A kid swam the 500 all fly in a high school dual meet yesterday. His coach was furious and benched him for the rest of the meet. One of my lane mates this morning, who was the Starter at this meet said that was showboating and demeaning to the other competitors. I disagree. Was that any more demeaning than swimming free and lapping people? Plus, I saw the flyer ask everyone in the heat if it would bother them. Even on the blocks he said "Are you sure you guys are OK with this?"
In terms of the HS incident, I don't really have a strong opinion in the absence of facts (and honestly I don't consider the matter important enough to spare much thought about it).
But if we are talking about masters swimmers doing a 500 fly (or 500 back or 500 *** or 500 kick or whatever) instead of a 500 free, I think they are perfectly free to do so without asking for approval from anyone else in their heat. Hopefully they entered a time reflective of their best estimate of what they will do; other than that it isn't really anyone else's business. (If someone is going for a 50 or 100 split -- taking out the race much faster than normal -- then it is courteous to let the rest of the heat know. That is different, IMO, and even then it isn't asking for permission but simply an FYI.)
If one starts worrying about the psychological impact of splashing or swimming fast or whatever on the other swimmers in the heat, I think that's a slippery slope. If I enter an event with a realistic time and I'm fast enough to lap others in my heat, should I refrain from doing so b/c of the psychological damage it might cause them?
In terms of the HS incident, I don't really have a strong opinion in the absence of facts (and honestly I don't consider the matter important enough to spare much thought about it).
But if we are talking about masters swimmers doing a 500 fly (or 500 back or 500 *** or 500 kick or whatever) instead of a 500 free, I think they are perfectly free to do so without asking for approval from anyone else in their heat. Hopefully they entered a time reflective of their best estimate of what they will do; other than that it isn't really anyone else's business. (If someone is going for a 50 or 100 split -- taking out the race much faster than normal -- then it is courteous to let the rest of the heat know. That is different, IMO, and even then it isn't asking for permission but simply an FYI.)
If one starts worrying about the psychological impact of splashing or swimming fast or whatever on the other swimmers in the heat, I think that's a slippery slope. If I enter an event with a realistic time and I'm fast enough to lap others in my heat, should I refrain from doing so b/c of the psychological damage it might cause them?
