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
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think there are two reasons for the team banners:
1) Swimmers are a competitive bunch, so trying to beat another team gets people frothing at the mouth.
2) Advertisement. A smallish team can mention that they placed at Nationals, in their recruitment literature.
So my preference for the old system (arbitrary large/medium/small categories) is because of (2). You want teams that don't normally bask in the lime-light to have a fighting chance to get a banner.
So if we stick with "top 10 teams" (for simplicity), I'm guessing that we don't want the same 10-15 teams to hog the banners. How about, if your team wins a banner this year, you can't win a banner next year. Or some other system that spreads the wealth a little. (Dunno, just thinking out loud.)
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think there are two reasons for the team banners:
1) Swimmers are a competitive bunch, so trying to beat another team gets people frothing at the mouth.
2) Advertisement. A smallish team can mention that they placed at Nationals, in their recruitment literature.
So my preference for the old system (arbitrary large/medium/small categories) is because of (2). You want teams that don't normally bask in the lime-light to have a fighting chance to get a banner.
So if we stick with "top 10 teams" (for simplicity), I'm guessing that we don't want the same 10-15 teams to hog the banners. How about, if your team wins a banner this year, you can't win a banner next year. Or some other system that spreads the wealth a little. (Dunno, just thinking out loud.)
