League Rules

League Rules

 WINTER SWIM LEAGUE RULES (EDITS AS OF RULES COMMITTEE MEETING 7/10/23, ACCEPTED 7/31/23)

 

1.0 MEET MANAGER:

 

  1. The first heat is 3 swimmers from each team, the rest of the heats are seeded by time. All heats are to be figured into scoring.
  2. USB thumb drive and both home and away team computers must be brought to the meet by start of warm up including team roster and lineup
  3. Meet Lineup must be submitted in a format that can be imported into Meet Manager.
  4. Any changes to lineup after the meet programs have been printed must be mutually agreed upon by both coaches before the start of the event. Substitutions of swimmers are allowed for relays that are on the thumb drive, changes must be submitted to the table before the relay begins. If additions are made and not mutually agreed upon by both coaches the swimmer does not get credit.
    1. Consequences: 
  1. Warning-submitted to coach
  2. Coach is suspended on meet
  • Coach to meet with
  1. League Board and can be expelled from coaching.
  1. At least 10 copies of heat sheets will be printed- 3 for each team and 3 for bullpen (one each team) and one for the starter. Stroke & Turn get 2 extra copies. Heat sheets are for official use only.
  2. Relay swimmers must participate in an individual event and swim it.
    1. Consequence:
  1. No credit for meet.
  1. TEAM ROSTERS MUST HAVE FIRST, LAST, DOB, AGE and GENDER.
  2. Before the meet begins 1 copy of the meet program needs to be signed by both coaches. After the conclusion of the meet, the signed program must be scanned and emailed to League President. Any neutrally agreed changes in a meet must be signed by both coaches. Meet program must include relay names.

 

2.0 GENERAL:

 

  1. Rule changes will be made at the end of the season wrap up meeting and adhered to during the next season.
    1. Midseason rule changes may only occur with unanimous agreement among all coaches.
  2. All Stroke and turn judges must use and sign DQ slips and turn in to the scorers’ table.
  3. Stroke and turn judge will have heat sheet
  4. All DQ slips must be kept for the entire season. Meet manager has the US Swimming DQ Codes which will be added by the table. 
  5. Each team will supply one stroke and turn judge for each Meet. If there is a change of stroke and turn judge during the meet, the opposing coach must be notified before the change is made.
  6. Each must know the WSL rules and the stroke and turn judge must be certified by USS Swimming, EOMSA or have attended a WSL approved clinic once every other year. A Copy of outside certification is required to be given to League President before the first meet. League President will hand out names of the people who are already certified by USS swimming. A list of attendees that went to the WSL clinics will be sent to all teams. Team loses the right to have a stroke and turn if stroke and turn judge is not on the list
  7. Visiting team must supply one timer for each lane and home team supply two timers unless a change is agreed upon by both coaches. 
  8. All times will be recorded even DQ times. Three timing units, one of which must be a stopwatch, must be used. If three watches are used all three times must be recorded and the middle time of three watches is the final time. If only two watches are used, the average time will be calculated and used as the final time.
  9. In the case of electronic timing the touch pad, backup button then the watch time are the order of recording times at the scorer’s table.
  10. Only swimmers can ask timers for their time.
  11. Points are split for a tie.
  12. Scoring is done by time only. Meet Manager back up file must be sent to the President and visiting team by the host team no later than TUESDAY following the meet. Visiting team has 24 hours to dispute any discrepancies.

Consequence: Host team does not get credit for meet participation if not received by that following Wednesday of the meet.

