Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations Swimming and Diving Rules Changes Major Editorial Changes Points of Emphasis

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations 1st Day of Practice: - No earlier than Oct. 30th Date of 1st Contest: - No earlier than Nov. 18th Start Dates

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations Reporting Deadline - Saturday, Jan. 25th the week prior, 6:00pm Regionals - **Added 3A Central Regional** Jan. 31st- Feb. 1st (diving normally the day before) State- 1A/2A-Feb. 6th, 4A-Feb. 7th, 3A –Feb. 8th Diving: Prior day Please refer to the NCHSAA Web Site: For schedule of events (Swimming/Diving Page) Dates

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations  Dead Periods: -Fall Try Out Dead Period August 1 st through Sept. 1 st -Spring Try Out Dead Period Feb. 12 th through March 15 th  Season Limitation: All regular season meets and conference tournaments must be completed before the playoff reporting deadline. Reminders

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations  Noise makers are prohibited at swimming meets  No Face/Body Paint is allowed (spectators or swimmers/divers)  Promoting good sportsmanship is everyone’s responsibility. Coaches set the example and tone for their athletes and fans. Reminders

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations  Coaches working with outside organized club team (USA) may not coach the team during the dead periods if any swimmers/divers on the team are from his/her school.  Also, coaches (head, assistant, or volunteer) working with outside organized teams during school year are limited to no more than 6 swimmers (6 girls and 6 boys) or divers from their high schools. Reminders

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations  Coaching Requirement: All coaches must still attend a required meeting with Athletic Director to view the eligibility power-point presentation prepared by NCHSAA Staff  Concussion Rule: Gfeller-Waller Law must be observed; o Yearly review and signatures required o RTP updated on the website o EAP must be updated and shared with staff at your school --Suppose to be reviewed by a licensed athletic trainer --There is a list posted on the website-Health and Safety – of names of persons who can review your EAP Reminders

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations Eligibility Power Point Requirement: All coaches must still attend a required meeting with Athletic Director to view the eligibility power-point presentation prepared by NCHSAA Staff; includes safety slides which address concussions Concussion Rule: Gfeller-Waller Law must be observed; Yearly review and signatures required RTP updated; on the website EAP must be updated and shared with staff at your school -Supposed to be reviewed by a licensed athletic trainer -There is a list posted on the website-Health and Safety- of names of persons who can review your EAP Reminders

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations  Sportsmanship: If student or coach is ejected or DQ’ed, still must complete the Star Sportsmanship course on-line before returning to competition in addition to serving the contest penalty. Remember: there is a $7 fee. Additionally, if a fighting ejection, head coach must take the “Teaching and Modeling Behavior” NFHS course; cost is $20; must be completed before coaching next game.  Middle School Students: Are not allowed to practice and/or swim against high school students during open facility or skill development sessions during school year Reminders

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations  Now a $400 fine for non-compliant uniform  Coaches Education Requirement: All non-faculty (non-teaching, certified personnel) and all newly hired coaches (new to your LEA, and has not passed the course) must complete and pass the NFHS “FUNDAMENTALS OF COACHING” certification course within sixty (60) days of hire. This is for head coaches, assistant coaches, including volunteers. If currently a non-faculty coach, certification course must be completed prior to first day of practice. Course is an online offering through the National Federation (NFHS). To access and complete the course, go to nfhslearn.com. Cost of course is $35 and is a one-time completion requirement to be nationally certified. NCHSAA Board of Directors has recommended 100% of coaching staff(s) complete the “FUNDAMENTALS OF COACHING” certification in three (3) years: Target date is August 1, Reminders

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations Reminders

Swimming Regional Entries with Direct Athletics  Sign into You may sign in and out changing times and updating entries until the entry deadline of 6pm on Saturday, January 26. Sign In Here

Swimming Regional Entries with Direct Athletics  Update Contact Information When you register your contact information with Direct Athletics, make sure you are giving the coach’s phone number where he/she can be reached on January 26th or 27th. If there are any issues with your entries, this is the number we’ll call. Select: Contac t Info Select: Setup

Swimming Regional Entries with Direct Athletics Register the appropriate information for all your athletes (SWIMMERS AND DIVERS!). Make sure you hit the “SUBMIT” button each and every time you update information so that it’s saved. Select: Team Select: Women’s Or Men’s

 ENTRIES MUST BE COMPLETED BY THE ENTRY DEADLINE OF: SATURDAY, January 6:00 P.M. Swimming Regional Entries with Direct Athletics Upcoming Meet: (Will show up in early January) Select to enter Swimmers/Divers in their events.

