I see that the Championship Committee is finally considering having distance swimmers pay more for their splashes. See www.usms.org/.../champ-2012-3-25-1.pdf. This is long overdue since they are the reason that national championships last so long. If we only had 50’s and 100’s we’d be done by noon every day. Maybe with increased fees swimmers will think twice before entering a 1650.
Former Member
I see that the Championship Committee is finally considering having distance swimmers pay more for their splashes. See www.usms.org/.../champ-2012-3-25-1.pdf. This is long overdue since they are the reason that national championships last so long. If we only had 50’s and 100’s we’d be done by noon every day. Maybe with increased fees swimmers will think twice before entering a 1650.
Why should someone pay more because they are better at longer events? Having to pay mire because someone can swim more than a 50 without needing a break to recover is absurd
I applaud this long overdue initiative. We all like a free lunch - but there is no such thing, someone always has to pay. Pool time is expensive and those who use it longer should pay their fair share. Does everyone pay the same cab fare no matter how far they travel? the same train fare? etc. etc.
We could charge by the second, say, 10 cents per second, regardless of event. Then we'd all have an incentive to swim faster.
We should also start charging for the people who splash too much. They are wasting water.
Then there are the people who don't shower before getting into the pool. A charge for them, because they cost extra chlorine.
I'm sure there are lots of things we could start charging for if we really put our minds to it.
My first reply -- in the spirit of April 1 -- well done! It definitely gave me a hearty laugh. I've already started talking to marine contractors about the best way to string lane lines along the Charles River.... :-)
-Rick
As for the charging more for distance events? No. Absolutely not. All events in the same meet should be the same price. (*)
If I charge more for the 500 free than the 50 free... should I charge more for the person who does a 6-minute 200 fly? They're taking longer than many of my 500 freestyle swimmers.
We have a swimmer who has routinely come to our championship meet, and competes in the 1650 freestyle in about 70 minutes. We know he's coming, and we plan for it. He paid for his spot just like everyone else. We set the entry fees for the meet so that all of this is taken into account. It all averages out.
As most people would probably expect, I'd be much more in favor of charging penalties for people who have terrible seed times. I already reward (financially) people who have good seed times.
-Rick
(*) I will note that at our NE LMSC Champs, we offer 1000 and 1650 free in both the deep racing course, and our shallow warmup course. You can't dive in the shallow course, and it's shallow. So we offer a $2 discount for the shallow events. This price differential is because we're offering it in a lower-tier competition facility compared to the others, which I think is OK.
(*) I will also carve an exception for relays, which by convention are priced differently.
Out of curiosity, for big meets like Nationals is the pool rental usually done on a per diem basis? If so it's kind of a sunk cost. I guess you could argue the meet needs a fourth day because of the distance events, but I consider them part of the meet program. I don't think you can directly compare a pool race in swimming to something like a bike ride, triathlon, or road race. To host a marathon, for example, you need people staged all throughout the course. You need roads closed, you need police. All of these things are going to be more expensive the longer the race is so the entry fees should reflect this.
Resignation: Jeff introduced President Nadine KM Day. Nadine said regretfully she has accepted Jeff's resignation as chairman of the Championship Committee effective at the end of this meeting. :bliss::cheerleader::bliss:
She said Jeff has done a great job over the past five years…:confused: :shakeshead: :confused:
I am writing to say the Championship Committee Minutes for the conference call were in fact fabricated 100% to be an April Fool's joke.:rant3::badday::violin::censor:
Humor aside, why not discuss the idea of a modest surcharge on 500's and up?
How about making people who warm up longer pay more, too? After all they're using the pool more than everyone else. Or tack on an additional fee for really slow swimmers. Sound fair?
