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Page 16; II. ELIGIBILITY:

A swimmer who lines in a community represented by a NWAL swim team shall swim for the community team except as provided below:. The core area, or boundary of the team follows this hierarchy:

If the community is governed by a Homeowners Association (HOA) or equivalent, the boundary of the team is the boundary of the HOA or equivalent
If the community is a municipality (city, town, township), the boundary of the team is the city or town limits (not including the City of Houston).
If the community has more than one team, then written criteria for determining the boundary of the team and/or distribution of swimmers must have been submitted to the League Officers for approval and kept by the teams.

Page 17; II. ELIGIBILITY; I. Requests for eligibility waiver…:

Circumstances outside the swimmer’s control that would prevent the swimmer from otherwise being able to participate in NWAL swimming., such as zoning to a school in a different neighborhood that makes practices times unavailable, limited transportation exceptions (must be explained fully – not a “catch all” exception), custodial parent arrangements/orders, student athletes, etc.

Page 17; II. ELIGIBILITY:

Every swimmer must complete all of their team’s registration requirements and agree to a waiver of all liabilities of NWAL and its teams before participating at any practice or swim meet. Any swimmer requiring an eligibility waiver or exception to swim for a team must (in addition to completing any and all registration requirements) have submitted an eligibility waiver to NWAL and received approval from NWAL for such eligibility waiver before participating at any practice or swim meets for such team. The deadline for requesting an eligibility waiver is prior to the first dual meet.

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Page 19; III. LEAGUE RULES AND POLICIES; B. ENTRIES, EVENTS, AND SEEDING; 2. NUMBER OF EVENTS A SWIMMER MAY ENTER:

Swimmers may enter no more than three (3) individual events. Swimmers may move up age groups providing they adhere to the above limitations, and remain in the upper age group throughout the entire meet. Swimmers may not swim more than 1 freestyle relay and 1 medley relay. A swimmer who participates in more than three (3) individual events, more than one (1) freestyle and/or medley relay, or who participates in an event in more than one age group during a meet shall be disqualified in all events, including relays, in which the swimmer was Entered.

Page 22; III. LEAGUE RULES AND POLICIES; B. ENTRIES, EVENTS, AND SEEDING; 5. SEEDING; A. General:

All entry lists and seeding shall have the fastest Official Time. An Official Time is one that was swum without disqualification at a meet which was sanctioned by the NWAL in the current season. Non-official times may be used for an event (or for a stroke on a relay) only when the swimmer has not established an Official Time in the current season. If a non-official time is used, it shall be established at a time trial. Assisted swimming results in a N/T or no time and is not valid for entry into an NWAL sanctioned meet. A time swum in a meet, without a disqualification, that is delayed due to climatic conditions and not rescheduled is an Official Time. Split times are NOT Official Times.

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Page 26; III. LEAGUE RULES AND POLICIES:

RELAY SCRATCH MEETING

The purpose of the scratch meeting is to make adjustments on relay teams in age groups that have been reduced to fewer than four swimmers because one or more of the swimmers did not show up for the meet by the time of the scratch meeting. Teams may scratch a swimmer who is not attending the meet and reseed the meet.
At the scratch meeting a team may move a swimmer officially entered in the meet from a lower age group into a relay for a higher age group (up to two age groups) of the same gender provided that the team does not have enough swimmers in the higher age group available. This Adjustment may be made if, and only if, that swimmer is scratched from all of the events originally entered in the lower age group, including relay events. The swimmer moved into the higher age group for one or more relays may remain in all individual events originally entered in the lower age group. Swimmers are only allowed to swim one freestyle and one medley relay at dual meets. After making these Adjustments, all swimmers must remain in compliance with Rule III.B.2
If a younger swimmer is moved up, then the older swimmer whose absence at the time of the scratch meeting caused a younger swimmer to be moved up, shall be scratched from both relays.
As a matter of convenience, at the scratch meeting teams may also substitute legal alternates on relay teams. Such changes are not considered Adjustments, and therefore no scratches are necessary. As long as no swimmer is moved up in age group, a swimmer whose absence caused an alternate of the same age group to be substituted on a relay team shall not be considered scratched. Substitution of alternates on relay teams may be done at any time, not necessarily during the scratch meeting.
Swimmers may not be entered into the meet into individual events at the scratch meeting with approval of both team representatives and the meet referee.
No adjustments shall be made after the start of the meet. The fact that a relay alternate swims is not an adjustment.

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NWAL 2025 Summary of Rules Changes

Page 28; III. LEAGUE RULES AND POLICIES; I. DISQUALIFICATIONS:

Should a foul interfere with a swimmer endanger the chance of success of a swimmer(s), the Meet Referee shall offer a re-swim to all of the swimmers may allow the affected swimmer(s) to reswim the event. If the re-swim offer is accepted, the time achieved in the re-swim shall be the Official Time. In case of a collusion to foul another swimmer, the Meet Referee may, at his/her discretion, disqualify the swimmer for whose aid the foul was committed, as well as the swimmer committing the foul.

Page 29; III. LEAGUE RULES AND POLICIES; I. DISQUALIFICATIONS:

Coaches, assistants and/or spectators shall not be allowed in the starting, turn, finish areas, ready bench area or within five (5) feet of swimming pools, nor are they allowed to except to assist a swimmer with a prescribed medical device. Coaches, assistants and/or spectators shall not interfere with any meet official during the progress of any competition. No photography or digital recording is allowed in the restricted area behind the starting blocks. Violation may result in expulsion from the meet at the discretion of the meet referee. This is for the privacy and protection of our swimmers while they are in a vulnerable position. Upon being apprised of a violation of this rule, it shall be the duty of the Meet Referee to remove, or have such offender removed immediately.

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NWAL 2025 Summary of Rules Changes

Page 30; III. LEAGUE RULES AND POLICIES; I. DISQUALIFICATIONS:

No team personnel, including coaches and /or spectators, shall act in an Unsportsmanlike manner. This includes any act the Meet Referee or the league’s officers or board deems poor sportsmanship, such as:

Page 30; III. LEAGUE RULES AND POLICIES; I. DISQUALIFICATIONS; 15. No team personnel…:

An act undertaken by any individual or team that the league’s officers or board determines is detrimental to the league or may result in a swimmer or team obtaining an unfair competitive advantage.

Page 29; III. LEAGUE RULES AND POLICIES; I. DISQUALIFICATIONS:

Suits shall be one piece. Males shall wear suits which cover the buttocks. Females shall wear suits which cover the buttocks and breasts.

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Page 36; V. OFFICIALS AND DUTIES; C. CERTIFICATION AND RECERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS; 4. RECERTIFICATION OF OFFICIALS:

Recertification of Referees, Starters, Stroke and Turn Officials, Clerk of Course, Computer, Team Representative , and Coaches may be required. Recertification procedures shall be determined by the Chairman of the Training & Certification Committee.

Page 37; V. OFFICIALS AND DUTIES; D. MEET OFFICIALS REQUIREMENTS, 1. NWAL Certified Referees…:

If both teams do not have sufficient number of officials to handle the coverage, then both shall mutually select persons at large to officiate the strokes and turns, in equal numbers.

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Pages 39-42; V. OFFICIALS AND DUTIES; F. DUTIES OF OFFICIALS; 1. REFEREE:

The Meet Referee may consider changing the times-based order of finish 1) when there is an official protest or, 2) if there is a timing irregularity or malfunction in the event. The order of finish may originate with the Meet Referee or designee (certified official) who personally observed the event finishes. For Divisional or Invitational meets, the Meet Referee shall require dual confirmation of the observed order of finish to make changes to the times, based solely on order of finish.
The Meet Referee, Starter, Head Timer, and Computer Personnel shall agree on the responsibilities of each Official with respect to the Timing System in use at the meet.
The Meet Referee shall ensure that Computer Personnel determine the Official Time for each lane in each race using the Primary Timing System (as described in VI.C.) according to the following procedure:

Automatic Timing

When recorded by properly operating Automatic Timing equipment, operated according to the published NWAL Touchpad Protocol, and no malfunction has been reported, the pad time shall be the Official Time.
If a malfunction is confirmed for the lane, the Official Time shall be determined by following the Semi Automatic Timing section

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NWAL 2025 Summary of Rules Changes

ii. Semi-Automatic Timing

If three button times are available, and the difference between each time is less than 0.3 seconds, the time of the intermediate button time shall be the Official Time.
If three button times are available, and the difference between any time and its nearest other time is greater than or equal to 0.3 seconds, then the time with the greatest difference from the nearest shall be discarded and the Official Time shall be the average of the two remaining button times. Any digits representing thousandths of a second shall be rounded up to the next slowest hundredth.
If only two button times are available, the Official Time shall be the average of those two button times. Any digits representing thousandths of a second shall be rounded up to the next slowest hundredth.
If only one button time is available, or no button times are available, the Official Time shall be determined by following the Manual Timing section.

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NWAL 2025 Summary of Rules Changes

Manual Timing

If three watch times are available, and the difference between each time is less than 0.3 seconds, the time of the intermediate watch time shall be the Official Time.
If three watch times are available, and the difference between any time and its nearest other time is greater than or equal to 0.3 seconds, then the time with the greatest difference from its nearest shall be discarded and the Official Time shall be the average of the two remaining watch times. Any digits representing thousandths of a second shall be rounded up to the next slowest hundredth. The discarded time shall remain legible on the scribe sheet.
If only two watch times are available, the Official Time shall be the average of those two watch times. Any digits representing thousandths of a second shall be rounded up to the next slowest hundredth.
If only one watch time is available, the time of that watch shall be the Official Time.
If no watch times are available, the Meet Referee shall determine the Official Time by adding or subtracting 0.01 second to the nearest Official Time in theheat based on the observed order of finish. If no order of finish is available, the Meet Referee may use an unofficial watch time, or offer the swimmer the option of re-swimming the event.

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NWAL 2025 Summary of Rules Changes

The Meet Referee may consider changing the times-based order of finish if a malfunction or irregularity of the Timing System is reported or suspected, or in the event of an order of finish protest.

A malfunction or irregularity may be suspected if:

The difference between the times for a lane obtained by the Primary and available Backup system(s) is greater than or equal to 0.3 seconds; or
A Certified Official designated by the Meet Referee to record order of finish reports a different order of finish

When a malfunction on a lane is confirmed in the Primary system, the Official Time for that lane shall be determined in accordance with the procedure for the Backup system in V.F.1.n.
For Divisional or Invitational meets, the Meet Referee shall require dual confirmationof the observed order of finish to make changes to the times based solely on order of finish.
For information on resolving a Timing Malfunction or order of finish Protest with Manual and Semi-Automatic timing systems, refer to Appendix D - Timing Malfunction or Irregularity Guide.

When, because of an early start, late start, or other equipment or operator malfunction, the time of an Automatic or Semi-Automatic Timing System is equally incorrect for all lanes in a heat, but the order of finish is accurate, the Meet Referee shall instruct Computer Personnel to adjust the times of of the Primary Timing System by calculating the average difference between the Primary times and the valid Backup times and adding, or subtracting when appropriate, that difference to the Primary times of every lane in that heat.

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Page 42; V. OFFICIALS AND DUTIES; F. DUTIES OF OFFICIALS; 1. REFEREE; r. When it is detected that a swimmer is bleeding…:

For details on the recommended process for making time and/or order of finish adjustments when using Automatic, Semi-Automatic or Manual timing systems, please refer to the guides on the NWAL website.

Page 43; V. OFFICIALS AND DUTIES; F. DUTIES OF OFFICIALS; 2. STARTER; a. Preparation:

The Starter and starting device shall be stationed within ten (10) feet fifteen (15) feet of the starting end of the pool at a place where the starting device is clearly visible to the timers, and where the device horn is easily heard by the starting swimmers and where the Starter can best observe the start of all the swimmers.

