Hi everyone,

Here is the summary of the 2010 Synchro Canada rule changes for the 2010/2011 season.

PASSED

1. Remove all reference to tiers from the rule book
   
2. Events at COSSC
   Senior FINA
   Solo tech/free, Duet tech/free, Team tech/free, Junior FINA figures, solo, duet, team
   AG 16 - 18
   Figures, solo, duet, team, AND Combo (one event open to Senior FINA, Junior FINA, AG 16 - 18)
   Events at Espoir
   AG 13 - 15
   figures, solo, duet, team, combo
   
3. New definition of team - Team: means a group of at least four competitors but no more than eight for Senior FINA, Junior FINA, Age Group 16 - 18, Age Group 13 - 15, Age Group 12 & under, Age Group 10 & under and not more than ten for Masters.
   
4. Exception to team age - An athlete may swim up one (1) age category in team.  That athlete will compete in the figure competition of the age category of the team on which they are swimming.  An athlete swimming up one age category for team but also entering solo and/or duet in their own age category must also swim the correct age group figures for their solo and/or duet.  Note - a 16 - 18 athlete swimming AG 16 -18 for solo and duet but swimming on a Junior FINA team must compete in both AG 16 - 18 figures and Junior FINA figures.
   
5. Exception to team age - Age Group 16 - 18 - A team in Age Group 16 - 18 may have athletes nineteen years of age or older as members but the team age must average to less than but not equal to 18.500 (including alternates) This exception will be in place for the 2010-2011 season only. Those older age athletes will compete in AG 16 - 18 figures but there will be no ranking or awards issued.
   
6. Quotas - remain the same except the Age Group 16 - 18 quotas qualify for COSSC instead of Espoir.
7. Age Categories:
   Age Group 10 & under    1 to 10
   Age Group 12 & under    1 to 12
   Age Group 13 - 15        13 - 15
   Age Group 16 - 18        16 - 18
   Junior FINA            15 - 18
   Senior FINA             15 and over
   
8. Time Limits for routines:
   Age Group 10 & under - solo, duet, team TO BE DETERMINED
   Age Group 12 & under - 2:00 solo, 2:30 duet, 3:00 team, 3:30 combo
   Age Group 13 - 15 - 2:30 solo, 3:00 duet, 3:30 team, 4:00 combo
   Age Group 16 - 18 - 3:00 solo, 3:30 duet, 4:00 team, 4:30 combo
   Junior FINA - 3:00 solo, 3:30 duet, 4:00 team, 4:30 combo
   Senior FINA - 2:00 tech solo, 3:00 free solo, 2:20 tech duet, 3:30 free duet, 2:50 tech team, 4:00 free team, 4:30 combo
   
9. No required elements in routines except for Senior FINA tech routines.
   
10. In Junior FINA and Age Group 16 - 18 the athletes will be separated into two different figure events and will compete different optional figure groups.
    
11. In all figure categories the degree of difficulty assigned to the figure will be used.
    
12. Figures - Age Group 10 & under - TO BE DETERMINED.  All other age groups will use the appropriate FINA Age Group figures.
    
    AGE GROUP 12 & UNDER
    Compulsory:       
    101 Ballet Leg Single 1.6
    360 Walkover, Front 2.1
    
    Optional Group 1:   
    321 Somersub 2.0
    315 Kipnus 1.6
    
    Optional Group 2:
    355 Porpoise 1.9
    401 Swordfish 2.0
    
    Optional Group 3:
    344 Neptunus 1.8
    301 Barracuda 2.0
    
    AGE GROUP 13 – 15
    Compulsory:       
    420 Walkover Back 2.0
    355e Porpoise Spinning 360 2.1
    
    Optional Group 1:   
    342 Heron 2.1
    311a Kip Half Twist 2.2
    
    Optional Group 2:   
    240 Albatross 2.2
    345 Catalina Reverse 2.1
    
    Optional Group 3:   
    301d Barracuda Spinning 180 2.1
    140 Flamingo Bent Knee 2.4
    
    AGE GROUP 16 - 18/JUNIOR FINA
    Compulsory:       
    313 Kip Split Closing 180 2.5
    112f Ibis Continuous Spin 720 2.8
    
    Optional Group 1:   
    336 Gaviata Open 180 2.8
    436 Cyclone 2.7
    
    Optional Group 2:   
    355b Porpoise Full Twist 2.5
    150 Knight 3.1
    
    Optional Group 3:   
    307 Flying Fish 3.0
    115c Catalina Twirl 2.8
    
13. Free Combination - new rules to align with FINA
    1. There shall be a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 10 members
    2. The start of the routine may be on deck or in the water
    3. All of the following parts must start in the water
    4. A new part begins where the previous part ends
    5. At least two(2) parts must have fewer than three(3) swimmers and at least two (2) parts must have four(4) to ten(10) swimmers.
       
       Penalties:
       A one-point penalty per infraction shall apply to all of the parts in 4.4.1 (a,b,c,d,e)
       
14. Volume of sound - to align with FINA - A decibel (sound level) meter shall be used to monitor the sound level and ensure that no person shall be exposed to average sound levels exceeding 90 decibels or momentary peak sound levels exceeding 100 decibels.


15. The rule concerning the announcing of marks will be changed from “must” be announced to “may” be announced.

DEFEATED

1. The rule concerning the participants in the warm up pool was defeated.  It will be refereed to the Coaching Management Team for use in developing a “Coaches Code of Conduct.”
   
2. The rule concerning the draw for finals was defeated.  The draw for finals will remain a seeded draw.
   
3. Rule 5.1.1 concerning the hosting of National Events will be referred to the Synchro Canada AGM for further discussion (The Board of Directors of CASSA will designate the host region and ask for bids from that region for COSSC, Espoir, and Masters Nationals.)