 Swimming Entries: Make sure all athletes are entered in ONLY 2 INDIVIDUAL EVENTS. Be sure to enter your RELAY EVENTS Teams may enter no more than four swimmers per individual event and no more than one team per relay Swimming Regional Entries with Direct Athletics

 Diving Entries Divers must have successfully competed in at least one meet during the regular season in order to enter regional competition. Enter best diving score from season into Direct Athletics. Swimming Regional Entries with Direct Athletics

 A printed copy of the Direct Athletic entries must be signed by the principal, and coaches must present this at check in at 1A/2A and 3A and 4A regional meets. Swimming Regional Entries with Direct Athletics

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations  Dual meets: referee and two stroke and turn judges required for times to count  Meets involving more than two teams must use a referee and three other officials.  If meet is using manual timing and only 1 timer per lane, meet may be conducted but the times cannot be used for regional entry  A flat fee of $45 is to be paid one referee and a flat fee of $20 to be paid to the other required officials (stroke and turn judges or the three officials—(starter and S&T).  Schools- must recruit their own officials to register with the NCHSAA officiating.nchsaa.org)  Registration is open NOW!  The S&T exam and the NCHSAA Referee exam taken online no later than Dec. 5.  The S&T exam taken by ALL officials (including referees). Officials

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations  The Referee Exam is required for officials working towards the two (2) year criteria to become a referee, as well as current referees. USA Swimming referees may work without the 2 yr. requirement, but must take the referees exam, as well as the S & T exam.  Verification Forms: Forms must be signed at each meet the official works. The form must be returned to the NCHSAA Office by March 2, 2014  Official’s Qualification Data: Information, grades and referee status can be found on click on the Swimming and Diving Tab (left hand side of the home page) Officials

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations There are automatic and consideration times again for all classes, 1A/2A, 3A and 4A Regionals. All swimmers with automatic qualifying times will be accepted into the meet regardless of the number of swimmers who qualify. If there are any empty lanes in the slowest heat of any event, the swimmers or relay teams with the fastest consideration times will be accepted to fill out the empty lanes. QUALIFYING TIMES can be found on the web site: under Swimming & Diving Page. Qualifying Times

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations QUALIFIERS TO STATE CHAMPIONSHIP:  Top-eight fastest times from each 3A and 4A regional (East, Central and West)  Top-twelve fastest times from each1A/2A regional (East and West)  In order to qualify for and advance to State Championships each swimmer or relay team must have achieved the Regional Qualifying standard (automatic or consideration) during either the Preliminary or Final competition.  No split times or aggregate times are allowed for qualifying relay teams  Check the NCHSAA website on an ongoing basis for any updates. You must refresh your computer to make sure it shows the new changes Reminders

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations * ** Schools fielding a team must compete as a team during the regular season and times must be achieved in high school competition. **Individuals representing their school, where no team is fielded, must achieve qualifying times in high school competitions. Reminders

NCHSAA Board Approved Items:  2 dead periods for the summer: (1) week of July 4 th (if 4 th on Saturday, week before; if 4 th on a Sunday, then it’s the week after) (2) week of the coaches clinic, which we are now in. We sent a clarification to athletic directors; hopefully they shared with you as coaches  Students participating in summer workouts must have an up-to-date physical on file

NCHSAA Board Approved Items:  Now have a Transfer Policy; posted on web-site under school central: If you make a bona fide change of residence, no transfer waiver required for satisfying residence eligibility All non-traditional member schools will be treated as its own LEA LEA’s must have a policy to govern inter-system transfers; if no policy, then sit for 365 days All waiver requests from one LEA to another will be handled through NCHSAA

NCHSAA Board Approved Items:  Board made some strong recommendations for the following: (SMAC recommendations) At least one member of coaching staff must take and pass NFHS 1 st Aid for Coaches, be CPR/AED certified and be present at all contests and practices If event has 3 or more teams in attendance must have LAT/Certified 1 st Responder on site

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations

Uniforms Rule PENALTIES  Clarifies the penalties for a swimmer/diver wearing illegal attire, such as a cap issue, from the penalties for wearing a suit of illegal construction  When an official discovers a competitor wearing illegal attire as described in Article 2, the official shall: When observed before the start of the heat/dive notify competitor to make uniform legal If can’t be done without delaying the start the competitor is disqualified from heat/round until legal

Uniforms Rule PENALTIES  When observed after start of heat/dive the competitor is disqualified at completion of the heat/dive  Performance results nullified and competitor is not eligible until in legal attire

Uniforms – Use of Tape Rule  Tape is permitted to treat a documented medical condition  At no time can use of tape cause a competitor to have advantage over remainder of field  Signed documentation from appropriate health-care professional shall be presented to referee prior to competition

Uniforms – Use of Tape Rule  Situation: A swimmer from Team A cuts his/her foot needing to be treated and taped to allow for further competition in the meet. The swimmer is treated by (a) host school medical personnel or (b) Team A’s medical personnel. The meet referee accepts the treatment and allows the athlete to continue in competition.  Ruling: Correct procedure providing treatment is from appropriate health-care provider onsite.

