THANK YOU to USMS, the University of Maryland, and all of the volunteers who did an OUTSTANDING job on the 2014 LC Nationals. :applaud: You all were a class act in making this a fantastic meet!
First of all, the facility was amazing. Compared to Worlds, this was the Rolls Royce in aquatic facilities. The parking was a piece of cake and free during the weekend! In the aquatic center, there were plenty of places to sit, relax, and stay cool while still getting to view the action. The "Energy Zone" was such a comfortable place to pull a chair up to the windows and see the races and warm-up pool below. On deck, the air was perfect quality, too.
As for the warm-up pool, I kept wondering where everybody was! I never saw more than four or five people in a lane, and there were 10 lanes available. In addition, the outdoor pool was open for those who preferred that instead. I never went, but Jayhawk said it was great.
The locker rooms were amazing! I didn't think anything could top UGA; but this did. There were plenty of showers and lockers, and it never got crowded.
Today, the meet was running 35 minutes ahead of schedule before my breaststroke race. That's amazing! All of the deck crew from the officials to the volunteers were fantastic (that is, once they dismissed Ms. DQ from the deck and overturned the five women's 200 fly DQ's.) A special thanks to Ed Saltzman and James Carey for addressing that matter- you guys are the best!
Even though I was exhausted from Worlds (and too much sightseeing) and did HORRIBLE in my first couple of races, this was my favorite Nationals of all. I will always remember today, though, because I was finally rested up (thanks to a 10-hour crash and burn last night) and swam a personal best time EVER in the 200 LC breaststroke. At Worlds, I came in 2 seconds OVER my seed time in that exhausted effort, and here at Nationals, I came in 12 seconds UNDER my seed time. WooHOOOO! :ohyeah:
Thank you, USMS and University of Maryland staff and volunteers for a memory I will never forget. Believing in your dreams can be far more rewarding than living by your limitations. :bliss:
Absolutely second everything Elaine has posted here! I was able to have a quick word with Rob today, but didn't get to meet Jeff and thank him too. The best part was the friendly staff and officials who made everyone feel welcome. And I can't omit the thrill of seeing 98-year old Ann Dunivin steal the show!
!
And glad you had the DQ overturned, Elaine! I didn't catch that in the results!
Thanks, TRYM!
Queen Anne is my teammate and seeing her compete is always a highlight of a meet for me. :agree: I love her dearly and had the honor of celebrating her 96 birthday with her when she was in a rehab hospital recovering from surgery on a bone fracture. We had a great time that day, and she still remembers everything we talked about! She also remembers the chocolate shake I brought her. :D That lady is sharp as a tack! At Nationals, I interviewed her for an article I will be writing for the Georgia Masters Newsletter. She was a hoot!
Now I can say, been there, done that, it's off the bucket list. It was a culturally terrific, but relatively poor athletic experience. Anecdotally, some rare & special people seemed able to swim fast under those conditions, but most, it seemed, had a tough time hitting their seed times. It was a lot of walking & quite tiring! It would be interesting to know what fraction of people swam equal to or faster than their seed times.
Ditto on the bucket list! Montreal and Quebec City were both on mine, and they were terrific cities (especially QC!).
Most of the people I talked with were disappointed with their times, but King Frog was definitely one of those "rare and special people" who rocked the pool at Worlds and broke a World Record! :bow:
:applaud: Bravo, USMS LCM nats! :applaud:
It was great to meet you on Sunday, Swimosaur. You guys are such an inspiration to newbies like me. And congratulations on crossing one more thing off of your bucket list.
Denise, it was great to meet you! Thanks for making the effort to come meet all of us at the pool!
It was indeed a mellow meet! I enjoyed every moment! Everyone was so very friendly and helpful all the way around! It was an amazingly positive experience from start to finish! I'm sad that it's over.
:sad:
Absolutely second everything Elaine has posted here! I was able to have a quick word with Rob today, but didn't get to meet Jeff and thank him too. The best part was the friendly staff and officials who made everyone feel welcome. And I can't omit the thrill of seeing 98-year old Ann Dunivin steal the show!
!
And glad you had the DQ overturned, Elaine! I didn't catch that in the results!
Thanks, TRYM!
Queen Anne is my teammate and seeing her compete is always a highlight of a meet for me. :agree: I love her dearly and had the honor of celebrating her 96 birthday with her when she was in a rehab hospital recovering from surgery on a bone fracture. We had a great time that day, and she still remembers everything we talked about! She also remembers the chocolate shake I brought her. :D That lady is sharp as a tack! At Nationals, I interviewed her for an article I will be writing for the Georgia Masters Newsletter. She was a hoot!
Now I can say, been there, done that, it's off the bucket list. It was a culturally terrific, but relatively poor athletic experience. Anecdotally, some rare & special people seemed able to swim fast under those conditions, but most, it seemed, had a tough time hitting their seed times. It was a lot of walking & quite tiring! It would be interesting to know what fraction of people swam equal to or faster than their seed times.
Ditto on the bucket list! Montreal and Quebec City were both on mine, and they were terrific cities (especially QC!).
Most of the people I talked with were disappointed with their times, but King Frog was definitely one of those "rare and special people" who rocked the pool at Worlds and broke a World Record! :bow:
:applaud: Bravo, USMS LCM nats! :applaud:
It was great to meet you on Sunday, Swimosaur. You guys are such an inspiration to newbies like me. And congratulations on crossing one more thing off of your bucket list.
Denise, it was great to meet you! Thanks for making the effort to come meet all of us at the pool!
It was indeed a mellow meet! I enjoyed every moment! Everyone was so very friendly and helpful all the way around! It was an amazingly positive experience from start to finish! I'm sad that it's over.
:sad:
