Participants will be allowed to scratch from a preliminary competition event without penalty, if the scratch is delivered to the meet referee prior to the event being called by the referee. An individual may enter a maximum of four events, no more than two of which may be individual events. Qualifying times shall be achieved in competition on or after the earliest date of the first meet of the season. Swimmers not swimming qualifying times at regional meets in either preliminary or final competition will not advance to the state meet. Swimmers not achieving the regional qualifying standard in the finals will not score in that event.
Women compete first, followed by the men, in each event.
The order is as listed. In regional competition there will be preliminary and final competition for all events, except the 500 freestyle, which will be competed as a timed final event. Coaches must verify the top 16 times at the coaches meeting. No additional time breaks will be scheduled as a result of events not being swum in morning preliminaries. Regional team champion and runner-up team plaques, plus awards for the top three individual finishers in each event, will be given.