I am not usually one to complain about swim meets, since I appreciate all the hard work that goes in to putting one on.... And I fully understand that this is the largest LCM Nationals in the history of Masters Swimming....
But really...
Not being able to swim against your competition in the 200's???
This is not a local meet. This is the Nationals. The ONLY time I get to swim against my own age group.
There needs to be a better solution.
Everyone has a different definition of "competition". I have very different definitions even for myself when I swim USMS and when I swim USA. Ironically, I started swimming USA because I liked having truly open competition, by time only and who cares about your age, professional status, number of kids, etc.
For USMS I find age groups a complete turn-off. I find I have more in common with a young professional, or a professional working mom of any age. That is why I don't go to nationals anymore. I much prefer going to zone meets, AZ state meets, where everyone is seeded by time.
It would be fun to have self-selected LEVELS in masters, like 1 (beginner) to 5 (elite). You race against your own level standards, not by age group. You have to meet minimum time standards to earn your level. No top ten rankings, that's something else. Level for elite is competitive enough i'd make an effort to get my elite patch. Sort of like Chris Stevenson's (sorry if I credit the wrong person!) tiered time grid (similar to motivational USA times).
I agree with you that local meets should be by time as you are competing against people at your level that you know and possibly work out with. This is what makes a local meet enjoyable. However, the nationals is significantly different than a local meet. In a local meet
you would rarely meet someone in your own age group who would be competitive with you if you are at a national level, at the nationals you do. So on an annual basis you want to prepare and compete against people who have the same age handicap as you.
Everyone has a different definition of "competition". I have very different definitions even for myself when I swim USMS and when I swim USA. Ironically, I started swimming USA because I liked having truly open competition, by time only and who cares about your age, professional status, number of kids, etc.
For USMS I find age groups a complete turn-off. I find I have more in common with a young professional, or a professional working mom of any age. That is why I don't go to nationals anymore. I much prefer going to zone meets, AZ state meets, where everyone is seeded by time.
It would be fun to have self-selected LEVELS in masters, like 1 (beginner) to 5 (elite). You race against your own level standards, not by age group. You have to meet minimum time standards to earn your level. No top ten rankings, that's something else. Level for elite is competitive enough i'd make an effort to get my elite patch. Sort of like Chris Stevenson's (sorry if I credit the wrong person!) tiered time grid (similar to motivational USA times).
I agree with you that local meets should be by time as you are competing against people at your level that you know and possibly work out with. This is what makes a local meet enjoyable. However, the nationals is significantly different than a local meet. In a local meet
you would rarely meet someone in your own age group who would be competitive with you if you are at a national level, at the nationals you do. So on an annual basis you want to prepare and compete against people who have the same age handicap as you.
