first of all, congrats to the meet directors and all the volunteers on a job well done. so organized and efficient!! very impressive. the only thing i wish someone could explain to me is why the usms champ. committee changed the team scoring from large, medium and small team to clumping everyone in the same category. seems extremely unfair to have what i call "real teams" competing against state mega teams. there is no possibility for "real teams" to ever come close to competing against them. if you are going to give team awards at the end of the meet, is there any way you can do it fairly? our team is extremely proud to have gotten as many team members as we did to go to natls. (most of them for the first time), but unfortunately they were very disillusioned (as was i) with the idea that we would be competing against state teams. as one of the coaches i didn't have an explanation. even though we were very proud of our 7th place finish in men's division, and our 12th place in combined, we were only one of a few "real teams" in the top ten. would appreciate responses. maybe even someone from the champ.committee could explain how they felt this scoring system would be more fair to the majority of swimmers. then i can pass it along to my teammates.. i don't want them to be so disillusioned that they lose interest in attending any future natls. thanks
Michael,
My point about 3 sentances was to have a "propsal" that was not any longer than that...not an explanation of why.
As for Pacific or SPMA coming together and competing as a "team" I really have no problems with that...if USMS/FINA won't support the idea of National Teams formed for World Championships that may be the only way to see what kinds of records can be set when the fastest 4 swimmers in their age group get together for a relay...in other words what I would consider "real" world records.
And regarding Colorado having 2000 registered swimmers being able to put together some decent club teams. Maybe...but if you actually lived there you'd undertsand how spread out towns are and how few swimmers from the clubs/workout groups actually have swimmers who want to compete at nationals.
Case in point...we lived in Evergreenn for 2 years and before that Vail for over 20. For the first 3-4 years we went to nationals my wife and I swam for Vail as a team of 2...we intially resisited the combined team concept. However as we traveled and visited Boulder (2 hours away), DU (2 hours away), Durango (5 hours away), etc. we became friends with swimmers there who were going to nationals and decided to join them.
That lead to more "recruiting" if you will as we found swimmers like John Smith, Kirk Anderson, Susan von der Lippe, etc. etc. that we pulled into the mix and coerced into competing again...which I think is a good thing for USMS.
And just to let you know now that were living in Arizona full time I'm on the same mission...tracking down guys like Bill Barrett who are hanging around working out but not competing. And I think getting them on board is also a good thing. Am I sorry if it gets folks in Pacific masters panties in a bunch because we are getting more people together...nope.
So to close, as much as you might not beleive it I'm not here to win national titles and break records...those things are part of the journey and only short term enjoyment. I love the sport and want more people to enjoy it as much as I do and want a system that supports growth.
By the way...got anymore of the shirts you wore at convention in an XXL? Would love to have one!!
Michael,
My point about 3 sentances was to have a "propsal" that was not any longer than that...not an explanation of why.
As for Pacific or SPMA coming together and competing as a "team" I really have no problems with that...if USMS/FINA won't support the idea of National Teams formed for World Championships that may be the only way to see what kinds of records can be set when the fastest 4 swimmers in their age group get together for a relay...in other words what I would consider "real" world records.
And regarding Colorado having 2000 registered swimmers being able to put together some decent club teams. Maybe...but if you actually lived there you'd undertsand how spread out towns are and how few swimmers from the clubs/workout groups actually have swimmers who want to compete at nationals.
Case in point...we lived in Evergreenn for 2 years and before that Vail for over 20. For the first 3-4 years we went to nationals my wife and I swam for Vail as a team of 2...we intially resisited the combined team concept. However as we traveled and visited Boulder (2 hours away), DU (2 hours away), Durango (5 hours away), etc. we became friends with swimmers there who were going to nationals and decided to join them.
That lead to more "recruiting" if you will as we found swimmers like John Smith, Kirk Anderson, Susan von der Lippe, etc. etc. that we pulled into the mix and coerced into competing again...which I think is a good thing for USMS.
And just to let you know now that were living in Arizona full time I'm on the same mission...tracking down guys like Bill Barrett who are hanging around working out but not competing. And I think getting them on board is also a good thing. Am I sorry if it gets folks in Pacific masters panties in a bunch because we are getting more people together...nope.
So to close, as much as you might not beleive it I'm not here to win national titles and break records...those things are part of the journey and only short term enjoyment. I love the sport and want more people to enjoy it as much as I do and want a system that supports growth.
By the way...got anymore of the shirts you wore at convention in an XXL? Would love to have one!!