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Page 47; V. OFFICIALS AND DUTIES; F. DUTIES OF OFFICIALS; 4. TIMERS:

In any race the time shall be taken by three Timers, stationed at the finish. These Timers are the Official Lane Timers, and their times shall be used to determine the Official Time on the lane. The order of finish is based on Official Times. The order of finish of a heat may be changed by the Meet Referee or his designee who has personally observed the finish of the race in specific circumstances. See Scoring for these details. The Official Time of the swimmer whose order of finish was changed shall be adjusted to reflect the proper order of finish by adding or subtracting .01 second to the nearest Official Time.

Alternate Timers may substitute for Official Lane Timers only in the event of failure of a watch or its operator.

In all rules concerning Timing, the word "watch" may mean any mechanical or electrical timing device that is stopped and started by an Official or Timer.

DETERMINING OFFICIAL TIME

Use of three (3) watches per lane: If two (2) watches agree, this time shall be the Official Time. If none of the watches agree, then the intermediate time shall be the Official Time.
If only two (2) watches are operable in a lane, the readings shall be averaged, and if the result includes a thousandth of a second, it shall be rounded up to the next slowest hundredth of a second. This average shall be the Official Time.
If a reading from only one (1) watch in a lane is obtained, it is the Official Time.
If no watch times (including those from alternate timers) are available on a lane, the Official Time shall be determined (by the Meet Referee) by adding or subtracting 0.01 second to the nearest Official Time in the heat based on the observed order of finish. If no order of finish is available, the Meet Referee may use an unofficial watch time, or offer the swimmer the option of re-swimming the event.
When using an automatic or semi-automatic timing system, a minimum of 2 manual times shall also be recorded on the timer sheets. Teams must use equal representation per lane when possible.

NOTE: In all rules herein concerning timing, the word "watch" shall mean any mechanical or electrical timing device that is stopped and started by an official. If Automatic or Semi-Automatic timing systems are used, the host team shall follow standard NWAL written procedures that describe how to determine whether a malfunction may have occurred and when back up times shall be used. (For further Information on determining an official time reference Appendix D)

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Page 47; V. OFFICIALS AND DUTIES; F. DUTIES OF OFFICIALS; 4. TIMERS; c. Lane Timers:

The Timers shall be placed directly over their assigned lane at the finish. Teams must use equal representation per lane when possible.

Page 48; V. OFFICIALS AND DUTIES; F. DUTIES OF OFFICIALS; 4. TIMERS; d. Alternate Timers:

There shall be at least two (2) Alternate Timers, whose time shall be used only as a substitute in the event of failure of an Official Lane Timer's watch or its operator.

Alternate Timers may substitute for Official Lane Timers only in the event of failure of a watch or its operator.

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Page 50; VI. EQUIPMENT NEEDED:

Every race in a swimming competition must be timed with a Primary Timing System. One or more of the following Timing Systems shall be used:

Manual — A Timing System consisting of individual Lane Timers, each operating a manual watch that is both started and stopped by the Lane Timer at the finish touch of the swimmer.

Only hand-held, battery-powered, digital read-out type watches designed for timing purposes shall be used.
At least 3 watches shall be used per lane, each operated by a separate Lane Timer.
If sufficient resources are not available the Meet Referee may allow 2 watches per lane operated by a separate Lane Timer.

Semi-Automatic — A Timing System activated by a starting device and stopped by buttons pushed by individual Lane Timers at the finish touch of the swimmer.

Each lane shall have 2 or 3 buttons, each operated by a separate Lane Time.
A Manual system with at least 2 watches per lane shall be used as a Backup Timing System. The Manual watches shall not be a component of the Semi-Automatic system. Lane Timers may operate both a button and a watch, but each watch must be operated by a separate Lane Timer.

Automatic — A Timing System activated by a starting device and stopped at the finish by the swimmer touching a touchpad.

When an Automatic system is used, there must be a Semi-Automatic and Manual system to be used as Backup Timing Systems. At least 2 watches per lane shall be in the Backup Timing System.
Use of an Automatic system shall be in accordance with the Touchpad Protocol published by the NWAL.

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Page 53; VII. FACILITIES; A. REQUIRED:

Facilities shall be safe for athlete and spectator use.

Page 60; VIII. THE STROKES, RELAYS, AND FINISHES; D. FREESTYLE; 2. STROKE:

In the Individual Medley or Medley Relay events, the swimmer may swim any style desired, except legal butterfly, breast stroke, or backstroke (a legal backstroke shall include a propulsive motion of the arms or legs while the swimmer is towards the back).

Page 61; VIII. THE STROKES, RELAYS, AND FINISHES; E. INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY; 2. STROKE:

Rules pertaining to each stroke used shall govern where applicable, except for the Freestyle where the swimmer can swim in any manner other than a legal butterfly, breast or backstroke (a legal backstroke shall include a propulsive motion of the arms or legs while the swimmer is towards the back).

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Page 62; VIII. THE STROKES, RELAYS, AND FINISHES; H. MEDLEY RELAY; a. Four swimmers on each team… in the following order:

first, Backstroke; �second, Breaststroke; �third, Butterfly; �fourth, Freestyle (or any manner other than a legal butterfly, breast or backstroke (a legal backstroke shall include a propulsive motion of the arms or legs while the swimmer is towards the back).

Page 62; VIII. THE STROKES, RELAYS, AND FINISHES; H. MEDLEY RELAY:

Rules pertaining to each stroke used shall govern where applicable, except for the Freestyle where the swimmer can swim in any manner other than a legal butterfly, breast or backstroke (a legal backstroke shall include a propulsive motion of the arms or legs while the swimmer is towards the back). Swimmers may swim in any order desired provided the proper order of strokes is maintained.

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Page 72; Appendix D: Manual Timing Malfunction or Irregularity Guide:

A guide for using observed order of finish to determine the official order of finish, when a Manual or Semi-Automatic timing system (watches or buttons) is the Primary Timing System.

This is a guide intended to cover the most common situations related to order of finish timing malfunction or irregularity, and may not address all possible situations. This guide is not intended for use with Automatic Timing Systems (touchpads). covers only watch based primary timing systems and is not intended for use with semi-automatic (Dolphin) or fully automatic (touch pads) primary timing systems.

