YMCA of the USA Competitive Swimming and Diving Fo: December 1st Age Rule

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    Hello,

My husband and I have been involved (coaching & officiating) for many years now, but up until this year it was with USA swimming teams only.  This year however, we are working with a USA/YMCA team in Illinois.

My question is this, Illinois seems to be one of the very few states that still keeps the "December 1st" age rule for swimmers ages at meets.  What is the benefit of this rule? It seems more fair to swim the age as of the meet.

Just wondering if we are overlooking something and would like to understand the reasoning better.

Thank you for your help!

Edited by Officialyofical - Mar/12/2013 at 9:29pm

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Officialyofical New Member Joined: Mar/03/2013 Posts: 1	Topic: December 1st Age Rule Posted: Mar/03/2013 at 10:12pm
	Hello, My husband and I have been involved (coaching & officiating) for many years now, but up until this year it was with USA swimming teams only. This year however, we are working with a USA/YMCA team in Illinois. My question is this, Illinois seems to be one of the very few states that still keeps the "December 1st" age rule for swimmers ages at meets. What is the benefit of this rule? It seems more fair to swim the age as of the meet. Just wondering if we are overlooking something and would like to understand the reasoning better. Thank you for your help! Edited by Officialyofical - Mar/12/2013 at 9:29pm

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Ed Miller Moderator Group Moderator - Officials Joined: Apr/29/2006 Location: United States Posts: 168	Posted: Mar/31/2013 at 6:58pm
	The seemingly arbitrary use of December 1st as the age date in your YMCA swim league stems from the extensive dual meet program that most YMCAs follow. Dual meets generally start on November 1st and run through the end of January. It would be very difficult to keep shifting the dual meet teams every time a swimmer had a birthday during the dual meet season, thus the various YMCA swim leagues settled on specific dates which worked best for their league. Those dates do vary from state to state, based on what works best for the particular league. Ed Miller YMCA National Officials Committee
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