Dear OMPA Swim Community,

The February 26, 2021 State of California, Dept. of Health Guidelines allow for full participation in the sport of swimming for workouts and competition.

The key guidelines for inter team competition from Contra Costa County are:

• Youth sports are allowed when they are always outdoors and part of childcare or an organized/supervised youth sports program with distancing and face coverings.
• Participation is limited to a stable cohort, that limits the risks of transmission.
• Multi-team competitions or tournaments are permitted in swimming in Contra Costa County following the rest of the State’s sports guidance.

All-in-all, this is great news for the 2021 OMPA swim season and our community-based league. We are working under the general guidance that these 3 main guidelines will be required thru the summer months.

The OMPA board has been working together to produce an OMPA League Meet Schedule which takes into consideration these guidelines and each swim club’s needs. Our primary objective is that every club may host and attend a swim meet with health and safety as a top priority for all swimmers and spectators.

The OMPA League Meet Schedule for 2021 has been approved and distributed to the league pools.  As expected, it looks different from past years.

1. The schedule is designed for each match up to complete within one week (Wednesday thru Saturday). This will allow each club to format a meet per their facilities requirements. In addition, the 7-day interval provides adequate time between meets if an outbreak occurs.
2. Each club has 5 or 6 meets. The OMPA league has 9 teams but only an even number of teams (8) can swim dual meets each week; therefore, one team each week must have a bye week. For a 6 meet schedule, that means 6 teams have a bye week and 3 teams do not.
3. The schedule is intended to set a commitment for in league dual meets, but it does not preclude teams from scheduling additional match ups in or out of league. 
4. Traditional invitationals are not on the schedule (e.g., Meadow Mini Meet, MVP Bottom’s Up, OPP Relays). Invitationals may be planned when conditions improve to allow for volunteers, and when facilities are prepared for additional capacity. Sleepy Hollow has announced it will not have Sleepy B in 2021.
5. The OMPA championship meet will be planned. Although it may not be as grand as past years, we will host an event that embraces the purpose and spirit of OMPA, which is 100% inclusion, opportunities to demonstrate team spirit, friendly competition, and recognition of achievement. OMPA has requested the Soda Aquatic center for Jul 29, 30, 31, Aug 1. More details to come.

In addition, a few changes have been made to the OMPA rules and regulations to give athletes opportunities to swim when sports participation is still limited. The temporary changes to the OMPA rules and regulations include:

1. Start date of clinics: Swim clinics may start on or after Monday, March 1, 2021. This will mark the first day of 2021 swim after the rest period. Section 1.01 (b).
2. The 15-hour rule that restricted the number of participation hours for each swimmer from the start of clinics in March (March 1, 2021) until the beginning of the summer programs has been waived. There is no restriction to the number of clinic hours per swim team swimmer. Section 1.01 (c).
3. New Age Group, 19&Up. If a swimmer was in their LAST year of eligibility in 2020, they will be granted one additional year of eligibility to swim in the 2021 OMPA league swim season and OMPA championship meet per the following requirements. This is a onetime provision.
   1. Meets and Events:  19&Up swimmers will participate in individual events. Relay events will not be added for the 19&Up age group.
   2. Eligibility: Swimmers in their LAST year of eligibility in 2020 who will be 19 years of age as of June 15, 2020 will swim in a new 19&Up age group. 19&Up swimmers must be declared by the first day of JUNE of the current competition season. 
   3. Points: 19&Up age group may score individual points in dual, tri and OMPA Championship swim meets. However, the points will not be counted in overall team points.

We are currently working on recommendations and protocols to follow when hosting swim meets. This intended to help volunteers, parents and swimmers with what expect at swim meets.

Your continued support of the OMPA is greatly appreciated and look forward to reuniting for a 65Th OMPA swim season.

Kind regards,

Richelle Serrano

2021 OMPA Board President