Page 73; Appendix D: Manual Timing Malfunction or Irregularity Guide; B. Order of Finish Protest:

Determine if any of the watch times are inconsistent with the others (i.e. look for outliers). If no outliers exist, the times-based order of finish is final. If inconsistencies do exist then assume the outlying watch does not exist and recalculate the times based upon V,F,4,aV.F.1.n., and continue to step 4

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Team Representative Job Description

METHOD OF SELECTION AND TERM: To be determined by the Team. It is advisable for the team reps to be selected prior to the January Annual Meeting and serve throughout the season.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Desire to represent one’s team in decisions made by the division.
Knowledge of NWAL rules (Referee certification is desirable).
Experience as a team parent with knowledge of team operation.
Willingness to communicate with team board, division representative, and other team reps.
Willingness to attend division meetings (3 or 4 per season).
Time available to do the job.
Recommend the person be an active member of the team board.
Must become certified as a Team Representative through NWAL’s certification process.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES: The team rep’s main responsibility is to serve as a communication link between team and the league, division and other teams. This involves not only passing on information from the league or division to the team but also gathering information from the team and returning it to the league or division. Often a team rep may delegate certain responsibilities to other team board members or committees but the team rep is ultimately responsible for assuring the information is provided correctly and on time.

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Team Representative Job Description

SPECIFIC DUTIES:

Attend league and division meetings to represent the team's views on items to be decided by the division and provide input to the division rep on matters concerning the league.
Encourage certification and re-certification of officials and potential officials on your team by forwarding training and testing dates and information to parents.
Make sure the team has supplied the necessary forms, data, money, or personnel as required by the league or division.
Other duties:

• Payment of NWAL dues in a timely manner.

• Assure Team Rosters up to date in NWAL’s Prescribed Team Management Software.

• NWAL Roles are updated in NWAL’s Prescribed Team Management Software.

• Supplying requested meet personnel for dual meets, divisional, and mid and post season invitationals, e.g. Ponderosa, All Star.

• Ensuring that the final roster of active swimmers is up to date and accurate.

• Preparing and returning year end survey timely.

Represent the team and be the point of communication with other teams and the Meet Referee during swimming meets.
Communicate problems involving other teams to the division rep.
Shall remain engaged during the meet for the interest of their team through the entire meet and until the Meet Referee has signed off on the meet Final Results.
Shall ensure their team has sufficient volunteers to fulfill the needs of equal representation of all including but not limited to, Certified Officials, Meet Results Entry (middle time selection), Results Entry Verification, Lane Timers, Scribes and Ready Bench.

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Eligibility and Waivers: Pre-Season

The goal of the NWAL is to promote a competitive program for community swimmers. The intent of the following rules regarding team representations is to promote the community concept and at the same time make provisions for situations where NWAL swimmers' families are Members of a Club or reside in an area that does not have a community team.

“Community” is defined as a local neighborhood entity that may include subdivisions, villages, unnamed areas, or aggregates of these up to and including cities. A “Club” is defined as a commercial business that may include country clubs, health clubs, YMCA’s, etc.

“Member of a Club” means one who has paid a club’s normally charged initiation, annual or monthly fees and is entitled to full use (for class of membership) of the facilities year round (this specifically excludes swim team only memberships and clubs without other substantial facilities which would induce membership.

A swimmer who lives in a community represented by a NWAL swim team shall swim for the community team. The core area, or boundary of the team follow this hierarchy:

If the community is governed by a Homeowners Association (HOA) or equivalent, the boundary of the team is the boundary of the HOA or equivalent
If the community is a municipality (city, town, township), the boundary of the team is the city or town limits (not including the City of Houston).
If the community has more than one team, then written criteria for determining the boundary of the team and/or distribution of swimmers must have been submitted to the League Officers for approval and kept by the teams.

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Eligibility and Waivers: Pre-Season

If a swimmer is also a Member of a Club represented by the NWAL, or resides in more than one community represented by the NWAL, the swimmer may choose the team he or she wishes to represent, but the swimmer shall represent the same team throughout the swim season.
Any swimmer who lives in the area covered by the NWAL but does not live in a community represented by a NWAL team may join an NWAL team for which he or she meets that team’s membership requirements. In this case a swim team-only membership will be allowed.
Paid coaches are ineligible to swim in the NWAL. Coaches shall follow the Coach Certification referenced in V.F.8
Coaches' children may swim with the team their parents coach and meet that teams' membership requirements. A waiver is required to be on file in the event that the parent does not coach that team in subsequent years.
Only NOVICE SWIMMERS may participate in the League. A NOVICE SWIMMER is any individual up to and including eighteen (18) years of age.
Eligibility for an age group is determined by the individual age as of the end of the day on May 1 of the current year.
To maintain a stable environment for team competition, it is expected that swimmers and their families shall not seek, nor be encouraged, to change NWAL teams except as an incident of a move of the family residence. The NWAL’s eligibility rules are established with this purpose in mind, recognizing that an individual’s opportunity to participate on a particular team shall be appropriately balanced against the League’s legitimate interest in maintaining stability and competitive fairness within the League. The NWAL Board may investigate and provide appropriate sanctions with regard to any instances that it deems may affect the stability and competitive fairness of the League.

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Eligibility and Waivers: Pre-Season

Requests for eligibility waivers or exceptions shall be approved by the receiving Team Representative and the sending or original team as soon as possible. An eligibility waiver will be submitted using the NWAL Certification site for approval. The following are suggested exceptions that the Division(s) may consider (not all inclusive):

Diagnosed disabilities that would be better served in a different age group or different team.
Circumstances outside the swimmer’s control that would prevent the swimmer from otherwise being able to participate in NWAL swimming
Swimmer previously given permission to swim on wrong team without the properly approved waiver.
Swimmer denied membership because of team size restriction. (Only needs to be approved one time, not each year.)

