New England Swimming

	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Warm Up Prelims		7:30 AM	7:30 AM	7:30 AM
Prelims Begin		9:00 AM	9:00 AM	9:00 AM
Warm Up Finals	4:00 PM	5:00 PM	5:00 PM	4:00 PM
Finals Begin	5:30 PM	6:00 PM	6:00 PM	5:00 PM

MEET FORMAT: The meet will be conducted in a trials/finals format. In the evening there will be 4 heats: two 13-14 year old heats and two 15-19 year old heats. The top 16 swimmers in each event will return at night. The relays will be conducted as timed finals in the evening. The top heat of (10) women and (10) men in the 1650 Free will be swum at finals.

SITE: The MIT Competition Pool at the Zesiger Center includes two 25 yard competition courses, a 9 lane pool and a 10 lane pool with seven-foot-wide lanes and non-turbulent lane lines and 6 lane, 25 yard warm-up and warm down pool. Fully-automatic Colorado Time System touchpads and electronic display for both pools. Spectator seating for 350. The pool is located inside the MIT Zesiger Center, 120 Vasser Street, Cambridge, MA 02139.

COURSE: Two courses with 10 lane and 9 lane 25 yard (SCY) competition pools during the prelims.

EVENTS: See attached list.

ELIGIBILITY: All contestants must be 2006 New England Swimming registered athletes. All swimmers must be registered before the entry is submitted. Teams that enter unregistered swimmers will be subject to a fine of $100 per unregistered swimmer. New England teams entering the meet are encouraged to check their entries with the online registration check tool on the New England Swimming web site (http://www.neswim.com/tools/registration.html). Please contact the New England Swimming Office for registration information. Disabled swimmer forms are available from the New England Swimming Office. New England Swimming Office: 20 Cleveland Road, Needham MA 02492, 781-449-0270, office@neswim.com. Age eligibility is determined by the age of the swimmer the first day of the meet and must be shown on the entry form. Any swimmer who is entered with incorrect swimmer information, or an incorrect or no ID, or is unregistered, will be scratched from the meet until corrections are made.

ENTRY INFORMATION: All entries, hand written, or emailed, must be received by 6:00 PM, Tuesday February 21, 2006. Email entries with a standard HY3, SD3 or CL2 data file of your team’s entries attached are encouraged, provided a hardcopy of the entry, with a signed entry cover sheet, arrives on or before the entry deadline of February 21, 2006.

Email entries to mary.gentry@hitchcock.org. In the text of the email write all contact information, including team name, coach name, contact person, email address and phone numbers. Put team initials somewhere in email subject.

An entry will NOT be accepted without the hard copy and payment. Payment and hard copy are due by Monday, February 27, 2006. No fax entries will be accepted. All hard copies and checks should be sent by US Postal Service certified mail, or hand delivered. Please check the "no signature required" box on overnight deliveries.

All entries must be typed or legibly printed and must include all swimmer's USA Swimming numbers and ages. If there is a discrepancy between the hard copy and the electronic entry, the hard copy will be used as the official meet entry. Send the hard copy entries to: Mary Gentry, 193 Stonecrest Ave, White River Junction, VT 05001.

One check for both entries and for the travel fund surcharge should be made payable to New England Swimming.

Direct all entry questions to Mary Gentry at (mary.gentry@hitchcock.org) (802) 295-8976.

ENTRY FEES: $5.00 electronic entry/ $5.50 hand entry for all individual events. $20.00 electronic entry/ $20.50 hand relay entry. In addition, there is a $1.00 per swimmer New England Travel Fund surcharge for every swimmer listed on the entry including relay only swimmers.

ENTRY TIMES: Entry times must be achieved between February 11, 2005 and the entry deadline of February 21, 2006. Entry times will be seeded in the following order: SCY, LCM, SCM.

ENTRY LIMITS: A swimmer may swim in a maximum of 9 individual events with no more than 3 individual events per day, including time trials. A swimmer may enter as many events as he/she has qualified for, then scratch down to the allowed maximum 9 individual events for the meet with a maximum of 3 individual events per day.

RELAYS: All relays will be swum as timed finals at the end of the evening sessions. A team may enter a maximum of 4 relays. A team with one (1) qualified swimmer may bring enough relay-only swimmers to fill four (4) relays per event. All Relay-only swimmers must be listed on the meet entry. If the meet is oversubscribed teams may be limited to 2 relays per team. No more than two relays per team may score in an event.

Relay cards must be turned in by 7:00 PM to the clerk of course each day of the event. Relay name or order changes may be done at the clerk of course table until the event is called.

TIME TRIALS: Time trials will be available at the discretion of the meet referee and meet director, and if time allows, after the Trials sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. All time trial swimmers must provide two timers for their swims. Time trials are $5 for individual events and $20 for relays.

