Today, the NCAA Division II Committee for Legislative Relief approved a blanket waiver to allow all Division II swimmers who have achieved an Olympic Trials cut to continue training with their college coaches through the duration of the Trials.

Normally, the NCAA rules are very strict on out-of-season workouts conducted by college coaches, allowing only two days per week of out-of-season practices (usually interpreted as weights or strength practices). However, this waiver will allow athletes who would normally have to find a different coach to train under from March to June to continue their normal practice regimen in the road to Omaha.

The waiver also allows college coaches to train their athletes who have not yet qualified for Trials from March 13 (the end of NCAA Championships) to May 1, as a last-chance measure for those student-athletes to try and make the Trials times. To qualify for that part of the waiver, swimmers must be within 1% of the Olympic Trials cut for events 200 meters/yards or longer and 2% for those 100 meters/yards or shorter.

See the full release printed below from NCAA.org:

DII Committee for Legislative Relief Approves Blanket Waiver for NCAA Bylaws 17.1.6.1.2.1-(e) (sports other than football) and 17.21.7 (out-of-season athletically related activities).

The NCAA Division II Committee for Legislative Relief approved a blanket waiver to allow Division II men’s and women’s swimming student-athletes who have achieved a 2016 United States (U.S.) Olympic Team Trials qualifying time to continue to receive coaching instruction from their collegiate coaches through the U.S. Olympic Trials, beginning June 26, 2016.

For student-athletes who have not achieved an Olympic Trials qualifying time by March 13, 2016, (the day following the conclusion of the 2016 NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships), the waiver permits Division II swimming coaches to continue providing coaching instruction from March 13, 2016, through events ending May 1, 2016.

To qualify for this portion of the waiver, a student-athlete must achieve a time within one percent for events 200 meters/yards or longer and two percent for events 100 meters/yards or shorter of either the long-course meters or short-course yards time standards for the 2015 Senior National Championships. This portion also allows an institution to provide a qualifying student-athlete with expenses to participate in a meet until May 1, 2016. In order for student-athletes to continue to be coached by his or her collegiate coach beyond May 1 during the academic year, student-athletes must achieve an Olympic Trials qualifying time no later than May 1.