J. Every swimmer must complete all of their team’s registration requirements and agree to a waiver of all liabilities of NWAL and its teams before participating at any practice or swim meet. Any swimmer requiring an eligibility waiver or exception to swim for a team must (in addition to completing any and all registration requirements) have submitted an eligibility waiver to NWAL and received approval from NWAL for such eligibility waiver before participating at any practice or swim meets for such team. The deadline for requesting an eligibility waiver is prior to the first dual meet.

Any waiver requests not approved by the affected Division may be appealed to the NWAL League Officers. All eligibility waivers approved at the Division level shall be submitted and approved using the NWAL Certification site for Waivers. The League Officers have the authority to override any eligibility waiver decisions made at the Division level in order to maintain consistency across the League. All appeals and Division-approved waivers shall be submitted on the NWAL Certification site for Waivers no later than two weeks prior to the start of the NWAL season. All approved waivers shall be displayed on the NWAL Certification Site for Waivers no later than the start of the NWAL season. All approved waivers are considered to be permanent unless there is a change in the swimmer’s eligibility circumstances.
Any team wishing to contest the validity of a submitted waiver must provide documented proof to the satisfaction of the NWAL League Officers that the exception for the waiver is invalid or false.
The violation of any of the above eligibility requirements may result in forfeiture of each meet in which an ineligible swimmer participated. [Note: The score of a forfeited meet, regardless of the reason for the forfeit, shall be 749 to 747. Violations determined by the NWAL League Officers to be willful or premeditated shall result in additional disciplinary action up to and including expulsion of both swimmer and team from the League.

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Monitoring Registration for Waivers

Log into your Teams Swimtopia Website> Manage>Click on Reports>Registration Details> Generate Report> Download Data to a Spreadsheet> Sort

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Certifying Officials and Badges: Pre-Season

It is the Team Representatives responsibility to print badges for all officials and coaches. You are the only one that has access to this.
Team Representatives are to help guide all new and returning officials through the process of getting certified for the current season.
Officials must log into their account and complete a background check every year.

Once the background check is in and the Compliance attaches it to their account, their badge will populate.

New Officials or Officials seeking certification at a new level must complete the course and pass the test.
All Coaches MUST be certified (pass background check and NWAL coaches test) before the first practice. Please encourage them immediately when hired to complete the log in and background check and to take and pass the NWAL coaches test. This is for liability purposes.

Their badge will populate when their test is completed.

Please let coaches know they need to use the rulebook and the coaches guide off of the website to pass the test.
18 and Younger hired Coaches will send an e-mail to Compliance from their parents stating their good status in the community and they give consent to work for the team as a coach.

Advice: Print more than one badge and bring them to the meets incase someone loses theirs.

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Meet Officials Certification

Certification and Recertification Requirements

Certification of New Officials

Candidates for certification shall be at least 19 years old and submit to an annual background check.

Lectures.

Candidates for certification as Referees, Stroke and Turn Officials, Starters , Clerk of Course, Computer, and Team Representative shall attend a scheduled lecture for each level of certification attempt during the year that they attempt to be certified.

On-deck training.

Candidates for certification as Stroke and Turn Officials or Starters shall attend a scheduled on-deck training session for the appropriate for the level of certification they are attempting. Referee, Clerk of Course, Team Representative, and Computer does not require on deck training.

Tests.

Candidates for Certification as Referees, Stroke and Turn Officials, Starters, Coach, Clerk of Course, Computer, Team Representatives shall take a test and pass the test with the following minimum scores (the test is open book):

Referee 85% correct�Stroke and Turn 90% correct�Starter 90% correct�Coach 90% correct�Clerk of Course 90% correct�Computer 90% correct�Team Rep 90% correct

All recertification tests must be passed with 85% obtainment.

Except as authorized by the Chairman of the Training and Certification Committee, the written examination may be attempted up to five (5)

times each certification year. If the candidate does not pass by the 5th attempt, they shall either re-take the class that year or may wait until the next year to take the class again.

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Meet Officials Certification

Provisional Status. (Applies only to Stroke and Turn Officials, Starters and Referees)

When a candidate has successfully completed all of the requirements for lectures on-deck training, and testing, the candidate shall be awarded Provisional status.
The Provisional official shall be required to work a portion of three meets under the supervision of a Meet Referee, and to that Referee’s satisfaction. In order to become a fully certified official, the Provisional official shall return proof of completion of the required meet attendance to the Chairman of the Training and Certification Committee within one month of the final NWAL Scheduled meet for the season. Any Provisional officials who do not complete this requirement shall revert to their previous level of certification, and shall be required to certify as a new official at the level they were Provisionally Certified.
Clerk of course, Team Representative and Computer shall not require a provisional certification.

*** Once they have uploaded their vod to their nwalcertified account, you will need to print a new badge***

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Meet Officials Certification

Referee

In addition to the above rules, candidates for Referee shall have a minimum of one (1) year prior experience as a Certified NWAL Starters. Hardship waivers of the 1-year prior certification requirement shall be requested by the Referee candidate in advance of the beginning of the NWAL season. Waiver requests shall be decided by the Chairman of the Training and Certification Committee.

Starter

Candidates for Starter shall have a minimum Certified Stroke and Turn Official. Hardship waivers of the 1-year prior certification requirement shall be requested by the Starter candidate in advance of the beginning of the NWAL season.

Recertification of Officials

Expired Certification

Any official who lets his or her certification expire may only be recertified by meeting the requirements for certification as a new official except as authorized by the Chairman of the Training and Certification Committee.

*** Team Representative will help guide Officials through the Certification Process***

*** Stroke and Turn Recertify this year by Test only. Even if they became certified in 2024***

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Coaches Certification

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When they log in, they will become active. They can’t get their background attached till they do that or create an account.

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Note: It is your responsibility to check that all officials and coaches have badge.

They must have logged into nwalcertified, completed a background check, and completed any testing if necessary.

Print several copies of badges as coaches and officials often misplace them.

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Prior to the Meet: Meet Exchange

The Entry List is the Official List.

The meet entry list shall be exchanged by Thursday at 6:00 P.M. Exchanges shall be performed through NWAL’s prescribed Team Management software and a PDF of Meet Entries shall be emailed to the other team simultaneously. Failure to exchange at the agreed time may be classified as unsportsmanlike conduct, and may be subject to sanction by the League Officers.

