The NCAA Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Committee discussed rules, division championships and the future of NCAA swimming during its September 22-24 meeting in San Francisco.

During the full-committee portion of the meeting, the group heard several presentations from other swimming organizations. The committee noted that the USA Swimming nationals have been moved back one week from the Division I men's championships, thus allowing some of the swimmers to attend both meets.

The College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) reported on its updated Web site and commitment to offering more comprehensive information to its members. And after a presentation by Pat Lunsford, a top certified official and founder of the Our Kids Initiative (OKI) the committee agreed to support OKI, which aims to bring the sport's several rules-making bodies into closer alignment on key issues.

Division I issues

The committee also conducted division-specific sessions during the meeting. The Division I committee discussed the possibility of instituting regional qualifying meets as a way to increase access to the championships. The committee is researching ways to develop regional qualification meets that swimmers would attend to gain entry to the national championships. The committee remains committed to guaranteeing entry to those competitors who have achieved an "A" qualifying standard in bona fide competition during the qualifying period.

One possible format would guarantee winners in individual swimming events at each regional a slot in the national championships. Slots remaining after "A" qualifiers and regional champions have been selected would be filled on times achieved at the various regional competitions. A smaller percentage of slots would be filled on an at-large basis using times achieved during the qualifying period. The committee will seek input from the CSCAA and other constituencies.

To ensure that credentials are used appropriately during the championships, the committee voted to institute bracelet-style credentials instead of the usual hanging-style version. The bracelets will be difficult to remove and will be color-coded to identify the nature of the individual's duty and access to areas of the championships venue. Also, in an effort to manage the number of people with access to the deck, one credential will be designated specifically for a team's diving coach.

In other actions, the Division I committee:

Division II issues

In keeping with its knack for innovation in score reporting, the Division II committee discussed ways to expand its online score-reporting system. To ensure the integrity of the data, the committee will research ways to make the entire process electronic and allow coaches to download the top-times list each week to review for accuracy.

Regarding championships format, the committee switched the order of heats swum in the 1,000- and 1,650-yard freestyle events. Instead of letting women swim all heats first, from the slowest heat to the fastest with the men following in the same format, the new order will have both women and men alternating heats with the faster heats swum first in descending order. The fastest heat still will be swum during the night session. The committee hopes the new format will reduce the delay that the top swimmers had under the old format.

In other actions, the Division II committee:

Division III issues

Most of the discussion in Division III focused on the proposed legislation to modify the playing and practice seasons. Proposal No. 2-48 calls for a four-week reduction to the current practice/playing seasons. The committee expressed concerns with the proposal and will forward them to the Division III Management Council.

For the 2003 championships, the committee noted that the per diem has been increased from $60 to $65. Also, the committee is soliciting bids for the 2005 and 2006 championships. Interested hosts should contact Donnie Wagner (317/917-6222) at the national office for a bid packet.

In other actions, the committee: