How many pools will Montreal have?
Montreal has two 50 meter outdoor pools. Here is a satellite image of the facility. It looks like the diving well is about 25 x 25 meters, and could be used for warmups. I don't know about that funky-shaped section of the center pool. I don't see anything else in the neighborhood that looks like a pool.
Having just been to Montreal recently, the good news is that there are plenty of other pools in relative proximity to Parc Jean-Drapeau where you could grab a warmup before heading over to the meet facility. The facility is where they held the 2005 FINA World Championships and, based upon what I've heard (though not yet swum there personally), it'll be a great place to race.
If the meet gets to be really large, a simply AWESOME idea (you heard it hear first) would be to have a shuttle running between Jean-Drapeau and Olympic Park (9km drive) and keep the 76 Olympic Pool (and its warmup pool) open for continuous warmups. If you had a shuttle running on the half an hour (it's probably only a 20-25 minute drive even in traffic), that would be awesome.
However, I agree with Chris ...
I just don't see Montreal with 6000. Where would they come from? How many masters swimmers in Canada? Roughly 3000 swimmers here are Italian, more than have ever attended a USMS nationals, and about the same number from other European countries. Worlds at Stanford was within driving distance of the two most populous LMSCs in USMS and didn't come close to 6000.
I might be wrong, of course. One doesn't come to such a meet with the primary goal of swimming fast, IMO.... with adding the other reason that USMS swimmers will have a Nationals LCM option that summer as well. I think we'll get more Europeans to Montreal than Stanford, both for its proximity and slightly more Euro-like culture/ambiance, but I doubt it'll be as large as Stanford was in total. I'd be surprised if it edges above 3,500 and would predict something more like 2,500. I'll be there for sure, regardless of how many people show up.
How many pools will Montreal have?
Montreal has two 50 meter outdoor pools. Here is a satellite image of the facility. It looks like the diving well is about 25 x 25 meters, and could be used for warmups. I don't know about that funky-shaped section of the center pool. I don't see anything else in the neighborhood that looks like a pool.
Having just been to Montreal recently, the good news is that there are plenty of other pools in relative proximity to Parc Jean-Drapeau where you could grab a warmup before heading over to the meet facility. The facility is where they held the 2005 FINA World Championships and, based upon what I've heard (though not yet swum there personally), it'll be a great place to race.
If the meet gets to be really large, a simply AWESOME idea (you heard it hear first) would be to have a shuttle running between Jean-Drapeau and Olympic Park (9km drive) and keep the 76 Olympic Pool (and its warmup pool) open for continuous warmups. If you had a shuttle running on the half an hour (it's probably only a 20-25 minute drive even in traffic), that would be awesome.
However, I agree with Chris ...
I just don't see Montreal with 6000. Where would they come from? How many masters swimmers in Canada? Roughly 3000 swimmers here are Italian, more than have ever attended a USMS nationals, and about the same number from other European countries. Worlds at Stanford was within driving distance of the two most populous LMSCs in USMS and didn't come close to 6000.
I might be wrong, of course. One doesn't come to such a meet with the primary goal of swimming fast, IMO.... with adding the other reason that USMS swimmers will have a Nationals LCM option that summer as well. I think we'll get more Europeans to Montreal than Stanford, both for its proximity and slightly more Euro-like culture/ambiance, but I doubt it'll be as large as Stanford was in total. I'd be surprised if it edges above 3,500 and would predict something more like 2,500. I'll be there for sure, regardless of how many people show up.
