2010 Short Course National - Etiquette

But its not just that. Some people carry a sense of "Grand Entitlement" if you will. Sometimes that's cockiness, sometimes its complete ignorance of the world around them. There's gotta be a good way to encourage better behavior so we don't need so many rules.... But that's true at any meet, not just a major meet.

Tell us you fast swimmers out there, how were warm ups and warm downs controlled at the trials, DIV I NCAA and the Big Dance? I haven't been to those meets, but I've swum at USA Nationals a dozen times between 1998 and 2009. The warmups don't compare. Due to the cut times, all the swimmers are much closer in terms of speed. I don't mind slowing down or speeding up *slightly* off my intended pace if it means not needing to pass. I prefer to not pass and I do not touch people's feet, but that's something of a personal preference. I will also turn around in the middle of the pool sometimes to avoid passing when it is clear in the other direction. The skill level is so varied at USMS Nationals that it is often necessary to pass. To make matters worse, sometimes I found myself catching the same people again within another 50 yards. Swimmers should recognize where faster athletes are congregating and that is usually in the middle lanes. Also, if someone is trying to pass, hug the laneline. This was my first USMS Nationals meet and I had an amazing time. All things considered, the warm-up scenario was much better than I expected and nowhere near my worst encounters from some USA Swimming competitions. The Sectionals meet warmups are probably some of the worst I've experienced. I think many people are underestimating the likelihood that there were simply accidents. With lots of bodies and waves moving people in unintended directions, there is going to be some contact. For the most part, I don't believe people are intentionally hitting others. There no single solution that will make everyone happy. Just do the best with what you got.

I agree Bill, Austin was terrible.

I may be wrong but during warm-ups I assume the middle lanes are generally for the fastest swimmers and each outgoing lane is a bit slower pace, sort of a pyramid seeding pattern. This assumption normally works for me just fine. I did not go to the Atlanta meet; maybe this meet was just an unusual group of competitors.

Sadly a problem that will always exist, we may be able to put a Band-Aid on it so to speak but bottom line is there are very good solutions. Something Laura and I have done at almost every nationals we have attended is warm-up off-site...so here's an informal poll, we have multiple pools near the Kino facility that we could potentially open up in the mornings when conditions are at their worst...would anyone be interested in something like that?

Absolutely!:applaud:

Sadly a problem that will always exist, we may be able to put a Band-Aid on it so to speak but bottom line is there are very good solutions. Something Laura and I have done at almost every nationals we have attended is warm-up off-site...so here's an informal poll, we have multiple pools near the Kino facility that we could potentially open up in the mornings when conditions are at their worst...would anyone be interested in something like that? Do you really think it'll be necessary? I thought Kino's set up something similar to Clovis but after looking at the satellite view, I was obviously wrong. Must be CRS. Yes, offsite options would be of interest. Hey, nice to see you back. Didja get lost?

Jim....we will have 13 lanes for warm-up. "Lost" would be one way of describing the last year...proud to say we've been overseeing a masters team that went from 6 to over 150 (and our women just broke the national record in the LCM 200 medley with a 2:03!) and age group program of over 300 (95% of team finished season with best times, 16 sectional qualifiers, 1 JO cut and 1 national cut)...priorities have changed but I'm "making my comeback" as I have a coney dog bet with a 16 year old in the 5o free coming up in 3 weeks!

I thought the warm-up facilities at Clovis were super - nothing like a 50 m pool just for warm-up. I found both Austin and Atlanta to be difficult to get a good warm-up due to the number of participants. Very few venues can accomodate 1800-1900 swimmers trying to warm-up. Another problem that I had in Austin and Atlanta is with breathing. I was fine the first 3 days, but the last day was a problem. I talked it over with the Aquatic Director at local pools. She says the air handlers were never designed to work for some many people in the pool and in the pool area. The chemicals churned up by so many swimmers are never completely cleared and get a little worse each day. I have asthma so am more sensitive that many people. Savannah was bad also. I have found that I can't hang around the pool all day to watch my friends and team; I need to get out of the environment for awhile. It's a real problem for the championship committee and future hosts. We don't want to limit entries any more, but how many swimmers can the facility handle for warm-ups?

We don't want to limit entries any more, but how many swimmers can the facility handle for warm-ups? Betsy, that is an excellent point and one not only for Masters' meets but for all swim meets. In PVS, we have had serious issues with air quality because of extremely crowded conditions as meets get more and more participants. It's one of the hidden consquences of continuing to grow participation in a sport without increasing the size and quantity of facilities to support this growth.