Neptunes to host weekend swim meet

The Nevada Neptunes swim team will be holding their first major two-day meet this weekend.

The event will be held at Nevada Walton Park Pool, located at the corner of Atlantic and Ash and is expected to draw 300-500 swimmers from several different cities and towns. This meet, open to boys and girls age 5-18, is expected to bring in as many as 1,000-1,500 people in total. "We're expecting a real good turnout," said Mike McCaffree of the expected crowd.

The meet is scheduled as an A class timed final meet. Heats will be seeded according to registration times and swimmers without times will be seeded last. Some heats could be combined to save time at the discretion of meet officials.

Medals will be given to the top three finishers in each individual event, with each swimmer being allowed entry into a maximum of four individual events and one relay in each of the meet's two days. First place in relays will be given medals, with second and third receiving ribbons.

Fees for each entry are set at $2 per individual event and $5 per relay. Deck entries will be accepted where space is available, but are subject to doubled fees. The deadline for scratches and deck entries will be 8 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday. No refunds will be given for scratches, and organizers request that deck entries be limited to save time.

The meet is scheduled to start on Saturday, with warm ups at 7 a.m., a coaches meeting at 8:40, judges/officials meeting at 8:45 and competition beginning at 9. Sunday's schedule will follow the same format, with a church praise and worship service kicking off the day from 7:45-8:30 a.m., and competition starting at 10:30. Officials will be appointed by the Nevada Neptunes team and all conference and USA Swimming rules will be followed, including Tri-State Conference warm-up procedures.

This event is expected to bring in large numbers of people from many different areas, thus bringing lots of business to local places. "We're expecting to bring in a lot of business to resturants and hotels," McCaffree said. Anyone willing to help with set-up or officiating is urged to contact meet Director Monty Smith at (417) 667-2130 or (417) 667-5380 on the day of the meet.