New CIF Rule Change

4/11/22

At the start of the 2022, CIF Southern Section will now require electronic timing equipment be used in a meet to verify qualifying times. Previous to this rule change, teams were allowed to use three stopwatches to show officials that a swimmer attained an automatic or consideration time for the CIF swim meet. This provided all athletes an opportunity at any meet they swam in to qualify for CIF. With this rule change, swimmers in the Del Rio League will only have one chance to qualify for CIF...League Finals.

It is this situation that causes such a disparity in favor of athletes from wealthier areas, because they can either afford the Colorado Timing Equipment or the fees for invitationals.

Fortunately for the Dons, the electronic timing system is included in the budget for the new pool. Swimmers at the Ranch will only suffer from this disparity for two more seasons. After that, not only will the Dons be able to qualify during any home meet, but we will be able to host our own invitationals, which will double as fundraisers for the team. And for that, we are grateful for all the hard work being done by team stakeholders, the El Rancho Unified School District, and the El Rancho USD School Board.