Yesterday, I made my reservations at the Outrigger Reef for the upcoming Nationals. Much to my surprise, I found that the "special rate" for the Standard Room on their web page was $7/night cheaper than that offered for the USMS Group Rate. So I booked online for the Special Rate.
When I then talked to the woman who handles Group Reservations, she said that she had just become aware of the issue and was thinking about extending the Special Rate to the USMS people. Duh!! Seems like she will like or not once the word gets out.
Thank you, Janet, for addressing my concern about the water temperature. It is nice weather that results in a pool with competition temperature without heating or cooling. In Florida, (and Pennsylvania in August) I have been in several outdoor pools that could use some cooling.
As for Gail's concern, I have two points:
First, while the rules may say the pools are identical, Gail's response will be shared by many others - the pools will not seem equal, either physically (effects of depth, tilted pool bottom) or psychologically (17' is a lot different to dive into or swim over than 7', and many of us like to 'psych' by visualizing each step of the race before we get to the blocks). I do not know if the rules actually address the issue of equivalence of pools that are shared in a single event. Rather, they probably specify requirements for sanctioning, records, and top ten (OK, I will check after I post this). Many very different pools can satisfy those requirements.
Second, turning at a wall where the depth is 17' is a lot different than turning at one that is 7' deep, because of the visual cues that are used to determine the distance to the wall. As I recall from Santa Clara, the warmups are crowded, and we will not know which pool we will swim in during that warmup. That will make getting a feel for the pools during the warmup more difficult. It would be easier if we knew in which pool our event would be held.
Thank you, Janet, for addressing my concern about the water temperature. It is nice weather that results in a pool with competition temperature without heating or cooling. In Florida, (and Pennsylvania in August) I have been in several outdoor pools that could use some cooling.
As for Gail's concern, I have two points:
First, while the rules may say the pools are identical, Gail's response will be shared by many others - the pools will not seem equal, either physically (effects of depth, tilted pool bottom) or psychologically (17' is a lot different to dive into or swim over than 7', and many of us like to 'psych' by visualizing each step of the race before we get to the blocks). I do not know if the rules actually address the issue of equivalence of pools that are shared in a single event. Rather, they probably specify requirements for sanctioning, records, and top ten (OK, I will check after I post this). Many very different pools can satisfy those requirements.
Second, turning at a wall where the depth is 17' is a lot different than turning at one that is 7' deep, because of the visual cues that are used to determine the distance to the wall. As I recall from Santa Clara, the warmups are crowded, and we will not know which pool we will swim in during that warmup. That will make getting a feel for the pools during the warmup more difficult. It would be easier if we knew in which pool our event would be held.
