Desired Nationals Locations

Neophyte question regarding Nationals bids. Let's say you have two great bidders for a National meet, like in 2006 when both Mission Viejo and Mt. Hood Community College bid for LCM. Both were excellent bidders, I thought it was a no-loose choice no matter which bid was accepted. Does the loosing bidder get any consideration for future bids? Granted Mission Viejo hosted LCM in 2005 if memory serves but do they (or should they?) be at the front of the queue next time around? I ask as an outsider who is not on the Championship Committee. We don't get many bids for meets (ex. Austin was the only bidder for 2008 SCY) so why not fill the queue with worthy submissions from previous bidders? Would that not make the process easier on all involved and offer more choices when considering Nationals? BTW, I hope Portland puts in a bid in for LCM Nationals again in the future. This time, make sure you don't include triple digit temperatures ;-)

I have an idea. Rather than have the masses suggest where they would like to have a national meet, why don't we ask USMS meet directors where they would like to have a meet. After all, they put in lots of long hours making sure their communities can have quality meets, which they themselves can't usually rest and/or taper for. Take VP/Member Services Mark Gill, for example - He's gotten TYR on board with a series of Masters meets, plus he spends his entire nationals' at the announcer stand so we know what is going on. Or how about Michael Moore, who put together an International event that spanned 2 weeks, 5 different aquatic sports and 5000+ competitiors for swimming alone. I'm sure they'd like to attend a high-caliber meet for which they need do nothing but train hard.

There have been a few references to Worlds at Stanford in 2006. In terms of pool and deck space, that facility can't be beat for either LCM or SCY. Imagine having SCY nationals there...you could have 3 or 4 25Y courses going at once and still plenty of pool space for warm up and cool down. No 8 or 9 PM finishes!

To the person who said maybe Phelps can get someone to host in Baltimore: I was the meet director for the 2000 LC Nationals that were held in the Baltimore area at the University of Maryland Baltimore County outdoor pool. It was the largest LC National meet ever with 1380 entrants. I now live in Florida. I did attend the IGLA meet at University of Maryland (main campus in College Park) in June, and it is a great facility that would be capable of handling either nationals. They have hosted World Cup events. I did talk to some of the Potomac Valley LMSC people while I was there, and the first problem is finding a group to run the meet and a sufficient volunteer base. While there are many great facilities around the country, the problem is finding someone to run the meet, and for it to be cost effective. The rental fees at some facilities are prohibitive and available dates are limited. I am on the Championship Committee, and we do agree that we need to change the way we solicit bids, as for the past several years we have been lucky to get one bid for each meet. If you have suggestions and are not attending the upcoming convention, feel free to send them to me. Barb Protzman, Florida Gold Coast Registrar

What states would you include in NorthEast? Why do you break up the east into NorthEast and South East, yet the west with 40 % of the swimmers only have one area? michael

An interesting idea from our ED's Vision and Action Plan: c) Championships Some may be aware that USA Swimming has been "selling" and is getting buy in from the NCAA to combine NCAA Swimming Championships into an annual swimming festival. The NCAA swimming festival would most likely be six or seven days. On the drawing board is the inaugural NCAA swimming festival to kick off as early as 2011. The date though will be early Spring and is still being determined, along with other business points. While some USMS host clubs could argue the "fundraising" benefits of hosting the SC Championships, it would absolutely be in USMS global best long term interest to be part of the annual event by hosting our championships at the same location before the event. Consider the benefits:  With the number of collegiate swimming programs being discontinued, demonstrates and shows USMS support of collegiate swimming  Brings USMS closer (first hand that is) to collegiate swimmers – a market we need to tap and integrate  Brings USMS close to collegiate coaches & club coaches  Would raise the enthusiasm level & buzz on our championships  The NCAA has a television contract so we ride that wave  The amount of media that covers the NCAA championships would have an overflow effect on USMS championships (something we could never buy or have gotten on our own)  Offers an opportunity for our membership to stay after and support/watch/cheer for the NCAA's Regardless of how we feel, the annual swimming festival concept is happening (much like the Trials moving from a natatorium to the Qwest Center). I have made known to Chuck Wielgus that USMS has an interest in becoming part of the NCAA Swimming Festival for which Chuck believes would be a homerun. I have likewise informed the Championship Committee that this is an avenue we'd like to pursue. I anticipate when Chuck returns from the Olympics, we will pick up the dialogue and get a better understanding of the opportunity as a whole at which time we will be able to better update the details.

From what I read, the Swimming Festival would be during Short Course (Yards?) season. If USMS were to work with the NCAA on being a part of this proposed Festival, would that mean Long Course Nationals would be the only pool Championship up for bid? Interesting idea for sure, one which should be considered.

How about something along on the lines of splitting the country into 4 regions, and rotating the meet(s) between them: West Coast (included AZ, etc) Midwest (includes TX, etc) Southeast Northeast

How about something along on the lines of splitting the country into 4 regions, and rotating the meet(s) between them: West Coast (included AZ, etc) Midwest (includes TX, etc) Southeast Northeast They already do this in prioritizing bids for OW national championships, though they use 3 regions. See page 152 in Appendix D in the Rule Book. Bids from the area "targeted" in a given year get priority. I don't see any reason the same areas couldn't be used for pool championships. But it doesn't mean much if you only get one bid for a given championship.

They already do this in prioritizing bids for OW national championships, though they use 3 regions. See page 152 in Appendix D in the Rule Book. Bids from the area "targeted" in a given year get priority. I don't see any reason the same areas couldn't be used for pool championships. But it doesn't mean much if you only get one bid for a given championship. Well, first we need to get more than one bid for a given National meet...