If, as a matter of convenience, both team officials agree to an exchange of data at a time other than the Thursday 6:00 P.M. deadline, then the lists become official at the time of the exchange, and no subsequent modifications shall be allowed except those normally permitted during the scratch meeting.
If discrepancies are discovered before the meet begins that are clearly due to human error, the Meet Referee has the discretion to make any adjustments as long as written documentation has been presented.
In the event that discrepancies in entries are discovered after the entries have been exchanged, the Exchanged PDF of swimmer entry lists exchanged on Thursday shall be considered the official entry lists.

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Meet Entries: Seeding/Official Time

Seeding

General

All entry lists and seeding shall have the fastest Official Time. An Official Time is one that was swum without disqualification at a meet which was sanctioned by the NWAL in the current season. Non-official times may be used for an event (or for a stroke on a relay) only when the swimmer has not established an Official Time in the current season. If a non-official time is used, it shall be established at a time trial. Assisted swimming results in a N/T or no time and is not valid for entry into an NWAL sanctioned meet. A time swum in a meet, without a disqualification, that is delayed due to climatic conditions and not rescheduled is an Official Time. Split times are NOT Official Times.
Official Times shall be used for all divisional meet entries including relay entries. Post season invitationals must also use only Official times for all swimmers.
A time trial may be scheduled at any time during the current season, in a NWAL certified pool and it does not need to be run using a standard meet format. However, all time trials must be completed in a NWAL-standard pool (VII.A.). NWAL officials are not required to be present in order to establish a non- official time at a time trial.
Entry times for invitational meets shall be Official Times obtained during an NWAL meet or sanctioned invitational. The seed time for relays shall be established by adding the fastest Official Times of the individual swimmers for the stroke that they are swimming on the relay.
Entries submitted with no time (N/T) shall not be allowed.

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Seeding in Lanes

Note: A swimmer is not scratched for failure to get to the ready bench. However, If the swimmer left the meet/scratched post printing of the heat sheets, that is when the COC has the authority to communicate changes to lanes, etc to the deck referee. This is where the COC with the Deck Referee make every attempt to not have a swimmer swim alone and seed the last heat full. Documentation on COC heat sheets, deck referee heat sheets, and on lane timer sheets.

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Number of Events/Relays

Number of Events a Swimmer may Enter

Swimmers may enter no more than three (3) individual events. Swimmers may not swim more than 1 freestyle relay and 1 medley relay. A swimmer who participates in more than three (3) individual events, more than one (1) freestyle and/or medley relay, or who participates in an event in more than one age group during a meet shall be disqualified in all events, including relays, in which the swimmer was Entered.
An event is defined by the stroke, gender and age group. For example, 9 & 10 Boys Freestyle is an event. Freestyle alone is not classified as an event. This means there are 80 events in a dual meet and 86 events in a divisional meet.
A swimmer is not officially scratched until the swimmer fails to step up onto the blocks prior to the Deck Referee’s whistle.

Relay Entries

Dual Meets

A club may enter up to three (3) teams in each dual meet relay event. Only one (1) relay team entered is eligible to score points. (See Scoring III.6.a.v)
Relay teams shall have at least four names listed and an official time (see III.5.a.i for the definition of an official time)
All swimmers listed on the official entry list are automatically alternates for both relays in their respective age groups. Alternates may be substituted for the relay members listed on the official entry list.
If a team enters more than one relay in an event, the members of each relay team are considered alternates to the other relay teams in that event.
The four swimmers in the relay shall be recorded on the lane timer sheet at the ready bench.

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Number of Events/Relays

Divisional Meets

A club may only enter one (1) team in each relay event.
Relay teams shall have at least four names listed and an official time (see scoring III.5.a.i for establishing an official time).
All swimmers listed on the official entry list are automatically alternates for both relays in their respective age groups. Alternates may be substituted for the relay members listed on the official entry list.
The four swimmers in the relay shall be recorded on the lane timer sheet at the ready bench.
The number of relays a swimmer can participate in will be decided at the annual meeting. The division can choose either 2 relays per swimmer or 3 relays per swimmer. NWAL highly encourages each division to choose 2 relays per swimmer to allow for additional swimmers to participate in relays at divisional meets. The mixed relay shall consist of 2 girls and 2 boys per mixed relay event.

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Scratch Meeting: Morning of Meet

Scratch Meeting

The purpose of the scratch meeting is to make adjustments on relay teams in age groups that have been reduced to fewer than four swimmers because one or more of the swimmers did not show up for the meet by the time of the scratch meeting. Teams may scratch a swimmer who is not attending the meet and reseed the meet.
At the scratch meeting a team may move a swimmer officially entered in the meet from a lower age group into a relay for a higher age group (up to two age groups) of the same gender provided that the team does not have enough swimmers in the higher age group available. The swimmer moved into the higher age group for one or more relays may remain in all individual events originally entered in the lower age group. Swimmers are only allowed to swim one freestyle and one medley relay at dual meets. After making these Adjustments, all swimmers must remain in compliance with the number of events a swimmer may enter.
Substitution of alternates on relay teams may be done at any time, not necessarily during the scratch meeting.
Swimmers may be entered into the meet at the scratch meeting with approval of both team representatives and the Meet Referee.
No adjustments shall be made after the start of the meet. The fact that a relay alternate swims is not an adjustment

** You need to be available in the computer room to approve changes**

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Meet Officials/Attire

Officials and Duties

Meet Officials

For all swimming meets there should not be less than the following:

1 Referee 4 Stroke and Turn Officials

1 Starter 1 Announcer

1 Chief Timer 1 Clerk of Course

2 Alternate Timers 1 Computer Person

3 Timers per lane

2 Ribbon Writers - 1 from each team

1 Team Representative from each team

An individual may act in more than one capacity when necessary.

All NWAL swim meets are required to have a Referee present to act as Meet Referee. A provisional Referee can also act as Meet Referee. Meets conducted without a Meet Referee will lose Sanction and may continue but all times swum will be considered as unofficial.

