NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Preseason Reminders

With the new playing season upon us, I would like to wish the entire membership the best of luck during the coming season.

The NCAA swimming and diving rules book was published on September 1, 2023, and is effective for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.

The items presented in this communication include reminders of key pre-season items and deadlines that may be applicable to you or your institution, as well as several highlights of rule changes from last year.

I look forward to working closely with the membership to continue to improve and elevate the sport of swimming and diving. If you have any questions throughout the year, or if you need to request an interpretation, please contact me via email at greg@swimdiverules.com or by phone at (973) 486-5501.

Listed below are key pre-season items and deadlines that may be applicable to you or your institution.

Deadlines
September 1: Deadline for host institutions to notify opponents that they are required to eliminate diving at home meets because of a facility that does not conform to minimum depth standards (Rule 6-1-3-c). Under these circumstances, diving must be eliminated from all home competitions during the current academic year, and no points will be awarded for diving events.

September 1: If an institution not having three-meter equipment does not wish to compete in three-meter events at away meets, it must notify each host institution at the time of contract or not later than Sept. 1 of that academic year (Rule 6-1-2-b). In this case, two one-meter events shall be held as prescribed in Rule 6-1-2-a.

September 1: If a host institution has no three-meter equipment available, it must notify all opponents of the facility limitations at the contracted time of the agreement, or not later than Sept. 1 of the academic year (Rule 6-1-2-c). In this case, two, one-meter events shall be held as prescribed in Rule 6-1-2-a.

Please Note: If the host institution fails to notify the visiting team as prescribed (by September 1) that it does not have a one-and/or three-meter facility, then the visiting team shall be awarded the maximum number of points any one team could score in both events had both events been held. The host institution shall receive no points for either the one-meter or three-meter events (Rule 6-1-2-d).

Additionally, the choice to not have divers or a diving program is an individual institutional decision but does not automatically eliminate the diving events when an institution travels to an away contest or at a conference championship meet. The events are still conducted for any institutions with divers entered.

Seven Days Prior to First Competition: Per rule 3.1.1.d.6, swimmers or divers with physical disabilities or with a need for a religious exception from the swimsuit rule may request a waiver for customization from the NCAA swimming and diving secretary-rules editor at least one week before the individual’s first competition.

Rules Reminders:
Listed below are several reminders for the rules that changed effective September 1, 2023.

The use of underwater cameras is permitted to confirm swimming infractions (stroke and turn violations) called by an official on deck;
Permit the use of tape, kinesiology tape, and compression sleeves to treat documented medical conditions, but not gain an advantage over the remainder of the field. This requires documentation from a physician or certified athletic trainer identifying the necessary placement of the support;
Clarified criteria for uniforms and swimsuits for swimmers and divers;
Established rules regarding the number of swim caps that may be used by swimmers and the permissible identifying marks that may appear on the cap;

NCAA Championships:

Division II Women & Men: March 12-15, 2025 (Indianapolis, IN)
Division III Women & Men: March 19-22, 2025 (Greensboro, NC)
Division I Women: March 19-22, 2025 (Federal Way, WA)
Division I Men: March 26-29, 2025 (Federal Way, WA)

Greg Lockard, secretary-rules editor
NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Rules Committee.

This email was sent to NCAA men’s and women’s swimming and diving conference commissioners and head coaches in all three divisions based on contact information in the NCAA Directory; as well as the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Rules Committee and selected NCAA staff members.