Each member club in Potomac Valley has at least 2 copies of the PVS Policies and Procedures Manual, which contains all written policies and procedures that govern PVS programs and sanctioned meets.. The following are some of the more commonly used policies that may effect your swimmer.

USA Swimming rules and regulations provides "guidelines for officiating swimmers with disabilities" and any athletes who need any of these adaptations should provide the Referee prior to each session of competition with a note stating their name, their specific need, and a list of events in which they need assistance.

All PVS/USA Swimming registered coaches and officials who are required by USA Swimming to be registered USA Swimming members (Referee, Starter, Stroke & Turn Judge, Marshal, Meet Director) are required to wear their current USA Swimming membership credentials while participating in the conduct of PVS/USA Swimming competition. Any who do not abide by this policy will be asked to leave the area.

Athletes may enter a "championship" meet based on their performance at a "qualifying" meet that occurs after the entry deadline for the championship meet. The athlete must enter the championship meet through the qualifying meet director. They may enter only events for which they just qualified and they must use their new qualifying time to enter. No other entries are permitted. Every reasonable effort will be made to have them entered directly into the championship meet. If that is not possible, then these entries will be handled as late (deck) entries and they will be placed wherever they will fit without reseeding the event. If no empty lanes are available, the first heat will be split.

Any club that enters an unregistered athlete, falsifies an entry, or permits an unregistered coach to represent them in any PVS program will be fined $100 per occurrence and no further entries or applications for any PVS program will be accepted until the fine is paid.

Any entry received after the program generation process has begun will be accepted only with a $10 late fee for each entry. These entrants cannot place, score points, or cause an event to be re-seeded. No late entries are accepted for distance or championship (scored) meets. An athlete already entered in the meet may not scratch an event in order to late enter another.

An Official Verification Card (OVC) is the form used to certify a national qualifying time made by an athlete and issued by a verification official of the area in which the meet was held. As a rule, the verification official of one area (LSC) may not issue an OVC for a time swum in another area (LSC).

OVCs are not automatically issued. They must be requested by the athlete or by his or her representative. Requests for OVCs should be made at the completion of the event, since requests made after the meet may incur a handling charge of up to $5.00.

OVCs are only issued for the purpose of proving entry times which equal or better the qualifying standard for USA Swimming Championship level competitions. OVCs for "Relay Only" times which may be used to prove aggregate (add-up) relay entry times may also be requested, provided the time is within a reasonable deviation of the comparable individual event qualifying time. All times entered for USA Swimming Trials, Nationals, Juniors and US Open Championships must be proved by an OVC, unless the entry time was swum at the immediately preceding USA Swimming Championship level meet. OVCs may not be used for purposes other than entering USA Swimming Championship level meets.

In order for an OVC to be issued, the time must be swum in a sanctioned or an approved meet or as an observed swim. A sanctioned meet is one conducted by a USA Swimming organization in which all the participants are USA Swimming members. An approved meet is one conducted by a USA Swimming or a non-USA Swimming organization where not all participants are USA Swimming members, but all officials are USA Swimming and all USA Swimming Rules and Regulations are followed. Observed Swims occur at meets which are not conducted according to USA Swimming rules, provided that the meet is approved, in advance, for observation, and the particular swim is observed by USA Swimming officials, who confirm that USA Swimming technical swimming rules were followed. Approvals/Observations are not automatic. They must be requested and certain conditions must be met before they are granted. If you think you will make a National qualifying time in a non-USA Swimming meet, make sure that approval/observation has been requested and the conditions for approval met.

For further information on OVCs please see Appendix 2-A of the USA Swimming Rules and Regulations.

Positive Check-in requires the swimmers to verify their presence and intent to swim each event they wish to swim. Before the meet begins, alphabetical listings of all swimmers entered in each event in the session will be placed at an announced location. The swimmers must initial beside their name to confirm that they will be swimming in the event(s) listed for them. At the time stated in the meet announcement, the positive check-in for those events will be closed. Check-in sheets will be collected and the event will then be seeded. Only those swimmers who have checked-in will be seeded and allowed to swim. Heat and lane assignments will be posted. It is the swimmer's responsibility to check-in and to get their assigned lane.