Uniforms – Use of Tape Rule  Reminder: Preventive taping by divers to support their wrists requires no medical documentation

Form of Individual Events Rule 8-2-1f  In the breaststroke turn, it is legal for initiation of the turn to be accomplished by an upward or downward, underwater movement of the head if the arm(s) pull is absent

Form of Individual Events Rule 8-2-2c  After the initiation of the arm stroke, and before the breaststroke kick a single butterfly kick is permitted

Form of Individual Events Rule 8-2-2c  In the breaststroke, on the start or turn, the initiation of the arm stroke for the underwater pull shall be accomplished by a discernible horizontal separation of the hands

Form of Individual Events Rule 8-2-2c  The initiation of such arm stroke shall be accomplished by a discernible horizontal separation of the hands Streamline position

Form of Individual Events Rule 8-2-2c  The initiation of such arm stroke shall be accomplished by a discernible horizontal separation of the hands Discernible horizontal separation

Managing Diving Competition Rule  In championship meets or meets conducted under championship format, the order of divers, as determined by the meet director, shall be by: Lot OR Seeding based on diver’s best competitive 11 dive score  Should the meet director take no action the default method for determining the order of diving shall be by lot

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations Swimming and Diving Major Editorial Changes

Uniforms 3-3-3c  In regard to swim suit construction, suits with a FINA mark and or individual bar code shall be legal for NFHS competition

Diving Approach Rule ... The diver may use additional steps, hops, leaps and or jumps during the initial steps and before the culminating hurdle A leap could occur between the initial second and third steps of the dives

Take Part. Get Set For Life.™ National Federation of State High School Associations Swimming and Diving Points of Emphasis

Shaving Onsite Prohibited Rule  Shaving onsite is prohibited  Sports Hygiene Concern spreading of communicable diseases Sharing of razors Cuts and bleeding with failure to follow the appropriate procedures to clean affected area  Coaches must take initiative to educate athletes of the rule and enforce at practice and at all competitions

Suits with FINA Barcode  Suits displaying FINA mark/barcode meet or exceed all NFHS construction and design requirements in Rule  FINA mark is not required but when observed by officials they will know suit meets construction requirements unless altered  Suits approved by FINA at any time during the year are eligible for use in high school competition and do not have to be approved by beginning of school year

Relay Team Attire may be Adjusted to Become Legal  Should relay team member two, three or four be in violation of uniform and/or jewelry rule(s) the meet officials may: Let the swimmer who has not swum be aware of the violation and he/she can make adjustment to become legal Must do so before entering water and without delaying the meet

Relay Team Attire may be Adjusted to Become Legal  Preventive officiating can many times allow a competitor to make adjustments in attire to become legal without delaying the competition  Ultimate responsibility for being in legal attire remains with the coach and individual athlete

Scoring – Triangular Meets Rule 7-1-2f  f. triangular meets with two or more entries per team per event: scoring shall follow 7-1-3a and 7-1-3b; only two relay entries per team shall be scored.

Scoring – Triangular Meets Rule 7-1-3b  ART In championship and other multiple team meet scoring, including  triangular meets, points are awarded for places as follows:  a. Individual Events  Places 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th18th19th20th             b. For all relays, double the individual points possible for that place.

Starts and Finishes Rules 2-7-8,  In the finishing of races a swimmer must touch the pad or end wall between the lane lines where touch pad should be located  Touch pads need to be in the proper position  Rule Pads for automatic timing shall be centered in the lanes Recommend that the touch pads cover the entire width of the lane

Starts and Finishes – Backstroke Rules 8-1-7, 8-2-1g  Backstroke Finishes Swimmer must touch the pad or the finish end by any part of the body If swimmer misses the wall by going over the top of the gutter it is not a completed finish

Starts and Finishes – Backstroke Rules 8-1-7, 8-2-1g  With what part of the body will this swimmer most likely touch the finish pad?

Timing – Pad Malfunction Rules 4-8-3, 6-3-4,  What is a pad malfunction? Could be considered if the following occurs: Time difference between the pad time and the back up time of more than 0.3 seconds (plus or minus) An observed soft touch by the head timer or timing system operator Pad misplaced or not properly located on the wall

Starts and Finishes Rule  What constitutes a pad surface? The entire pad is live Front surface of the pad The top of the pad The wall surface between the lanes if the pad does not extend to cover the entire wall between lane lines

Meet Committee Rule  When to call the meet committee and what is its responsibility? Meet committee is only called when: Some situation is not specifically covered in the rules Misapplication of a rule during a meet Judgment calls are NOT subject to review by this committee  Decision of the meet committee is final

NFHS Swimming and Diving Publications  The Rules Book, Scorebook and other swimming and diving materials can be ordered: online at by calling

Swimming and Diving Officials’ Guidelines Manuals  The revised manuals are available August 1 on the following Web site locations: diving.arbitersports.com /front/105415/Site

New Courses at nfhslearn.com! Creating a Safe and Respectful Environment Addresses hazing, bullying and cyber bullying, inappropriate relationships and social media Strength and Conditioning Content from NSCA, designed to educate coaches to how to properly train students A Guide to Acclimitization and Heat Illness Prevention Available now at FREE!

-Visit the NCHSAA website often -Coaches sign the coaches’ clinic attendance sheet to receive credit for attendance and to avoid $400 fine for your school; -Officials sign the officials’ attendance sheet to receive credit for this state clinic. Have a Great Season!