If you look at the 2006 USAS Convention minutes from USMS Championship Committee (session 3) at www.usms.org/.../
USMS is working toward a Virtual SCM National Championships.
Many of the Zones have consistently held competitive SCM championships each Fall, and there is some interest in creating a SCM Nationals. I think the rule allow any "short course" nationals to be either SCY or SCM, but I've never attended a SCM nationals event either.
The time and effort to hold a major 4-5 day championship meet might delay a "non-virtual" championship meet, but attending one of the large zone championship is a great alternative.
Hopefully, someone from Championship Committee will add some details.
Anthony Thompson
Missouri Valley Masters LMSC Chair
I have not been dealing with this for a long time because I have not been on the USMS Championship Committee since 1993. But I do remember one important point that was done in a survey that was completed by Lynn Casey. Even if USMS wanted to have a SCM Nationals from October to December of the year, there would be a problem of getting facilities that could schedule this 4 day event. Colleges are in session heavily and both Men's and Women's team use the pools heavily at this time. Plus this is at the height of the swimming season for HS, College, and USA Swimming. Plus with the holiday schedule in both November and December, it would be hard to get volunteers to help run the meet. Plus, would there be an interest to have a National meet at that time of year by USMS swimmers and would a lot attend a meet at that time. Would people go to a National meet during a Holiday vacation at the end of the year?
If you look at the way our USMS National Meets are held now, they do not conflict with the heavy College, HS, or USA seasons. In fact in May and in the middle of August its pretty dead and the Championship season is over for those major groups so USMS can get facilties a lot better during those times and also get volunteers easier to help run the meet at these times.
Exactly, Skip. In fact, the only viable way to have SCMNats is to occasionally replace the SCY meet with it, say, every five years when I age up?
Peter:
That is exactly why we have never had a Short Course Meters Nationals in place of the Short Course Yards Nationals in the Spring. You would always be denying a group that would normally age up for those Nationals and they would never get the benefit of swimming and being the youngest in their age group for a Short Course Yards season. On the other hand it would also have younger members in the next highest age group that would not be there because they would have birthdays that would be later than the Nationals date and they would get to age up earlier like for SCM and LCM events.
The way the system is now a lot of SCM meets are in the fall and thru out the year, people have plenty of opportunity to swim in these meets and make the Top Ten. The season is longer than LCM to me because you can find meets spread throughout the year but with LCM its pretty much the standard Memorial Day to Labor Day season unless you hit USA meets. So right now I think this is the way things will be until the set up of a Virtual SCM National Championships in which all of the Zone meets would be Championships and the National Champion and Top Ten for the championships would be like a combination of these meets, like a postal competition and that would be your Short Course Meters National Championship.
I disagree, at least in Sunny Southern Kalifornia there are at least a couple of pools ( maybe even 3-4) that could support a Short Course Meters National Championship of about 600 swimmers max. None of these are on college grounds.
Who wouldn't want to vacation in Kalifornia where it might be 75 to 85 degrees in December?:hug:
I think a 5 day meet could include all the distance events for those who did that stuff, and provide great competition for the rest of us.:drink:
Did I mention the weather?:drink:
We usually have 5 to 7 SCM meets each winter.
Did I mention the weather?:dedhorse:
There is a HUGE difference between Northern California where Worlds were held, and Southern Kalifornia.
Mark Twain had a saying that sums up Northern CA. "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco''
Southern Kalifornia has two seasons, "summer" and "June Gloom".:groovy:
Who wouldn't want to vacation in Kalifornia where it might be 75 to 85 degrees in December is perhaps being kind. It probably has more 80-90 degrees days.
Try our wonderfull SPMA Short Course Meters Championships at Belmont Shores this December. Beautiful indoor pool right on the ocean front.
Here in the USA, we do not believe in the Metric system. Therefore, we discriminate against any pool setup where we might have to swim anything longer than 75 feet per length. ;)
I am loving the use of :dedhorse:
Of all the pools that hold a short course meters meet in November or December, I'm sure one of them could hold a three- or four-day meet. Long Beach, for example. Or Arizona State University. Or somewhere more central. The Rec-Plex in St. Louis is high quality and is only used by a USA Swimming team that I'm sure could adjust their swimming to doing a morning workout before the meet starts and an evening workout after the last event.
The only problem is the scheduling. I can't imagine most willing to take off for a long weekend in November or December, then take off for Thanksgiving or Christmas, or both.
And, many use the time between August and May to take time off and ease back into swimming. I'm finding that getting back up into training for this short course meters meet I'm doing in three weeks was real hard after worlds.
I'm all for a virtual national championships. But then, isn't that what the Top Ten listing is?
