I'm guilty of it. I imagine we're all guilty of it: seeing a meet announcement and seeing our favorite two events back to back, or four events we want to swim on one day and then only 1 then next day. We get irritated and wonder why the meet director couldn't have designed this to better suit our needs? We moan at workout, whine on the forums, ***** on our blogs, etc. I'd like to encourage my fellow forumites to join me in taking a pledge:
I hereby pledge to:
just be grateful that there are volunteers, teams and facilities willing to host Masters meets,
recognize that no matter how hard these dedicated volunteers try, they'll never be able to create the order of events that satisfies all Masters swimmer,
recognize that, even if I can't swim those two favorite events in this meet because they are back to back (or whatever my complaint is), I've got a multi-decade Masters career ahead of me in which to swim them at different meets,
to, therefore, stop whining/moaning about the order of events, and
look at a different order of events as an opportunity to branch out and try new events!
Signed,
Patrick "Indebted to Masters Meet Directors/Officials/Volunteers" Brundage
I may have been.I complained when I had to swim 400 MR,100 BR,200 BR and 50 BR all in one hour at a meet.It turned out this was NOT a meet where they followed swimshark's form.I have never had a problem with one of her meetsit.
I am glad to hear that Allen. I didnt come.up with the quads but I use them! Working on Association entry form now.
As one who does the entry forms, based on a grid system, for Oregon Masters, I will take the pledge and will be happy with those how do as well. I've been doing the entry forms for about 10 years now and have personally only heard 2 complaints.
So Allen, take the pledge so I can relax more :)
Gratitude is one of the noblest virtues...
Having said that, we may underestimate the "power of the whine"...which is why many swim pools I swim at are 85 degrees--a few loud water-aerobic types that complain about the temperature...
Similar to others, if I go to Omaha, I will likely have nothing to swim on Saturday and 3 events on Sunday. Speaking up is good I think, but the tone (somewhere below a whine) is important.
I am the Lorax. I speak for the water noodles who have seen unspeakable things and have been in unspeakable places...:)
stringing together a whole 150 yards in probably under an hour, that's downright cruel. Or, is it really?
The contempt in this stringing together of words is enough to make me shun distance swimmers for an entire year :bitching:
Yes the 1650 or 1000 can be a taxing event on a person's body, but after a good night of sleep I wouldn't see any problem with doing a 500 on the next day at all.
Ah, youth. I remember it as if it was just ten years ago.
As one who does the entry forms, based on a grid system, for Oregon Masters, I will take the pledge and will be happy with those how do as well. I've been doing the entry forms for about 10 years now and have personally only heard 2 complaints.
So Allen, take the pledge so I can relax more :)
Allen was one of the two, wasn't he? :bolt:
More seriously: I understand that not everyone can be satisfied, and absolutely volunteers deserve gratitude for the jobs they do. I can choose events according to the meet.
The only thing I would suggest to meet directors is maybe to move things around a little from year to year, like nationals does. If it is the SAME event order year after year after year, that means you always have the same choices or sacrifices to make.
Kirk, please be advised that we do not have sex at Nationals, we have genders.:blush:
Rob,
As Chair of the USMS Championship Committee I beg you to retract your statement. If people read your comment, they'll stop going to Nationals and certainly no new swimmers will come...!
Jeff
Ah, youth. I remember it as if it was just ten years ago.
Don't worry...I have the same feelings when I return to the USAS meets to compete with the age groupers. Those 14-18 year old kids seem to go forever and nothing phases them. My 400 IM with them this weekend will knock me out for a while afterward! :bed: I just hope I don't break a hip!! :cane:
