Distance Events at Nationals

Actually, in short course meets, if 2000 show up, they most likely will get their sixth event. The championship committee has enforced the 6th event rule at long course nationals several times, but I do not believe it is used often at short course meets. In 2003, Tempe nationals had 1922 swimmer and the 6th event was kept.

Mark, how dare you contradict me with indisputable fact? Takes all the fun out...

Mark, don't you remember how long a couple of those days went in Tempe? Some of us were there when the sun came up for our first event and were marveling at the sunset before the last event! Personally, I would not mind not swimming my sixth event this year (won't say which, in order to keep the competitors guessing), especially if it means the relays are done by 6. As for the distance issue, I can't imagine any other way to keep the four-day meet format and offer both long-distance events. For those of you who want to swim both, imagine swimming the first race at 9 a.m. and the second at 9 p.m. For those that were at the pool at worlds on the day of the 800 know how excruciating it can be to be there almost 12 hours, then get up early for the first race of the day.

If USMS were to have the explosive growth that some predict, would it not be eventually needed, possible, desirable even to have a distance pool event champs by themselves? At the risk of putting Sominex out of business, you could have 500, 1000, 1650 or 400, 800, 1500m at the same event. Need more events? The Australians swim 400's of each stroke and maintain records. Distance relays: 4x200, 4x400...the mind boggles. Yes, I know, timelines etc., but nothing says people have to have 6 swims at these distances over say, a 4 day meet. Just throwing it out to discuss, but think about the art of the possible... That's a good idea except for the part about ganking the 500. The middle distance events should stay together.

If USMS were to have the explosive growth that some predict, would it not be eventually needed, possible, desirable even to have a distance pool event champs by themselves? At the risk of putting Sominex out of business, you could have 500, 1000, 1650 or 400, 800, 1500m at the same event. Need more events? The Australians swim 400's of each stroke and maintain records. Distance relays: 4x200, 4x400...the mind boggles. Yes, I know, timelines etc., but nothing says people have to have 6 swims at these distances over say, a 4 day meet. Just throwing it out to discuss, but think about the art of the possible...

would something like this two-venue thing be allowed??? I would think it would, but would add hugely to the overall expense and logistics of the meet. You would need to rent the pool time in the second facility, get all the extra officials and timers needed, etc. My guess is this meet will be closer to the 1500 swimmer mark than 2000. My theory is the biggest meets tend to be in areas with lots of masters swimmers who don't typically compete in major meets, but do because the meet happens to be local. Not to say there aren't lots of swimmers like that in the Pacific Northwest, but I think there are probably lots more in places like So. Cal. and Arizona with lots of outdoor pools available year-round.

If USMS were to have the explosive growth that some predict, would it not be eventually needed, possible, desirable even to have a distance pool event champs by themselves? Here in Potomac Valley, we have had a 1000/1650 (december) SCY and 800/1500 (july) LCM meet every year for 30-some years. Certainly not the best-attended meets by any stretch of the imagination, but at least there are enough to keep hosting the event year in and year out. They aren't Zone Championships, but we've got 'em for those who'll swim 'em. This may be fodder for a new thread, but perhaps LMSCs could start hosting meets like this more regularly to encourage more people to swim these events. After Nationals 2004, there was a separate 1000/1650 meet in the area, and several of us who competed in Indy did the mile just to fill out records while we were still shaved/tapered (though I had just taken a week to sleep off Indy). I think I may be the only one who has swum the mile in-season since.

True - it is certainly a challenge to appease as many swimmers as possible. Here's an idea: lets say you give the meet to a facility that has another peer facility nearby - run the distance events over there. An example, to my benefit;) - Terrapin Masters is sanctioned to run the SCY Nationals meet. We run most of the events at the University of Maryland, but split the 1000 and 1650 between UMD and the Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex down the road (10 mi, next to FedEx Field) which has a pretty top-notch facility itself. Lets say we run the 1650 at UMD and begin the 1000 ~3hrs later at PGS&L on the Thursday of Nationals weekend. I checked last years Coral Springs entries, and with the same timeline, each gender of the 1000 would last ~90 minutes, and the 1650 went about 4 hours total. I think that would give everyone plenty of time to swim the mile and then mosey on over to the other pool and swim the 1000. Now, this timeline also plays right into Suz's point that it is logistically possible to run both events on the same day, but handing off the distance events in this example gives the host facility a chance to get wet behind the ears, work out any kinks, and then open the facility for warmups all afternoon the day prior to the rest of the meet kicking off. Rules people, would something like this two-venue thing be allowed???