply for a sanction for a meet must submit a draft flyer for the meet to the NSW branch office at least four months before the date of the proposed meet.
D10 The draft flyer must contain the following minimum information:
(a) program of events (including any restrictions on entries);
(b) date and venue of the meet, and the starting times for warm-up and competition;
(c) closing time and date for entries, which will normally be noon on the Friday one week before the date of the meet for all entries, whether prepared electronically with Team Manager, Team Manager Lite, Meet Manager or online;
(d) that it is a BPS or sanctioned meet sanctioned by MSNSW, and the sanction number (which is not available until after the sanction has been granted);
Revised Masters Swimming NSW Consolidated Rules of Competition—May 2020
(e) whether the pool is long- or short-course; indoor or outdoor; heated or not; and has a registered pool survey certifying that all lanes are the correct length;
(f) warm-up and swim-down arrangements, and that the warm-up will be conducted in accordance with the National Safety Policy;
(g) meet entry fee, and pool entry fee if it is additional;
(h) that the meet will be governed by the Swimming Rules of Masters Swimming Australia Inc. in force at the closing date for entries;
(i) that the meet will be run in accordance with MSNSW’s SunSmart Sport and Smoke-Free policies (these policies are published on the MSNSW website);
(j) where relevant, that freestyle events of 400 m and longer may be swum two swimmers of the same sex per lane;
(k) where relevant, that swimmers wishing to be recorded as swimming a form stroke in a freestyle event must notify the stroke with their entry so long as the form stroke is not listed as a separate event at that meet;
(l) contact details for further information; and
(m) any other relevant information, e.g., parking, access, wearing of caps.
D11 The MSNSW branch office will note on the draft flyer any necessary or recommended alterations and return it to the club together with a sanction letter and information on accessing the following documents, either as hard copies or electronically:
(a) Meet Sanction Forms, including Meet Recording Options and Materials Required;
(b) current list of officials’ contact details with club code list.
D12 In order to be sanctioned, a meet must have the following officials, all of whom, with the exception of clerks of course, must be accredited by Masters Swimming Australia or, with the exception of the meet referee, by Swimming Australia Ltd, and all of whom must attend the meet for the meet to retain its status as sanctioned:
(a) one meet referee;
(b) at least four other referees;
(c) at least two inspectors of turns;
(d) two starters;
(e) two check starters;
(f) two marshals;
(g) sufficient clerks of course to marshal swimmers between the marshalling area and the check-starting point behind the starting platforms;
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(h) two chief timekeepers;
(i) a runner (who need not be accredited) between the officials and the event referee;
(j) a minimum of four of the officials mandated in (a)–(h) above are to be provided by the host club and are to be marked as such on the sanction form. These
officials need not be members of Masters Swimming Australia. This number may be reduced to three for clubs with fewer than 25 registered members;
(k) extra officials may be added depending on the length of the meet, number of officials swimming and number of lanes available. Any increase in officials is at the discretion of the meet director, who must consult with the meet referee.
D13 The host club:
(a) may ask the NSW Branch Technical Director to provide all or some of the officials mandated in clauses D12 (a)–(c); and
(b) must make personal contact with each of the officials listed in clause D12 whom it would like to officiate at its BPS or sanctioned meet and obtain from each of those officials electronic confirmation that they will officiate at the meet.
D14 The host club must also provide the meet director, at least two warm-up supervisors, and two data-entry assistants (unless arrangements for paid assistants have already been made with the meet recorder) to officiate at any sanctioned meet. These people should have relevant experience, but need not hold any particular qualification.
D15 The host club must arrange for appropriate medical officers to be in attendance at the meet from the start of the warm-up. These medical officers may be staff of the venue if they will be in attendance throughout the meet from the start of the warm-up. All medical officers must be qualified to operate defibrillating equipment, and that equipment must be available at the pool.
D16 No later than 13 weeks before the date of the meet, the host club must submit to the NSW branch office:
(a) the completed Meet Sanction Forms, Meet Recorder Options and Materials Required;
(b) the flyer, corrected if required;
(c) electronic confirmation from each of the officials listed in clause D12 (a)–(h);
(d) payment of the sanction fee.
D17 If satisfied that these Rules have been complied with, the NSW branch office will within seven days send the host club a sanction confirmation letter with sanction number and receipt (or receipt number) for the sanction fee, together with information on how to access the documents listed below as (a), (b) and (c), either as hard copies or electronically, and directions for specific documents / equipment that must be available during the meet, as follows:
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(a) Guidelines for Meet Directors and Clubs.
(b) Warm-Up Safety Instructions.
(c) Incident Report Form.
(d) For each referee, current copies of MSA Swimming Rules, “Swimmers Who Need Assistance”, Swimwear Rules, Infraction Reporting Forms, DQ Code Sheet.
(e) For the meet referee, current copies of MSA General Rules; Protest Procedures; list of MDs for meet; list of multi-class competitors, where applicable.
(f) For the meet director, current copies of Risk Policies and Procedures; Safety Policies and Procedures; Protest Forms; Protest Procedures; World Record
Application Forms.
(g) For events of 400 m or longer, lap counters, bells or whistles.
D18 At least three months before the date of the meet the host club must send or arrange to be sent:
(a) copies of the finalised flyer to all clubs registered with MSNSW, the branch office, and the meet recorder (which may be done electronically through the
branch office);
(b) a copy of the finalised flyer by email to the MSNSW webmaster.
D19 BPS meets must include at least one event in each of the four strokes (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly) and at least one relay event.
D20 In choice-of-stroke events the five strokes (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and individual medley) should be swum in separate heats but may be swum in any order.
D21 Relay events at BPS meets must be swum in the following three categories, although not necessarily in this order: male, female and mixed.
D22 At one-day sanctioned meets that are scheduled to start competition at or after 11:30am, each swimmer may swim in a total of three individual and one relay events or two individual and two relay events. At one-day sanctioned meets that are scheduled to start competition earlier than 11:30 am, each swimmer may swim in a total of four individual and one relay events or three individual and two relay events.
D23 At BPS meets each swimmer may swim only once in each relay event. For example, in a 4 x 50 m freestyle relay, a swimmer may swim in a women’s or a men’s team (as the case may be) OR a mixed team, but not in BOTH a women’s or a men’s team (as the case may be) AND a mixed team.
D24 The meet director will determine how many teams each club may enter in each age group in each relay event.
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D25 Which swimmers are eligible to score BPS points will be governed by clause A5 (a) of these Rules. The meet director may determine if points are to be scored for other awards made at that meet.
D26 If the program of events at a BPS meet is not completed for any reason, no BPS points shall be recorded from that meet for the Branch Point Score Trophy and Branch Average Point Score Shield competitions, but all records and top ten and aerobic swim times recorded will be eligible for recognition as such (subject to the completion of any other necessary formalities).
D27 A full program of events must be prepared and submitted for publication on the MSNSW website within three days of close of entries, and hard copies provided for officials on the day of the meet. The published program must contain the following minimum information:
(a) MSNSW logo;
(b) name, date, venue and street address of the meet;
(c) host club name;
(d) starting times for warm-up and competition;
(e) list of all events, with estimated starting times;
(f) list of officials, as nominated in the meet sanction documents, unless otherwise approved;
(g) Cancer Council logo, with statement regarding applicable MSNSW meet policies;
(h) list of all competing clubs and competitors;
(i) seedings for all events;
(j) version number and revision date, if applicable;
(k) lane allocations for timekeeping.
D28 The results of all sanctioned meets must be recorded on the official MSNSW recording system.
D29 At the end of competition of each BPS meet, the winners of each age group, the BPS points awarded to each club, and the average point score results will be announced, either at the meet, subject to technical constraints, or on the website. Any other prizes or awards given by the host club will also be announced.
D39 Each official can appear only once, and in one position, on the sanction form for a meet, except for the meet director, who may act in a second position as an official.
D31 The MSNSW board retains discretion at all times to modify or waive the application of these Rules in such circumstances as it deems reasonable.