Officials’ Attire

While officiating during any regularly scheduled NWAL swim meet, including Divisional Meets and Invitational Meets, Referees, Stroke and Turn Officials, Starters, Clerk of Course, and Computer Certified Personnel shall wear a standard uniform which bears no writing, symbol, insignia, or other mark identifying the official's NWAL swim team affiliation. The standard NWAL uniform shall be a white collared shirt with sleeves (Sleeves or cap sleeves are allowed for ladies) and navy-blue pants,shorts or skirt. NWAL Board approved shirts with NWAL insignia may be worn on deck by only qualified officials.

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Meet Officials

Meet Officials Requirements

NWAL certified Referees, Stroke and Turn Officials, Starters and Clerk of Course, Computer shall officiate at regularly scheduled NWAL swim meet, including the Divisional Meets and Invitational Swim Meets. If additional non NWAL certified stroke and turn officials, ready bench or computer personnel are required they will work under the supervision of and direction of a NWAL certified official.

Teams without a certified Referee may use their Provisional Referee in the capacity of Meet Referee only if

The team is unable to secure a certified Referee from another team in NWAL, and
The team's opponent elects not to use their certified Referee in the capacity of Meet Referee.

Teams without a sufficient number of Stroke and Turn officials to handle their assignment coverage shall allow the opponent to use their certified officials.
All teams at an NWAL meet shall, whenever possible, have equal representation of all duties, including but not limited to, on-deck officials, Meet Results Entry (middle time selection), Results Entry Verification, Lane Timers, Scribes and Ready Bench. Any deviation from this operational balance can be considered unsportsmanlike conduct.

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Duties of Officials: Meet Referee

MEET REFEREE

An individual may not act simultaneously as the Team Representative and the Meet Referee. The Meet Referee can simultaneously fulfill any of the deck roles including Deck Referee, Starter, and Stroke & Turn official and will remain the Meet Referee.

The Meet Referee:

Is ultimately accountable for ensuring that NWAL meets are operated according to the current NWAL rules and other applicable sanctioning documents;
Shall determine if adjustments to Official Entry Lists are allowed due to discrepancies caused by human error;
Shall have full authority over all officials and shall assign and instruct them;
Shall determine preferences for open lanes, reseeding and combining of events;
Is accountable for the Scratch meeting, officials meeting, and Timers meeting;
Shall enforce all the rules and shall decide all questions relating to the actual conduct of the meet, including eliminating any behavior by an official, coach, competitor or spectator that interferes with the operation of the meet by means of, but not limited to, suspension of the meet or forfeiture;
May overrule any meet official on a point of rule interpretation, or on a judgment decision pertaining to an action which he/she has personally observed (except for relay takeoffs in meets using dual confirmation);

It is the Meet Referee’s job to see that the meet is run fairly for all swimmers.
The Team Representative works with the Meet Referee as a liaison between the team and the Meet Referee to communicate decisions and outcomes.

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Scoring

Scoring

General:

Places shall be awarded on a time basis. If the time of relay teams or swimmers are identical, those swimmers or relay teams shall be declared tied. The fastest and succeeding times shall place the order of finish.
When two or more competitors tie, the points of the places involved shall be added together and equally divided among the tied participants.
When an individual or relay team is disqualified, the following places move up in order of finish.
No event points or event ribbons shall be awarded to the disqualified entry or team.
The total number of first places shall be used to determine the winner of a meet if both teams are equal in total points. The total number of second places shall be used to determine the winner if the score is tied and the number of first places is equal

Dual Meets:

Individual Events: 7-5-4-3-2-1�(1^st through 6^th place respectively)
Relays: 7-3 �(A team may only score relay points for one place. If one team wins both 1^st and 2^nd place then only 1^st place (7 points) shall be awarded)

Divisional Meets:

Individual Events: 14-12-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2 � (1^st through 12^th place respectively)
5 Team Divisional Relays: 14-10-7-5-3 �(1^st through 5^th place respectively)
6 Team Divisional Relays: 14-10-7-5-3-1 �(1^st through 6^th place respectively)

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Ending a Meet

Rules for Ending a Meet

The meet is considered officially ended when the last swimmer touches the wall in the last heat on the schedule, assuming all active protests have been resolved.
Within 15 minutes of completion of the final heat of the final event and resolution of all issues and protests, the Meet Referee shall verify the score and if found correct, shall sign the score sheet, thus establishing the Official Score. The Official Score shall not be changed later, unless within 48 hours after the completion of the meet a Team Representative brings to the attention of the Meet Referee or a NWAL Officer an error which affects the outcome of the meet.
If the Meet Referee neglects to sign the Official Score sheet after a meet, the results as indicated on the score sheet become official 15 minutes after completion of the last heat of the last event. The Official Score shall not be changed later, unless within 24 hours after the completion of the meet a Team Representative brings to the attention of the Meet Referee or an NWAL Officer an error which affects the outcome of the meet.
For Dual meets, the host team shall upload the full electronic results (*.cl2 and *.mdb files (zipped)) to the NWAL Team Management Software within 48 hours of the conclusion of the meet. Failure to provide the results prior to this deadline shall be considered Unsportsmanlike Conduct, and shall result in disciplinary action at the discretion of the NWAL League Officers. NWAL teams using the prescribed Team Management Software to run the meet will not have to upload results they will be uploaded automatically during the meet.
Times that are entered in error that are discovered after the 48-hour upload period will be brought to an NWAL Officer's attention by the Meet Referee. The NWAL officer will look into the error with the support of the teams involved and if this time is deemed to negatively impact the swimmer the time will be adjusted. The Change in time will not change the result score of the meet.

