Thanks to everyone involved in the Ft. Lauderdale Nationals. I had a great time and met some exceptional people. I especially want to thank Doug Malcolm for the competition in the adjacent lane. It looks like (from USMS data) you have not competed for quite a while and had a great meet! I had not competed for over 20 years when I entered the 2001 Nat's at Santa Clara and have done pretty well for the past few years. Doug exemplifies what our sport should be all about; a true competitor who brings out the best in someone like me who may not have accomplished the standards acheived in Ft. Lauderdale without someone like him next to me. I never got a chance to thank you so I am doing so now. Keep up the good work!
I would also like to congradulate John Blank for being the first male competitor over 45 to break one minute in the 100 yard breaststroke; a great accomplishment! I have never broken a minute in that event and am full of envy.
Lee Rider
Originally posted by matysekj
A team with 1,000 registered swimmers that only brought 13 swimmers to the meet could earn an award in the small team category. A team that large is hardly a "small team" and should not be rewarded arbitrarily for such a small turnout (unless these 13 swimmers really placed in the top ten overall team points).
That attitude would tend to penalize teams that encourage new swimmers and triathletes to sign up (for practices, maybe not meets), and reward overly competitive (selective) teams.
I hear what people are saying about the team designations, but I still kinda enjoyed it. You didn't know a priori where the team divisions were (or often how many people from your own team signed up) until the results were in. Unless your team was clearly the largest or smallest, your team could easily be at the top *or* bottom of a "team" category.
Originally posted by matysekj
A team with 1,000 registered swimmers that only brought 13 swimmers to the meet could earn an award in the small team category. A team that large is hardly a "small team" and should not be rewarded arbitrarily for such a small turnout (unless these 13 swimmers really placed in the top ten overall team points).
That attitude would tend to penalize teams that encourage new swimmers and triathletes to sign up (for practices, maybe not meets), and reward overly competitive (selective) teams.
I hear what people are saying about the team designations, but I still kinda enjoyed it. You didn't know a priori where the team divisions were (or often how many people from your own team signed up) until the results were in. Unless your team was clearly the largest or smallest, your team could easily be at the top *or* bottom of a "team" category.
