Swim Meets (5): Swim-offs

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I have previously covered various elements of a Prelims/Finals meet in my earlier posts.  One final term I would like to introduce about a Prelims/Finals meet is the "Swim-off".   A swim-off is required to break a tie for certain swimmers who have finished the Prelims of an event with the same swim time for a certain seeding position.

Using an example of a SCY Prelims/Finals meet where the top 16 qualify for the A/B Finals, a swim-off would be required in the following scenarios:

a) After Prelims, two swimmers finished with the same swim time for the 8th position.  A swim-off is required to seed the faster swimmer as 8th (& hence qualifying for the A-Final) and the other as 9th (to be assigned to the B-Final)

b) After Prelims, two swimmers finished with the same time for the 16th position.  A swim-off is required to seed the faster swimmer as 16th (& hence qualifying for the B-Final) and the other as the first Alternate.

c) After Prelims, two swimmers finished with the same time for the 17th position.  A swim-off is required to seed the faster swimmer as the first alternate and the other as the second alternate.

d) After Prelims, two swimmers finished with the same time for the 18th position.  A swim-off is required to seed the faster swimmer as the second alternate.

When does the actual swim-off race happen?
It is set by the Meet Referee, but the official USA Swimming rule stipulates that a swim-off must be held "not more than 45 minutes after the last heat of any event in which any one of these swimmers is competing in that session" (2020 USA Swimming Rulebook, page 27).  If your swimmer is indeed involved in a swim-off, it is the swimmer's responsibility to become familiar with information pertaining to swim-offs, so make sure he/she is in constant contact with their coaches and/or meet organizers.

What happens when you get disqualified during swim-offs?
Even if a swimmer is disqualified during their swim-off race, the swimmer does NOT get eliminated "from eligibility to compete in the accompanying finals, or as an alternate"  (2020 USA Swimming Rulebook, page 27).
Using the earlier example (a) above (two 8th-place swimmers after Prelims), let's say one swimmer got disqualified (DQ'd) in the swim-off race.  The swimmer who finished the swim-off race legally will be seeded as 8th to qualify for the A-Final and the swimmer who got disqualified will be seeded as 9th to qualify for the B-Final.

Until next time, keep on cheering for your swimmers! 🏊🏊🏊

<Image source: Shutterstock Royalty-free stock photo ID 135929216>

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