  1. NO UNOFFICIAL/EXHIBITION SWIMMERS allowed more than two individual events in the meet unless mutually agreed by both coaches. Only two individual events per meet.
  2. Visiting Team must receive electronic copy of meet results at completion of the meet unless agreed upon by both coaches.
  3. SCORING WILL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE HOME TEAM AND THE VISITORS MUST Have a representative AT THE TABLE .
  4. Scorers must know how to score and know the WSL rules. 
  5.   Timer sheets must be kept till the end of the current season.
  6. Swimmers participating in the WSL are required to be a paid member of their team and practice with their team.
  7. No swimmer over the age of 18, as of November 1, is allowed to swim in the WSL League. There is a team cap of 225 swimmers per team.
  8. All meets will run in accordance with US Swimming Technical Rules, except where indicated below. All swimmers will be disqualified according to these rules. Stroke and turn will be aware of any new rules that occur once the season starts.
    1. Some part of both arms must break the surface on 8 & under butterfly.
    2. The WSL will abide by the two false start rule.
    3. When swimming backstroke, swimmers are allowed to kick into the wall after turning on to their stomach until flip turn as long as they do not take any additional strokes.
    4. If a swimmer misses a race, they are still eligible to compete in their remaining races.
    5. Swimmers on relays must exit the pool before the next swimmer hits the other end of the pool.
  9. If the pool is not 4feet deep at the shallow end, swimmers must start in the water. At shallow end, some part of body must be touching the wall on relay start.
  10. Team roster must be put into team manager, and a team roster must be sent to the WSL President by December 15th of the current season. The roster must contain the SWIMMERS NAME, DATE OF BIRTH AND GENDER. RESUBMIT ONLY NEW SWIMMERS BY JANUARY 1st. Swimmers can be added with the consent of the WSL Board only. Swimmers may not swim in meets unless their name is on the roster or the League President has been contacted.

Consequence: No Roster by December 15th or until roster is received no credit for those meets swum.

  1. Dues must be sent to the WSL Treasurer by January 15th, Dues for the next season will be determined at end of season meeting.  League will send invoices electronically and bring a copy to the start up meeting.
  2. Mail dues to treasurer. If not received by Championship meet, team will not be allowed to participate in champs.
  3. Swimmers may not display logos or apparel from USS teams while on deck in the WSL a warning first, followed by disqualification of the swimmer.
  4. In the event of a protest the follow steps must be taken.
    1.  phone call to the League President immediately following the meet, as well as a written email protest must be filed within 48 hours of the end of the meet in question to all members of the WSL Board.
    2. The protesting team must send a copy of the email to the team they are protesting against.
    3. The board should handle protest within 48 hours of filing. Only Coaches Can File a Complaint or Protest. Refer to the CONDUCT RULE.
  5. A coach must be on deck at all times during dual and championship meets. Designated coaches make the final decision on discrepancies.
  6. Whistle sequence prior to start 4 short whistles to announce the event, 1 long whistle to get them on the block or in the water then the starter will start. For the backstroke an extra short whistle to be blown after they enter the water to place the swimmer’s feet, then the starter to start.
  7. Fly overs should be used as best you can.

 

3.0 AGE GROUPS:

 

  1. A swimmers age as of November 1st of the current season determines his or her age group.
  2. Age group breakdown: 8 & under, 9 & 10, 11 & 12, 13 & 14, and 15 – 18.
  3. A swimmer may not be moved up more than two age groups to swim an individual event  or a relay
  4. A swimmer may swim up and may return to his/her age group for other events in dual meets only.

 

4.0 EVENTS:

 

  1. A swimmer is permitted to enter a maximum of three events, no more than two of which may be individual events.
  2.  Swimmers must swim the same gender they declare at the start of the season, for the entire season.
  3. Coaches should agree about adding extra IM heats “prior” to meet day. Home teams have the right to allow or disallow extra heats. One heat of IM and relays unless agreed in advance by both coaches.
    1. Graduated medley relay must consist of four age groups, including any swimmers swimming up.
    2. Swim Ups of one age group are allowed for dual meets and championships.
    3. No more than one 15-18 and no swimmer may move up more than one age group.
  4. No hands, feet or any device may be used to stop a competing backstroker, unless mutually agreed upon by both coaches.

 

5.0 SCORING:

 

  1. Individual events: 6,4,3,2,1                            Relays: 7,4                                          
  2. Sweeps are allowed for a 1, 2, 3 finish in individual events NO sweep in relays.
  3. Time will determine the finish of each race.
  4. If one team can field swimmers and the other cannot, the event will be held for points.
  5. All heats are to be figured into scoring.

 

 

 

 

 

6.0 MEET PRE-ARRANGEMENTS:

 

  1. It is the responsibility of the home team to contact the visiting team four days prior to the meet date to work out the details, if within 2 days the visiting team has not heard from the home team email or call them. If no response, contact the League President.
  2. Facility rules must be sent to visiting team prior to meet.
  3. Details to be agreed upon:
    1. Establish official lanes, Home team must notify visiting team of any obstruction in pool.
    2. Confirm warm-up and start time.
    3. Make decisions on what heats are to be added, if any.
    4. Meet start time and warm-up time must be specified. Teams must show up within 20 minutes of start time or forfeit the meet.
    5. Note whether there is a bullpen and what kind of bullpen is being used. All swimmers must be in the bullpen to swim.
  4. Coaches can only contact coaches. No parents can initiate contact with coaches. Every coach should have every head coach’s telephone number in their cell phone.
  5. If the meet does not start 30 minutes from meet start time, the home team forfeits.
  6. Facility rules emailed to League President by November 1st of current season.
  7. Host team is responsible for making sure swimmers are lined up behind the blocks and on the blocks at the correct time.
  8. The home team has the right to cancel a meet due to weather or pool problems. The home team must offer the visitors three alternate dates to make up the meet within 3 days of the cancelled meet. Either team may cancel because of snow. It is the responsibility of both teams to work together to hold the meet. If meet cannot be held, League President has final say. There is an option to do a tri-meet in a cancellation or pool issue. If opposing team has an open date and home team cannot supply the pool, home team must travel.
  9. Once the meet has been scheduled at the coaches meeting, the meet must be swum at the scheduled time. League President must be notified of any rescheduled date or time immediately.

 

 

7.0 LEAGUE:

 

  1. Division of the league will be done at the conclusion of each season. This will be determined from the scores taken from “A” Championship Meet and dividing by alternating even finishes and odd finishes at “A” Championship meets.
  2. The league will be as follows for the 2023-2024 season.

SOUTH                                     NORTH

Newton                                   Wellesley

Sudbury                                  Brookline

Milford                                    Belmont

Westwood                               Dedham

Weston                                    Westboro

Framingham                            Natick

  1. Each team must swim a minimum of 8 dual meets during the season. Every team will swim every team in their division plus 3 additional meets from the other division, to get the required number of meets.
  2. In order to get credit for swimming in a meet, a swimmer must swim at least ONE INDIVIVDUAL event. 
  3. Every swimmers must participate in 5 dual meets to participate in championships.
  4. Only one tri meet may count as 2 meets swum.  Any additional tri meets will only count as one meet. Any exceptions to this must be approved by the League President.

 

 

8.0 CONDUCT RULE:

 

  1. Teams and parents should be aware that before, during and after a WSL meet unsportsman like conduct is not tolerated. The Board of Directors will decide what disciplinary action will be taken as a result of such behavior. The head coaches have the final say in all rulings on meet day. A phone call to the League President immediately following the meet as well as a email must be submitted to the Board of Directors within 48 hours of the completion of a league meet to dispute any ruling or conduct issue.
  2. Any swimmer demonstrating improper conduct or vandalizing will be disqualified from the meet and points from previously swum events will be deleted from the score.
  3. Any Parent or Coach demonstrating improper behavior will be asked to leave the facility.
  4. Coaches, parents and swimmers sign off on Code of Conduct and send to League President by JANUARY 1st.

Consequence: If not received by January 1st then any previously swum meets do not count until received by League President

 

 

9.0 WSL BOARD of DIRECTORS:

 

President Ann

Vice President Arnie

Secretary Mary

Treasure Corey

WSL CHAMPIONSHIP RULES

 

10.0 ELIGIBILITY:

 

  1. To participate in the championship meet a swimmer must:
    1. Be a member of their team.
    2. Have participated in a minimum of five league meets (or have a note from a doctor’s office verifying that a child was too ill or injured to participate for an extended period of time in the required number of meets).

Extenuating circumstances will be evaluated by the board on a case by case basis.

