Mississippi High School Activities Association The place for high school sports in Mississippi 2020-21 Swimming
Note: This is not an exhaustive list and there might be additional steps in each community to help prevent the spread of virus. Even when taking all precautions, there will still be risk of transmitting illnesses. Everyone should stay vigilant about the health of members of their teams. These guidelines are to be integrated with the NFHS guidelines and the MHSAA Mississippi Sports Medicine guidelines. The situation with Covid-19 is rapidly changing. Please keep up with the latest from the CDC and the Mississippi Department of Health.
On Site Considerations
- No mask no entry
- Post social distancing signs
- Provide hand sanitizing stations
- On duty personnel, concessions, and restroom attendant wear mask/gloves
- Each swimmer should bring their own towels, water bottle etc.
- Encourage athletes not to “high-five”, fist bump, etc.
- Attendance policy & quarantine procedure will be determined before team competition begins and at the appropriate time
- Swimming Rules
Conduct (1-3-2) – Require athletes to arrive at venue already in competitive attire or provide alternative accommodations for swimmers and divers to change that allows for 6 feet of social distancing.
Lap Counting (2-7-6, 3-4) – Only one person per lane should be permitted at turning end. Provide hand
sanitizer and require lap counters to clean hands and wipe down devices.
Pre-Meet Conference (3-3-6, 4-2-1d) – Decrease number of participants or hold one conference with
coaches and one meeting with captains. The referee can use P.A. system or starting system microphone to
allow participants to hear but keep them properly separated.
Referee and Starter (4-2, 4-3) – Various rules require interactions between officials, coaches and athletes. Alternative methods for of communications include utilization of the P.A. system, hand signals or written communication.
Notification of Disqualification (4-2-2d, e) – Notification shall occur from a distance via use
of hand signals or the P.A. system.
Meet Officials (4-8, 4-10, 4-11, 4-12, 4-13) – Officials responsible for information processing are often
located together at a desk/table adjacent to the competition course or in an office/remote location.
Develop alternative methods for submitting entries (3-2) and movement of non-electronic information. Require a distance of 3-6 feet between individuals seated at the desk/table.
Timers (4-9) – Timers must assemble at the finish of each race, at the edge of the pool within the 6-8 feet confines of the lane which they are timing. Timers should wear cloth facial coverings.
Submission of Entries to Referee (5-2) – Alternative forms of entry submission can be designed to reduce face-to-face interaction when submitting a proper entry, where/how/to whom entries are submitted, and a reduction or elimination of certain penalties currently attached to improper entries.
Relay Takeoff Judges and Relays (8-3) – Require all takeoff judging from the sides of the pool. Space relay
swimmers apart from one another. Timers and relay takeoff judges should wear cloth facial coverings.
2. General Considerations
Swimming Warm-up Areas – Establish multiple sessions for warm-up periods to limit number of swimmers
per lane. Restrict the number of swimmers in competition area. Limit number of swimmers per lane
during warm-up and warm-down periods.
Teams Seating and Lane Placement – Keep the teams on opposite sides of the pool and require the home team to compete in lanes 1-3 and visitors to swim in lanes 4-6.
Preparing Athletes for Competition – Athlete clerking areas should be eliminated.
Meets—4 team maximum during the week; 10 team maximum on the weekend
