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2025 New England LMSC and Colonies Zone Short Course Yards Championship Hosted by New England LMSC March 15 and March 21-23, 2025 Blodgett Pool, Harvard University, Boston MA Meet Information |
DOWNLOADS and LINKS:
IMPORTANT NOTES FOR THIS YEAR’S MEET:
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SANCTION: Sanctioned by the New England LMSC for USMS Inc.: 025-S002
ENTRIES:
FACILITY: Harvard University Blodgett Pool: (65 North Harvard Street, Boston MA 02163) Blodgett Pool opened in February 1978, and is the site of numerous women’s and men’s Eastern and Ivy League Championship meets, as well as the 1981 USA Swimming National Championships and the 1980 NCAA Swimming and Diving National Championships. The facility features an 8-lane competition course with a depth of 7 feet, and a six-lane course for warmup/warmdown. During this event, there will be an additional five 28-yard warmup lanes in the diving well area. Daktronics electronic timing with touchpads, alphanumeric scoreboard, and Omega starting blocks. Deck space for 500 and spectator seating for 1200.
Note: This meet is not a Harvard University event and is not controlled, presented, or supervised by Harvard University or any of its schools or programs.
POOL LENGTH CERTIFICATION: The length of the Blodgett Pool competition course without a bulkhead is in compliance and on file with USMS in accordance with articles 105.1.7 and 106.2.1. Times achieved at Blodgett Pool will be eligible for USMS record and Top 10 consideration.
DIRECTIONS and PARKING: Click here for directions and parking. Detailed parking information will be posted in February.
ELIGIBILITY: Swimmers aged 18 or older who are current (2025) members of U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS) or another World Aquatics-recognized governing body. Age is determined as of March 23, 2025, except 18-year-olds must be of age on March 15, 2025. [To join USMS or check your USMS registration, click here.] College Club Swimmers: Registered members of College Club Swimming may enter this meet with your USMS bridge membership ID. USMS bridge members are affiliated with your college club team in the national CCS LMSC. To affiliate with a different club/LMSC, you must purchase a standard USMS membership.
RULES: 2025 USMS Rules & Regulations apply. We will use dive-over starting. If you want more time to exit the pool, please notify the meet referee in advance.
TEAM AFFILIATION: Your meet entry must match your club affiliation, and if applicable, the New England Masters Swim Club workout group affiliation in your USMS membership record. Each NEM workout group will compete as a team against other reigstered NEM workout groups and USMS clubs. You cannot change your club or NEM workout group affiliation after completing your first individual or relay event. Swimmers registered with NEM Swim Club without a workout group will not accumulate team score points. Unattached (UC) swimmers from any LMSC will not accumulate team score points and cannot participate in relays. If you have questions about your USMS registration or competition eligibility, please contact Douglas Sayles, NE-LMSC Membership Coordinator, at NEmembership@usms.org.
AGE GROUPS: The individual event age groups are 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, etc. in five-year increments. The relay event age groups are 18+, 25+, 35+, 45+, etc. in 10-year increments, determined by the youngest relay member’s age.
SWIMMERS WITH DISABILITIES: Before competing, please notify the meet director or meet referee of any disability and requested accommodation. Blodgett Pool has wheelchair access to the pool, pool deck, and locker rooms. The spectator area of Blodgett Pool is not wheelchair accessible.
EQUIPMENT and COUNTERS: Starting block and backstroke ledges will be available. Plastic lap counters will be available for the 500, 1000, and 1650 freestyle events, but swimmers are responsible for finding someone to count for them.
HEAT SEEDING: All events are timed finals. Individual events will be seeded by sex, slowest-to-fastest, except for the 1650 freestyle and 1000 freestyle, which will be seeded fastest-to-slowest. Relays may be seeded as combined heats of women, men, and mixed relays. The Meet Director or Meet Referee shall have the right to change seed times that are obviously incorrect based on previous performances. Entries without seed times or 'NT' will not be accepted.
SHALLOW END DISTANCE EVENTS: Swimmers may enter the 1650 freestyle or 1000 freestyle in the shallow end for a $2 entry discount. The shallow end lanes have a depth ranging from 3'9" to 4'6". Shallow end swims require an in-water start, and will have electronic timing with touchpads. The deep course and shallow course results of each event will be merged and scored as a single event. The Meet Director or Meet Referee reserves the right to move swimmers from the shallow end to the deep end to help the meet timeline, or due to facility limitations.