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Team Rep: Protests and Disciplinary Actions

Protests and Disciplinary Actions

Certified Team Reps or Coaches are the only Team members to approach a Meet Referee of a disputed call, protest or disciplinary action.
Protests against judgment decisions of starters, stroke, turn, and relay takeoff judges shall only be considered by the Meet Referee, who has the authority to disqualify swimmers for any violation of the rules that he personally observes.
Any other protest arising from the competition itself shall be made to the Meet Referee prior to the completion of the meet. If the protest is not resolved immediately, the protesting Team Representative may, within 36 hours, file a written protest accompanied by $100 to their Division Representative or to a League Officer for Board adjudication at the earliest possible time which shall then be binding on all parties. Any monies received with protests are non-refundable unless the protest resolved in favor of the protester.
Until final action is determined, the results of any heat, event, or meet conducted under protest shall not be announced, and awards for that contested situation shall not be awarded nor scoring of points allowed unless the protest is officially withdrawn.
Disciplinary action taken by a Meet Referee against a coach or official shall be reported in writing to the First Vice-President before the next scheduled meet.
The League Officers shall have the final authority to censure or discipline team personnel.
The League Officers shall have the discretion to refer any protest to the Training and Certification Committee for input, clarification and recommendations prior to ruling on the protest.
Physical, mental and verbal abuse of any of the participants, coaches, managers, employees, spectators or volunteers involved in our sponsored activities is not permitted before, during or after sponsored activities.

Notwithstanding requirements to report allegations of sexual abuse immediately to the proper authorities, allegations of abuse away from competition are to be made first to the Meet Referee and, if before or after the meet, should be made to the respective Team Representatives for reporting to the First Vice President / Head of Officials.
Unless referred to NWAL legal counsel or insurance claims adjuster, allegations will be adjudicated by the Head of Officials, utilizing appropriate investigation techniques and reports from the respective parties involved.
Decisions by the First Vice President / Head of Officials may be appealed to League Officers for review. Decisions by the League Officers are final.

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NWAL Incident Report

Form Link

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Team Rep: Delay or Postponement of Meets

Delay or Postponement of Meets Due to Climatic Conditions

The Host Team Meet Referee, working with the Team Reps for both teams, may postpone a dual meet up to 24 hours prior to that meet due to unfavorable climatic conditions or unavailability of the pool.
If a dual meet has progressed through event 60, and is suspended due to unfavorable climatic conditions, the meet is considered complete, no reschedule is necessary, and the results through the last event completed shall be the final score.
The Visiting Team may also postpone a dual meet up to 24 hours prior to scheduled meet start, due to circumstances which would significantly impact their participation, and shall do so only with concurrence of the Host Team Meet Referee and both Team Reps.
In either of the above situations (A and B), the process for re-scheduling of the meet must be followed as per rule IV.C. If either team should be without a Meet Referee, contact NWAL 1st VP (Officials@nwal.org) to ensure that your team is represented in this process.

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Team Rep: Delay or Postponement of Meets

E. Swimming competition shall be suspended immediately when thunder is heard, or lightning is visible.

The meet shall be suspended until 15 minutes after the last thunder was heard or the last lightning was sighted. Note that local facility rules and/or pool management rules regarding thunderstorm suspension, should they exist, take precedence over NWAL rules.
When a meet is suspended because of lightning and/or thunder, the pool area shall be cleared immediately of all participants, officials, and spectators.
When a meet in progress is suspended, the Meet Referee and both Team Representatives shall meet prior to leaving the facilities to determine what course of action to pursue.
Delayed meet postponed.

Team Representatives may agree mutually to postpone any meet that has been suspended due to climatic conditions.
A meet suspended for 2 hours in the aggregate shall be considered postponed unless both Team Representatives agree otherwise.

Re-scheduling of postponed meets is by mutual agreement. Any team acting in an unresponsive manner during the climatic rescheduling process will be considered as unsportsmanlike and risk meet forfeiture.

In the event that Team Representatives cannot mutually agree to a date to reschedule a dual meet, the following procedure shall be implemented:

The host team shall offer three (3) dates prior to the next scheduled meet when the facility will be available for rescheduling the meet. The rescheduled meet is to occur prior to the next scheduled meet.
The visiting team shall select one of the dates to reschedule the meet.
In the event that the facility is not available, or if by mutual agreement the meet is not rescheduled, the meet shall be declared a draw. In that event each team shall be awarded one half of the total points for the meet (748 points each for a dual meet).
The Weather Delay Form, located on the NWAL website, shall be filled out by the host team when any weather delay or postponement occurs and be signed by both teams. This form shall be filled out during the delays and all information recorded. Failure to do so may result in forfeiture of the meet by the home team in the event of disagreements. This applies to both dual and divisional meets.

Divisional meets shall be rescheduled and completed through event 86.

If other pool conditions such as water quality make it unsafe or inadvisable to swim, the meet shall be postponed and rescheduled as necessary using an approach consistent with Rule IV.B.

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Weather Delay Form

Form Link

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Team Rep: Divisional Meets

Divisional Meets

Decisions such as fee amount, awards, time, place, number of entries, use of electronic touchpads, etc., are to be made by each Division's Team Representatives prior to the beginning of each year’s competition.
Decisions on officials, concessions, and other incidental items shall be made by each Division's Team Representatives prior to the Divisional Meet.
No team shall be considered the "Home" team for a Divisional Meet.
Official Times shall be used for all divisional meet entries, including relay entries.
For the Divisional meet the Division Representative shall ensure that the full electronic results (*.cl2 and *.mdb files (zipped)) and the score of the meet are uploaded to the NWAL Team Management Site within 24 hours of the conclusion of the meet. Failure to provide results prior to this deadline may be considered Unsportsmanlike Conduct of all Division team equally, and may result in disciplinary action at the discretion of the NWAL League Officers.
In order to participate in Divisionals, swimmers must participate in 2 NWAL Certified Dual Meets. Participation is defined as a swimmer entering the water in an NWAL event with or without disqualification otherwise known as a splash.
Teams do not have the option to forego divisional meets and must make a good faith effort to share proportionately in planning, costs, volunteers and assignments. Failure to participate or to provide the opportunity for equal representation may be considered unsportsmanlike conduct and is subject to NWAL sanction. A Meet Referee must be identified, and it is recommended that a Meet Coordinator be appointed. The Meet Coordinator does not have to be the Division Representative but is a likely candidate.

*** Divisional Planning Document Available on the NWAL Website as a guide.***

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