Inclement Weather and Virtual Meet Reminders
Inclement Weather and Virtual Meet Reminders
June 6, 2023
Teams,
As promised the unpredictable weather arrived in force on Tuesday night. Kudos the the hearty souls who got their meets in. Teams handled this for the most part pretty well, but I figured a couple of reminders about this never hurt. A quick synopsis of what needs to happen.
Care for everyone's safety should be the first concern before figuring out what to do with the meet. The home team should have a clear plan for how to get EVERYONE to safety, even if that means returning to their cars. Having people remain on the deck on in an open area during a heavy thunderstorm is not a great plan.
Teams should communicate days in advance about their plans for bad weather, especially the evacuation plan of the home team. That plan in turn should be communicated to the team in advance of the meet, so it is not a mad scramble in the event of a pop up storm.
Teams should have the conversation days before the meet about how long they are willing to wait for the weather to clear.
If the two teams do not align on how long they are willing to wait the rule book specifies the delay after a 30 minute stoppage can be extended another 15 minutes at which point teams have the choice to do the following:
Call the meet based on the score if enough events are completed and one team leads by enough points with the team in the lead getting the win.
Reschedule the meet.
Complete the meet virtually (see more info below on how to do that)
Call the meet a "weather tie" and both teams are credited a win.
If you do reschedule, please try to avoid rescheduling for Tuesday or Thursday nights, as it is a challenge to get officials for a regular meet night.
Try to get your existing ref to return to cover the rescheduled meet if at all possible.
Several teams already have chosen the virtual option to handle the bad weather, for Swimtopia Help on how to manage that please refer to the following help articles from Swimtopia.
For a full review of ASA rules regarding bad weather please see chapter and verse from the rule book below what the options are.
CANCELLATION / POSTPONEMENT OF MEETS: Every effort must be made to swim each meet as scheduled. In the event of inclement weather, each team must show up at the pool on time. If at 5:30 the weather still precludes the meet from starting, the two team representatives, two head coaches, and starter/referee will meet and decide whether to postpone or reschedule the meet. Care for the safety of the swimmers and spectators should be of the utmost importance in deciding whether or not to continue competition.
Teams should adhere to generally accepted aquatic safetly policies for thunder and/or lightning. No one should be in the pool for a minimum of 30 minutes when lightning is seen or thunder is heard. The clock resets each time either lightning or thunder occurs. Teams should also take any active weather Warning (tornado, severe thunderstorm or flash flood) with the utmost seriousness and take that into consideration as to how to proceed.
IF the meet is delayed more than 30 minutes due to Inclement Weather AND half the events have been completed (43 events for a standard ASA meet 38 events for an ASA DeKalb meet) AND there is a decisive winner (40 point lead or more), THEN, the meet will be called and the leader takes the win.
IF the meet is delayed more than 30 minutes due to Inclement Weather AND less than half the events have been completed (less than 43 events) OR if there is no decisive lead (less than a 40 point spread), THEN, one Parent Rep and one Coach from each team should:
Agree to continue the delay for an additional 15 minutes, OR
Agree to complete the remaining events virtually, OR
Agree to reschedule (if there is sufficient time remaining in the season), OR
Agree to a tie and both teams will be credited with a win.
If the meet is at or past Event 66 (end of 15-18 boys breastroke) and a team is ahead by 30 points or more and the meet can’t continue due to inclement weather that the meet will be called and the leader wins the meet.
NOTE: If no agreement can be reached, then the Parent Rep of the leading team makes the decision to either reschedule or take the tie. The option to continue the delay must be agreed to by both teams.
If a meet is to be rescheduled or completed virtually, teams should make all efforts possible to swim the meet within a week of the postponed meet. The home team should notify the league office of a rescheduled meet and the need, if any, for a replacement starter/referee. A rescheduled meet will require each team to repeat the original procedures for a dual meet, including the exchange of revised lineups for each team. This will require unlocking the meet in Meet Maestro and updating your entries in Meet Maestro for lineup exchange at an agreed upon time. Teams may change their lineups to deal with the rescheduled date. The postponed meet does not impact the participation of swimmers in the rescheduled meet.
Stay tuned later this week for a full recap, but I figured tonight serves as a good reminder on how to best deal with the unexpected.
Good Luck Thursday Teams (and everyone else finishing their Tuesday meets),
Franke Marsden
ASA