DISTANCE EVENTS: The 1000 Free and 1650 Free are timed finals. These events will be combined age groups that are seeded by time. Both events will be swum fastest to slowest. The fastest heat of 10 women and 10 men in the 1650 Free will be swum at the beginning of the finals on Sunday. All of the other heats will be conducted during prelims. These events will be scored separately. All swimmers in the 400 IM, 500, 1000, and 1650 Free must provide at least 2 timers with watches and 1 counter for their swims during prelims.

SCRATCHES: Scratch forms will be located at the clerk of course table on deck. Scratch deadlines for Friday, Saturday and Sunday are 6:00 PM the night before the next day of trials. Scratches for Thursday events only need to be e-mailed to Mary Gentry (mary.gentry@hitchcock.org) or made by phone to (802) 295-8976 by 5:30 PM on Wednesday March 1, 2006 only.

POSITIVE CHECK IN: All 500, 1000, 1650 Freestyle, and 400 IM swimmers and all relays must confirm their intention to participate with a positive check-in for those events. Positive check-in for the 1000 is 5:00 on Thursday. The deadline for all the others is 8:30 AM on the day of the individual event. Relay check-in is by 6:00 PM the day of the event. Failure to check-in will result in a swimmer being eliminated from the event. Any swimmer or relay team that does affirm his/her/their intent to swim and does not compete, unless excused by the referee, will be barred from further competition at this meet, including relays and time trials.

SPECIAL SCRATCH NOTES:

1. Coaches and swimmers are expected to understand the scratch, verification and relay rules before

the meet begins.

2. Any swimmer who fails to compete in an individual event heat in which he/she is entered and has not been scratched will be barred from further competition for that day, including relays and time trials. The swimmer will be also automatically scratched from the following day’s events unless the clerk of course has been notified of the swimmers intention to compete by 5:30 PM. NOTE: Finals are considered continuation of events starting with trials.

3. Any swimmer who competes in an individual heat and qualifies for Finals and fails to notify the clerk of course of his/her intention to withdraw from the finals within 30 minutes of the posting of the results and qualifiers for that event, and does not compete nor is excused by the meet referee, will be barred from all subsequent competition in the meet, including relays and time trials.

VERIFICATION & RULES: There will be a verification table on deck. At this meet teams must submit to the verification table a copy of their meet entry with verification of all times indicated. Teams must also include a copy of any non-New England calendar meet results used for entry times. Any swimmer unable to verify entry time will be barred from the rest of the meet. If several swimmers from one team are unable to verify entry times the swimmers and the coach may be banned from the remainder of the meet.

The 2006 USA Swimming rules will govern except as otherwise stated herein and the decision of the referee will be final. Disabled swimmer forms are required by US Swimming and are available from the New England Swimming Office.

Only athletes, coaches, officials, and official meet staff are permitted on the pool deck. All non-athletes on the pool deck must display their USA Swimming registration card at all times. Individuals without their USA Swimming registration card will be removed from the pool deck, and will be subject to a fine by New England Swimming.

WARM UP: USA Swimming warm-up policies will be in effect for the meet. Diving will be prohibited during warm-ups in the warm-up/down pool at all times during the meet. One way sprint lanes will be announced during warm-ups for starting practice only. Coaches must instruct their swimmers to obey these rules. Failure to comply with a designated safety marshal’s orders could result in disciplinary action. All swimmers participating in the meet without a USA Swimming registered coach shall report to the referee before warm-ups prior to each session.

SAFETY:

1 Diving will be prohibited during warm-ups except in specifically announced one-way sprint lanes. There

will be no diving in the warm-up and warm-down areas at any time. Athletes must, at all times, enter the

pool only from the starting block end. This applies to the warm-up area also.

2 No shaving is permitted at the competition site.

3 No glass containers are permitted within the facility.

4 Swimmers must be under the supervision of a coach. If a swimmer arrives at the meet without a coach, the swimmer should notify the referee before he/she warms up. The referee will assign the swimmer to a registered coach for warm-ups.

5 No camera cell phones are permitted in the locker rooms.

AWARDS: Medals will be awarded for the first 8 places, in individual events, and medals for the first three places in relays. These awards will be presented throughout the finals session.

The top eight high point winners for women, men and teams will be awarded a plaque. The high point ceremony will take place on Sunday evening at the conclusion of the session. Coaches are responsible for making sure their swimmer is present to receive their award.

Scoring: 1-8 9-16

Individual 20-17-16-15-14-13-12-11 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

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

Please note that the top 16 places will be scored for team awards and high point awards. Only 2 relays per team, per event will score.

Awards Ceremonies will be held throughout the finals session. Awards for all events will be available at the designated awards table upon request of the swimmer during the meet.

RESULTS: Event results will be posted on the pool deck and in the spectator area immediately after each event.

ADMISSION: $1.00 per session.

PROGRAMS: $2.00 for session heat sheets.

HOSPITALITY: Coaches and officials will be served food during Trials and Finals sessions. Cold drinks and snacks will be available throughout the meet.

VENDOR: A swimming equipment vendor will be selling suits, goggles, and other accessories for the duration of the meet.

FOOD: A concession stand will be in operation for the duration of the meet.

TIMERS AND OTHER WORKERS: According to New England Swimming policy, NES will make timing assignments for this meet based on the size of your team’s entry. Please be cooperative and punctual. We need the full cooperation of all teams, large and small, to adequately run this meet. All teams will be given timing/work assignments based on the number of entries. Teams treating this meet as a team travel meet need to assure that they have enough parental workers at the meet to fulfill their team obligation. The timing assignments will be posted on the web page with ample time to get workers.

Officials who would like to officiate at the New England Open meet should fill out the application form to officiate, by February 21, 2006 and send it to Mary Anne Lustgraaf, (mlustgraaf@comcast.net) meet referee. Those officials who submit this information by the deadline date will be counted as part of their teams work assignment.

All swimmers in the 400 IM, 500, 1000, and 1650 free are reminded that they must provide at least 2 timers and 1 counter for these distance events in the prelims. At night timers will be assigned for the whole session.

COACHES NOTES: All coaches should check-in with the control table upon arrival at the pool. Coaches' information will be available at the beginning of warm-ups at each session from the office. These will include the heat sheets for that session and any notes that may be needed. There will be a coaches meeting at 8:40 AM on Friday, and after that, when needed.

Coaches are responsible for the behavior of their swimmers at all times. Any damage to the premises or equipment is the responsibility of those doing the damage. Swimmers, parents, coaches, and spectators are restricted to the pool, spectator stands and concession area. No glass bottles are allowed in the pool areas or locker rooms. No smoking is permitted inside the building. MIT and New England Swimming will not assume responsibility for lost or stolen articles. Parents are in charge of supervising younger children in attendance at the meet. Officials will be patrolling the facility and locker rooms and will have the authority to dismiss swimmers and spectators immediately from the facility. There will be no exceptions. Coaches are responsible for communicating this to both swimmers and parents.

Please do not ask to change entry times or events after the entry deadline. No deck entries will be accepted.

DIRECTIONS:

From the North (I-95 or I-93)

If you are heading south on I-93, follow I-93 into Boston then follow the I-93 instructions below. If you are heading south on I-95, take the I-93 South exit then follow the instructions from I-93. Alternatively, take the I-90 East exit from I-95 then follow the instructions from I-90.

From the South (I-95 or I-93)

If you are heading north on I-93, follow I-93 (the Southeast Expressway) into Boston then follow the I-93 instructions below. If you are heading north on I-95, take the I-93 North exit then follow the instructions from I-93. Alternatively, take the I-90 East exit from I-95 then follow the instructions from I-90.

From the West (I-90) (Mass Turnpike)

Follow I-90 east to the Cambridge/Brighton exit (exit 18). Following the signs to Cambridge, cross the River Street Bridge, and continue straight about 1 mile to Central Square. Turn right onto Massachusetts Avenue and follow Massachusetts Avenue for about a half mile. The main entrance to MIT will be on your left. If you cross the river again, you have gone too far.

From Route I-93

From I-93, take exit 26, and follow the signs to Back Bay along Storrow Drive West, approximately 1.5 miles, to the exit for Route 2A. The exit will be on the left, just before the Harvard Bridge (more appropriately called the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge). The Charles River will be on your right. As you cross the bridge, you will be looking at MIT – the Great Dome and academic facilities are on the right, the dormitories and athletic facilities are on the left.

PARKING: Parking in Cambridge and Boston is generally not an enjoyable experience. Whenever possible, park your car at the hotel at which you are staying, and use public transportation to get to the MIT campus. If you must drive to the campus, there are both on- and off-street parking available, but most public parking is not very close to the center of the MIT campus (unless you arrive early in the morning or late in the evening).

There is metered parking on Massachusetts Avenue. There are a number of lots at which you may park for a fee. These include a lot at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street, “Park and Lock” on Third Street, “Kinney Systems” at 4 Cambridge Center (entrances on Ames Street and Broadway), and “Kinney Systems” at Ten Cambridge Center (entrances from Broadway and Binney Street).

LODGING: The following hotels and motels are in the area:

Hyatt Regency Cambridge (walking distance from pool) 75 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 1-800-233-1234

University Park Hotel at MIT, (walking distance from pool) 20 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 617-577-0200

Cambridge Marriott, 2 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 800-228-9290

Residence Inn by Marriott, 6 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 800-331-3131

Royal Sonesta Hotel, 5 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge, MA 617-806-4200

Raddison Hotel, 777 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 800-333-3333

Holiday Inn Express, 250 Monsignor O’Brien Highway, Cambridge, MA 617-577-7600