About Central Maryland Swim League

General Information
Central Maryland Swim League is a summer swim league with 52 teams from all over Central Maryland. In CMSL, the 52 teams are divided into 9 divisions (division 1 being the better teams). Divisions 1 thru 7 have 6 teams each and Divisions 8 thru 9 have 5 teams each The teams in each division compete against each other in dual meets (Scoring: 1st place-5 points, 2nd place-3points, 3rd place-1 point), for 5 Saturdays in June & July. At the end of the season, there is a Division Championship in which each team within the division enters their top 3 swimmers per event. There is also an Invitational Meet (Straehle Invitational) in which all divisions compete. The swimmers have to meet minimum qualifying times to participate. This year there were 932 swimmers at this meet!

Frequently asked Questions about Rules:
General: All swimming meets shall be held in accordance with USS Rules pertaining to strokes, turns, starts, finishes and disqualification's unless otherwise modified by these rules. Any swimmer charged with two false starts will be disqualified.
Competitor Eligibility: The eligibility of a competitor to compete in an age group shall be determined by his age on May 30 of the current season, with the exception that swimmers in the 15-18 age group who attain age 18 on or after August 7 of the year prior to the current season (and not have entered college) be allowed to swim in the 15-18 age group.

Dual Meet Procedures:
Minimum Officials: In order to conduct a dual meet, the following officials will be required:
1) Starter/Referee: An impartial paid official who must be supplied by the League. The host team will pay for the official on the date of the meet. In the absence of a paid official, agreement must be reached by the two team representatives for a starter/referee.
2) Announcer: Provided by the host team.
3) Four scorers: Two from each team to work the table.
4) Timers: Each team will provide one timer for each lane. The home team will provide a third timer for the visiting teams lanes while the visiting team will provide a third timer for the home teams lanes. The head or backup timer's time will be used only when there is a watch malfunction by one of the three lane timers. Only three times will be recorded on the swimmers card. The head timer of the host team will re-assign timers during a race where there are more than two (2) watch malfunctions in order to provide, if possible, at least two (2) times for each lane.
5) Stroke and Turn Judge: The host and visiting team will each provide a Stroke and Turn Judge to assist the Referee in conducting the meet. Before the meet, the referee will establish the pool jurisdiction for each Stroke and Turn Judge.