team scoring

Oh my! OK Leianne here I go... this is the first time I'm getting wet since SCM Champs :) ****If anyone wants to skip the ramblings and ponderings of a sleep deprived, 30 weeks along pregnant woman, please just read the last paragraph :) I think (my first mistake!) that the whole REASONING behind the regional (state teams, mega teams, etc) vs. club (WCM, TOC, etc.) is getting lost with people quibbling over banners (how many, who gets one and why, etc.) and a sense of fairness. (I for one like the idea of team points, however, I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Although the process we're currently using, isn't fair, and needs to be changed.) I'll reiterate what I said a long time ago when this whole topic came up. It is frustrating as a member of a swim team (meaning: we all swim at the same pool, have the same coaches, share practices, and even do activities outside of the pool together) to compete against entire states or LMSCs. They are NOT the same thing. A true club team, regardless of size, shares swimming together on a day to day basis. You know all of the goings-on with your team, you plan activities, parties, practices, etc. You're really more of a family, and I for one am proud of the team Kerry has built. It reminds me of happy age-group days :) Kum-by-ya and all that. A regional team (state or LMSC) is more of a family reunion of people who haven't seen each other in awhile, and usually get together for a party once in awhile (that party being Nationals in this case). And let me be clear on several points: -Club teams should be club teams (regardless of their registered member size) at Nationals. If WCM sends 20 swimmers, oh well. If we take 200 oh well, we'll still be part of a club. And we should be allowed to compete against like clubs. I know full well, as do we all, it's a numbers game. The more swimmers you have, the better you're likely to do. WCM learns this lesson yearly at our Pacific Champs. USF Masters brings more people than we do, we lose. (However, we have beat them despite the numbers occasionally). While I don't like losing, it was a fair competition. Club vs. club. -I have never heard of anyone being told that they can't go to Nationals, period- let alone because it would change the "team size" to another category. That simply can't happen because the teams were broken into SML AFTER the entries were in. -As a member of WCM, the people who represent our team at Nationals happen to be the people who want to go, can afford it, and have it as a swimming goal. After the entries are due Kerry then attempts to make up relays. He is NOT picking and choosing who can go, and he encourages people to go because it is FUN. Heck, if he did pick I don't think I'd be on a "National" team, and my hubby would get to have all the fun :( -While team scores are part of the atmosphere at Nationals I know it has never driven me as a swimmer. I go to do my best against the competition there and hopefully reach my goals. I do love to swim on relays because there's always some electricity in the air. And to be honest, I rarely know how our relays do until after the results are posted- it's pretty chaotic on the deck at relay time. Kerry puts together the best relays he can given who chose to go to the meet. Keep in mind swimming is an individual sport and most people look at their success at a meet based on how they did, not their team. (I am proud of our team though!) -Many people would be upset over a Team Pacific. Nationals would be a foregone conclusion, and the team points would be for 2nd on down. No one in Pacific wants to do this. We have too much pride in our individual clubs. (Although it would be fun to see every USMS National relay record say Team Pacific next to it!) But I digress. I recognize and understand that if someone lives out in the sticks 300 miles from nowhere that they are not likely to have a "team" atmosphere. It would then make sense for them to form a team with whomever was nearby, especially if they wanted to swim on relays. That being said, they should not be in the same category as a club team (like WCM). They are not a team in what I think is the true sense of the word. They came together for a common reason (NO TEAM IN THE AREA!) Again, getting back to my family analogy. There are nuclear families, extended families, and alternative families. They are all different types of families. In USMS, there happens to also exist a nuclear family (club team) and an extended family (state, regional, or LMSC teams). They are not the same and should not be made to compete against each other in the team competition at Nationals. I suggest a 1-10 Club category and a 1-10 Regional Team category.

Oh my! OK Leianne here I go... this is the first time I'm getting wet since SCM Champs :) ****If anyone wants to skip the ramblings and ponderings of a sleep deprived, 30 weeks along pregnant woman, please just read the last paragraph :) I think (my first mistake!) that the whole REASONING behind the regional (state teams, mega teams, etc) vs. club (WCM, TOC, etc.) is getting lost with people quibbling over banners (how many, who gets one and why, etc.) and a sense of fairness. (I for one like the idea of team points, however, I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Although the process we're currently using, isn't fair, and needs to be changed.) I'll reiterate what I said a long time ago when this whole topic came up. It is frustrating as a member of a swim team (meaning: we all swim at the same pool, have the same coaches, share practices, and even do activities outside of the pool together) to compete against entire states or LMSCs. They are NOT the same thing. A true club team, regardless of size, shares swimming together on a day to day basis. You know all of the goings-on with your team, you plan activities, parties, practices, etc. You're really more of a family, and I for one am proud of the team Kerry has built. It reminds me of happy age-group days :) Kum-by-ya and all that. A regional team (state or LMSC) is more of a family reunion of people who haven't seen each other in awhile, and usually get together for a party once in awhile (that party being Nationals in this case). And let me be clear on several points: -Club teams should be club teams (regardless of their registered member size) at Nationals. If WCM sends 20 swimmers, oh well. If we take 200 oh well, we'll still be part of a club. And we should be allowed to compete against like clubs. I know full well, as do we all, it's a numbers game. The more swimmers you have, the better you're likely to do. WCM learns this lesson yearly at our Pacific Champs. USF Masters brings more people than we do, we lose. (However, we have beat them despite the numbers occasionally). While I don't like losing, it was a fair competition. Club vs. club. -I have never heard of anyone being told that they can't go to Nationals, period- let alone because it would change the "team size" to another category. That simply can't happen because the teams were broken into SML AFTER the entries were in. -As a member of WCM, the people who represent our team at Nationals happen to be the people who want to go, can afford it, and have it as a swimming goal. After the entries are due Kerry then attempts to make up relays. He is NOT picking and choosing who can go, and he encourages people to go because it is FUN. Heck, if he did pick I don't think I'd be on a "National" team, and my hubby would get to have all the fun :( -While team scores are part of the atmosphere at Nationals I know it has never driven me as a swimmer. I go to do my best against the competition there and hopefully reach my goals. I do love to swim on relays because there's always some electricity in the air. And to be honest, I rarely know how our relays do until after the results are posted- it's pretty chaotic on the deck at relay time. Kerry puts together the best relays he can given who chose to go to the meet. Keep in mind swimming is an individual sport and most people look at their success at a meet based on how they did, not their team. (I am proud of our team though!) -Many people would be upset over a Team Pacific. Nationals would be a foregone conclusion, and the team points would be for 2nd on down. No one in Pacific wants to do this. We have too much pride in our individual clubs. (Although it would be fun to see every USMS National relay record say Team Pacific next to it!) But I digress. I recognize and understand that if someone lives out in the sticks 300 miles from nowhere that they are not likely to have a "team" atmosphere. It would then make sense for them to form a team with whomever was nearby, especially if they wanted to swim on relays. That being said, they should not be in the same category as a club team (like WCM). They are not a team in what I think is the true sense of the word. They came together for a common reason (NO TEAM IN THE AREA!) Again, getting back to my family analogy. There are nuclear families, extended families, and alternative families. They are all different types of families. In USMS, there happens to also exist a nuclear family (club team) and an extended family (state, regional, or LMSC teams). They are not the same and should not be made to compete against each other in the team competition at Nationals. I suggest a 1-10 Club category and a 1-10 Regional Team category.