  1. Each team must have a coach present at the Championships and must be listed on the coach’s roster.

 

 

11.0 ENTRIES:

 

  1. Entries must be submitted in a file format that can be imported directly into the Meet Manager file.
  2. Absolutely no changes are to be made to times or events after seed entries are due, unless it is to update a time swum in a dual meet after submitted deadline.
  3. Entries must include the following:
    1. Championship entry sheet in Meet or Team Manager (export file from meet manager) League President to send team manager event file.
    2. Team roster- list of team members and meets they participated in during the season.
    3. Season record- this includes results from your division of the league only.
  4. A swimmer is permitted to enter a maximum of three events, no more than two of which may be individual events.
  5. Medley relays are to be declared by the scratch meeting. Free changes to relays are due by the end of Freestyle. If you are entering a swimmer from “B” only for an “A” relay they must be entered on the team roster as a swimmer on the “A” entry sheet as a relay entry only. One relay team, per team, per event may be entered.
  6. A swimmer may swim up to two age groups for free relays and one age group for medley relays.
  7. For individual events a swimmer may only swim in the age group designated by their age on November 1st of the current season.
  8. All entry times entered for individual events for championships must have been swum in a WSL dual meet.
  9. A and B meets are combined for entries, a total of three events no more than two relays or two individual events. Individual events must be in either the A or B meet but not both and you cannot duplicate events.
  10. Cut off times will be determined by taking the average of the sixteenth time from the previous three years of the “A” Championship meet. The 2024 Championship meet will use the same cut off times as the 2022-2023 season.
  11. If a swimmer only qualifies for As in one event, they must swim that event. The swimmer may choose their second event.
  12. An “A” swimmer cannot participate in ANY event in the “B” Championships.
  13. 15-18 year old swimmers who do not qualify for As have the choice to swim at As or Bs for individual events.
  14. Coaches have the responsibility to prove that individual swimmers have swum in five meets before the Championship meet.

 

12.0 SCRATCHES

 

  1. Scratches are due at the computer on the designated team entry report sheets according to championship packet requirement. Coaches are not allowed to request heat sheets.
  2. No swimmer may be added on meet day unless approved by League President before league championships.
  3. Only a designated head coach may scratch a swimmer and should do their best to be proactive with scratches

 

13.0 PROTESTS:

Protest must be reported to the League President at the time of the protest.

 

14.0 AWARDS/SCORING

 

  1. AWARDS

INDIVIDUAL                         RELAY                                     TEAM

Medals 1-8                              Medals 1-8                             League Division Winner 2

Ribbons 9-16                           Ribbons 9-16                           A Championship Winner 1

Participants 17-finish              Participant 17-finish               A Championship Runner-Up 1

B Championship Winner 2

B Championship Runner-Up 2

Age Group Medals

A and B age group girls’ and boys’ winners will be presented with medals. Participant ribbons will be given to all individual swimmers not placing 1-16 in the meet.

 

  1. SCORING:

Score first sixteen places:

Place:   1          2          3          4          5          6          7        8      9     10     11     12     13     14     15     16

Indiv.: 20        17        16        15        14        13        12      11     9       7      6      5       4      3      2       1

Relay:  40      34       32      30       28      26      24      22     18     14     12     10      8      6      4       2     

 

 

15.0 MEET DAY:

 

  1. OFFICIALS:
    1. Hire six certified officials for rotation: One Starter (Meet Referee), and Four Stroke and Turn Judges (One for Rotation).
    2. The head official will be designated before meet day.
    3. All officials will be supplied a copy of the meet rules prior to meet day.
  2. TIMERS
    1. Three EXPERIENCED timers per lane are required. Volunteers should have volunteered in at least 2 dual meets as a timer before championships.
  3. Team jobs will be designated by the President and assigned accordingly.
  4. No one, except the swimmer, is allowed to get times from the timers only immediately following their swim.
  5. No spectators are allowed on deck.
  6. Each team is responsible for their area and should make sure it is clean at the end of the meet.
  7. Swimmers are not allowed on the deck during the meet or after their events.
  8. No body art allowed.  Consequence: Swimmer cannot swim in the event.
  9. No flash photography allowed, or photographers allowed on deck.

Belmont

Brookline

Dedham

Framingham

Milford

Natick

Newton

Sudbury

Wellesley

Westboro

Weston

Westwood