May 18, 2019 Ms. Cathy Vaughan, Championship Coordinator Mr. John Lorimer, Time Standards Western Zone Swimming Re: 2019 WZ LC Age Group Championship Qualifying Times Ms. Vaughn and Mr. Lorimer, Using a database of 23 million USA-S age group swims, I found that the qualifying times for the 2018 and 2019 Western Zone LC Age Group Championships give significantly more opportunity to boys at the expense of girls, and to older athletes at the expense of younger ones.
My analysis of the meet cuts is available online at: http://www.swimtheory.com/home/003-qualifying-times/meets/wz2019l My detailed analysis of the 11-12 50 Free is available at: http://www.swimtheory.com/home/003-qualifying-times/meets/wz2019-50FR Using the same historical database, I compared the four zone LC age group championships in 2018. The comparison shows that the Central Zone, which uses "AAA" motivational times, has the fairest qualifying times. My analysis of the 2018 championships is also available online at: http://www.swimtheory.com/home/003-qualifying-times/003-007-zone-championships-are-unfair Based on these analyses, I respectfully recommend that the Western Zone LC age group championship consider using USA Swimming’s "AAA" motivational times for its qualifying times because they are vastly fairer than the current Western Zone qualifying times. Sincerely, @SwimTheorist CC: Western Zone Committee Members
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