The waiver essentially allows coaches, institutions and athletes to bypass NCAA Division III bylaws covering outside competition, athletically related activities, involvement of coaching staff, maximum dates of competition, and out-of-season athletically related activities through the Summer 2008 term. An incredibly broad waiver, it does not give Division III programs carte blanche to begin training year-round.
The waiver, intended to allow Division III athletes the opportunity to compete at and be coached up until the Toyota Grand Prix at Ohio State, permit Division III coaches to continue providing coaching instruction to qualifying student student-athletes between the conclusion of the upcoming Division III national championships and prior to the Ohio State meet (or any single LC meet that an athlete elects to participate in.) To qualify, the student athlete must achieve minimum time standards and cannot have participated in a long course meet during the 2007-08 season. The standard has been set at no more than one percent over the short course yard conversion times from the 2008 Olympic Trial cuts.
In addition to allowing Division III coaches to provide coaching through the qualifying meet, the waiver allows Division III coaches to continue providing coaching instruction to any student-athlete who qualifies for the Olympic Trials as a result of their participation in the long course qualifying meet along with the necessary expenses of transportation to the meet.
The waiver ultimately enables Division III programs the ability to prepare their athletes for Olympic trials. Previously these athletes were forced to train on their own, or at their own expense. At least two current Division III national champions are currently training outside of their college programs in order to prepare for the games. Lindsay Payne, a 2006 Williams graduate won seven individual titles with times that would have placed her in on the podium of the NCAA Division I meet. The breaststroker presently trains with Trojan Swim Club in Los Angeles. Conversely, rising Grove City sprinter Caleb Courage opted to take a year away from NCAA competition in order to train with the Mecklenburg Aquatic Club's center of excellence. In December Courage teamed with Doug Van Wie, Tim Liebold, and Michael Smit to win the 400 Free Relay at the ConocoPhilliips Short Course National Championships.
The waiver is applicable only for the 2007-08 academic year (through the 2008 summer term). Though broad, this is the second such blanket waiver granted. As a result the Division III Administrative Review Subcommittee will consider proposing a legislative exception specific for future Olympic Games.
Coaches considering using this waiver are directed to send an e-mail noting the names of the student-athletes who benefited from the blanket waiver to the NCAA staff (Kim Hubert at khubert@ncaa.org) no later than May 1, 2008. This information will help the membership determine if a legislative exception specific for the Olympic Games is warranted.
Minimum SCY Standard Needed to Qualify for Division III ARS Blanket Waiver
Women Event Men
23.22 50 Free 20.40
50.48 100 Free 44.97
1:48.92 200 Free 1:38.63
4:51.32 500 Free 4:27.84
10:04.62 1000 Free
1500 Free 15:29.41
55.65 100 Back 48.90
1:59.44 200 Back 1:47.18
1:03.78 100 Breast 55.92
2:18.33 200 Breast 2:02.01
55.27 100 Fly 48.73
2:00.42 200 Fly 1:48.45
2:03.02 200 IM 1:50.26
4:21.79 400 IM 3:56.31