PVS sanctions time trials when they are included in the meet announcement as an integral part of the meet or when they are processed through the sanctioning process far enough in advance that any club that desires to participate may have the opportunity to do so. A minimum of 2 weeks advance notice to each club is required. Time trials are held after finals; they are only for those athletes entered in the meet, and they are swum in the following order: events contested that day; followed by those events remaining to be contested; followed by those events already contested. Athletes will be permitted 1 time trial per session scheduled provided that this does not cause them to exceed the daily event participation limitation. The fee is $5 per athlete per event. No time trial result is acceptable for qualification or records unless the time trial is sanctioned.

PVS will make its electronic timing and starting systems available to responsible local programs. Organizations that request use of this equipment will provide the manpower to install and remove the equipment, provide reasonable care, and assume responsibility for loss or damage. Organizations should request use of equipment as far in advance as is possible. When scheduling conflicts arise, the following factors will be considered: PVS associate members are given preference, organizations using PVS certified equipment operators will be given preference, past history in caring for equipment, reciprocity agreements, PVS swimmers entered in the meet, and date of the request. A fee established by the PVS Board is charged for use of the equipment. Scheduled PVS meets always take precedence over any request for use of the equipment.

All meet entry times are subject to verification. Athletes not achieving the event qualifying time may be asked to prove their entry time. If they are unable to do, the club will incur a $100 fine per occurrence, and no further entries nor applications for any PVS program will be accepted until the fine is paid. Official meet results from sanctioned or approved USA Swimming meets are the only acceptable proof of time.

Potomac Valley Swimming endorses two specific warm-up formats, Assigned warm-ups and Open warm-ups. Assigned warm-ups are those where teams are assigned to specific lanes, for specified periods of time, in proportion to the number of their entries. Open warm-ups are those where there are no team lane assignments and lanes are designated for a specific activity for a specified period of time. The Assigned warm-up format is the preferred format and will be used whenever possible.

All warm-up periods shall be supervised by the appointed marshals. Coaches shall not permit their athletes to enter the pool until the marshals have declared the pool open for warm-up. No entry is permitted across lanes, from the pool side, or from the non-start end of the pool, under any circumstances.

Marshals shall clear the lane of all swimmers before opening the lane for sprinting. All sprint lanes are one-way only and the swimmer must exit at the opposite end of the pool. When separate warm-up facilities are used, they must be controlled as outlined above.

During ASSIGNED warm-ups, each team may conduct their own warm-up routine provided that a team certified USA Swimming coach is stationed at the starting block of each lane assigned to the team, and that coach assumes the duties of a Marshal in supervising the warm-up in that lane.

During OPEN warm-ups, periods are divided between general and specific programs. The first 30 minutes of warm-up will be dedicated to general warm-up. During the general warm-up, no pace work or sprinting will be permitted. During the specific warm-up, outside lanes will be designated as pace lanes and next two lanes will be opened for sprinting. The use of kickboards, hand paddles, and similar training devices, is not permitted in open warm-ups.

The Meet Director or Referee may modify the schedule or lane assignments depending on the pool configuration, the number of swimmers, the availability of separate warm-up facilities, etc., as long as USA Swimming and PVS safety considerations are not compromised. All such changes must be announced and posted throughout the meet venue.

Athletes who act in a manner that is injurious to themselves or others will be disqualified from their next event.

Proposals to establish or revise PVS policy or procedure may originate with any USA Swimming member of PVS. Proposals must be made in writing (unless arising directly from a meeting of the Board or House of Delegates) and should be forwarded to the PVS Administrative Office to be placed on the agenda for consideration. The Board or House may refer to committee, establish an ad hoc committee for further study, or act upon the proposal as presented. Upon adoption, new or revised policy or procedure will be promulgated as updates to the PVS Policy and Procedures Manual.