Per the Michigan Swimming Rules and Procedures, the following shall be followed at any Michigan Swimming sanctioned/approved competition. The host club is required to post these guidelines in various, highly-visible locations around the pool deck.

1. A designated supervisor shall be on deck during the entire warm up period.

2. Swimmers shall enter the water feet first except for starts which are limited to specified lanes.

3. Specify Lanes 2 and 5 (six lane pool) or Lanes 2 and 7 (eight lane pool) as one way sprint lanes with racing starts permitted at the starting end of the pool.

4. Place a cone marker or similar sign on starting platforms in lanes not specified as one way sprint lanes.

5. Specify all lanes for circle swimming (two lengths of the pool beginning at the starting end of the pool until such time as one way sprints begin).

6. If pace lanes are used, specify outside lanes as pace lanes (swimmers swim one or two lengths from an in water push-off position from the starting end of the pool).

7. May specify lanes for relay practice during the last 15 minutes of the warm up.

8. Coaches should stand at the starting end of the pool and verbally start swimmers for sprint or pace work.

9. Swimmers should not be allowed on a starting platform when a backstroker is executing a start in the same sprint lane.

10. Swimmers shall not swim in the area where the diving warm up (if any) is occurring.

11. In facilities that have a warm up and/or warm up area different from the competition pool, meet management shall provide supervision pursuant to these rules at all times.

12. The Meet Referee may remove a swimmer, a coach and/or the entire team from the deck, events or the entire meet for violations of these guidelines.

Printable version of these guidelines for posting is available here.

Any violations must be immediately reported to the Operational Risk Chair, Dr. Melissa Millerick-May, at [email protected].