ALL EVENTS REQUIRE POSITIVE CHECK-IN: All events will be deck seeded from entry times. Each event will close for check-in on-site and will be seeded approximately one hour before it starts. An events timeline with a listing of when each event will close for check-in and seeding will be posted to the official meet web site. When you arrive at the pool, be sure to visit the check-in table immediately to check-in for your events. The first event each day will close for check-in 45 minutes before the session starts. (The women’s 1650 free closes at 9:45am, the women’s 400 IM closes at 10:45am, the women's 500 free closes at 9:45am, and the women's 200 free closes at 8:45am.) If you do not check-in for your event, you will be scratched. There is no penalty for scratches. Scratches are non-refundable. Online check-in: We may offer online check-in for individual events. Online check-in, if offered, will close each day 30 minutes before warmup begins. Details will be published before the meet.
WARM-UP/WARM-DOWN: The entire pool will be available for warm-up for one hour before the start of each session. The non-competition warmup lanes will be available during all sessions, and all lanes will be available for warm-down 15 minutes after the last heat of each session. Swimmers must enter warm-up lanes feet first except in designated one-way sprint lanes. Distance Day Warmup: On Distance Day, after general warmup, the only continuous warmup lanes will be in the middle deep diving well area, which is approximately 29 yards in length. Shallow course lanes may be opened for warmup when not in use for competition.
RELAYS: There is no relay entry fee, but relay swimmers must be entered in at least one individual event. Relays will be deck-entered at the meet and must be submitted by the deadline announced at the meet—approximately one hour before the event. Swimmers will be allowed one relay for each relay event; swimmers may not be on a single-sex and mixed-sex relay of the same event. Due to USMS rules, all four swimmers on a relay must be registered with the same USMS club. Swimmers from different NEM Swim Club workout groups may create ‘NEM-Unattached’ relays, which will not score points. The 800 free relay will be unscored and limited to two combined heats of women's, men's, and mixed relays. Mixed relays must include two (2) women and two (2) men. Online Relay Entry: We may offer online relay entry after individual entries close. Details will be communicated before the meet.
SPLIT REQUESTS: All relay leadoff splits (first 50 of 200 relay; first 100 of 400 relay; or first 200 of 800 relay) will be recorded as automatic official splits. Official split requests for other distances or events must be submitted using the USMS Split Notification Form (download link above, or available at the check-in table). For backstroke events you must notify the Meet Referee of your intent to record an initial split time before swimming that event (after the heat sheet is posted). For other events you must submit the Split Notification Form to the Check-In Table before the end of the meet, and the Clerk of Course will notify the Meet Referee of each split request in compliance with USMS rule 103.18.1(B)(1).
SCORING: The first sixteen places in each individual age group and sex will score in the following sequence: 17, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The top sixteen relays in each age group and sex will score double points. The 800 free relay is unscored.
AWARDS:
FOOD and DRINK: Food and drink are allowed on the pool deck, but glass containers are prohibited. The meet hosts will be selling limited snacks and beverages on-site, including pizza slices during the main weekend sessions. Cash and Venmo accepted.
MERCHANDISE: Meet shirts may be sold online via the meet registration system for pickup at the meet, and a limited supply may also be available for sale at the meet. Cash, check, and Venmo accepted. We may have a swimming merchandise vendor onsite during the main weekend sessions. Check back here for updates.
HOTELS: Find local hotels on Expedia.com.
USE OF CAMERAS and DRONES: The use of cameras is prohibited at all times in locker rooms and behind the starting blocks. The use of underwater cameras is prohibited at all times in the competition course. The operation of drones is prohibited at all times inside the competition venue.
MEET WEB SITE: The official meet web site is: https://www.meetresults.com/nelmscscy/ The web site will provide current meet information, psych sheets, timelines and a list of entry problems with deadlines for resolution. During the meet, the web site will feature instant results and an updated events timeline. Please check the web site frequently to be sure there are no problems with your entry.
MEET COMMITTEE: Sue Jensen (Championship Committee Chair), Kysa Crusco, Jason Eaddy, Jen Downing, Rick Osterberg (Director of Meet Operations), Douglas Sayles (Meet Director), Jason Weis.
MORE INFORMATION: Contact Rick Osterberg at nelmscscy@meetresults.com or Douglas Sayles at NEmembership@usms.org.