The Divisions I, II and III Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Committees discussed how NCAA off-season restrictions affect college swimmers training for national and international competition at their annual meetings July 25-27 in San Diego.

Discussion included presentations from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America and USA Swimming, whose representatives believe current NCAA rules unnecessarily restrict college swimmers and divers in their developmental pursuits.

Among ideas discussed was the concept of tying the amount of time student-athletes spend on training to their grade-point average. In other words, student-athletes who meet a prescribed academic benchmark could exceed restrictions in the 20/8-hour rule for in-season and off-season training. Supporters of such thinking believe swimming is unique in the way participants must train to reach peak performance. They say that the eight-hour maximum in the off-season in particular is too much of a drop-off in routine, which compromises participants’ competitive pursuits.

They also note the sport’s academic success — swimming and diving ranks highly in the new Academic Progress Rate — and the notion that individuals in the sport are disciplined enough to maintain their academic standing while devoting more time to training.

Mark Schubert, formerly a collegiate coach who now heads the U.S. national team, told committee members he believes there is a "crisis" in postseason training. He said student-athletes are using the NCAA training restrictions to take time off from the sport, which he believes is detrimental to the student-athlete and in many cases to the student-athlete’s club program.

John Lyons, committee chair and associate athletics director at La Salle University, said while the committee understood the seriousness of the issue, members believe the matter extends beyond the group’s purview.

"This is an ongoing discussion about the amount of time necessary for swimmers to achieve their performance goals — some people believe the current rules restrict national and international aspirations," Lyons said. "While it’s a legitimate issue, our committee is charged with administering the championships meets and determining playing rules, not with addressing NCAA playing- and practice-season issues."

The discussion emanated from previous talks among members of a joint NCAA-USOC task force about the idea of tailoring rules to individual sports. Such a concept has yet to make its way into the NCAA governance structure, however.

Schubert also talked to the committee about extending the qualifying period for NCAA championships. The current qualification window is from September 1, 2006, to February 28, 2007, but Schubert said that accepting qualification times from the entire previous year would enhance the quality of the NCAA meets since athletes would not have to taper for conference meets to qualify for the NCAA championships.

The committee agreed to discuss the idea further.

Last-chance meets

Committee members also discussed policies regarding last-chance meets. Division I, which has experienced as many as 25 last-chance meets in recent years, voted to maintain the meets but to certify only five for each gender beginning in 2008. The five meets per gender will be staged in the zones currently established for diving and will be held on the last weekend of the respective qualifying periods (two-day maximum — Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday). Sites will be selected through an application process.

The committee eliminated the four-team participation requirement for Division I meets but specified that Division I teams could qualify only at Division I meets (previously, Division I teams could qualify at Divisions II and III last-chance meets as well). However, Divisions II and III teams are welcome to participate in Division I meets.

Certified officials are required at the meets and relay takeoff pads must be used for relay qualification. Only approved formats may be used. Teams also may compete at sites outside their zones.

Lyons said annual survey results indicated a desire from the greater membership to eliminate last-chance meets, but Division I coaches reacted against that idea at this year’s coaches convention.

"This issue comes up every year, and it tends to be an emotional discussion," Lyons said. "The range of opinion spans from those who would eliminate the events to those who would loosen even the current restrictions. I’ve been on the committee for four years, and I’m 4-for-4 on last-chance meets as an agenda item."

Division III committee members also addressed last-chance meets and decided to remove the two-day restriction (though the meets still must follow the event-order and format requirements) and require four certified officials at the meets instead of two.

In other Division I-specific actions, committee members approved a change in diving to allow competitors finishing in ninth through 16th places to compete in a consolation finals. Previously, those place-finishers did not advance to the finals competition in the evening and were ranked only on their preliminary-round performances. Now, those divers will compete immediately after the preliminary round for final standing, while the top eight divers will advance to the evening session.

Division I committee members also recommended Skip Foster, assistant to the athletics director at the University of Florida, as chair of the group, replacing Lyons when his term as chair ends in September.

Divisions II and III issues

In separate meetings to discuss division-specific issues, the Division II committee urged future championship hosts to acquire relay takeoff pads for competition. Though they are not required, committee members agreed that the takeoff pads are preferred if available.

Division II committee members also agreed that the women will compete first in each event at the combined championships. The committee believes the format builds excitement through the meet as the times in each heat get faster. The rotation will continue for the diving part of the championship as well.

In other actions, the Division II committee:

The Division III committee worked on a survey to distribute to the Division III membership regarding a possible concurrent meet beginning in 2009. The committee plans to solicit administrators and coaches by October 16 and ask for an October 31 return. Committee members not only want to know if the membership favors a combined championships, but also whether a three- or four-day format should be adopted if the concurrent meet occurs.

The 2007 championships are March 8-10 (women) and March 15-17 (men) at the University of Houston’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority will join the university in hosting the meets.

The committee agreed to solicit bids for the 2008 championships this fall.

The Division III committee also reviewed diving policies and continued to discuss whether three-judge panels (rather than two-judge panels) should be a prerequisite for qualification. Committee members agreed to maintain the video/DVD method of submission but will require tapes to be submitted earlier than in the past, simply to allow more time for the master tape to be compiled. The committee noted that coaches won’t be precluded from submitting an alternate tape in case a diver records a better performance later in the year, but the goal is to collect a greater number of qualifying submissions earlier in the process. Members emphasized that the diving selection committee will not review any dive before the master tape is compiled.

Committee members also voted to require 11 dives to qualify for the women’s one-meter event. Previously, divers could choose to perform either 10 or 11 dives for qualification purposes. The change unifies the number of dives for both men and women on the one- and three-meter boards.

The committee also revisited the issue of deck passes at the championships and agreed that the official traveling party will not be charged. However, institutional personnel not in the traveling party must purchase an all-sessions pass to the meet and then pay a $5 fee to receive a deck pass.

In other action, the Division III committee: