There's a trend in this state (Rhode Island) that disappoints me. From time to time, in certain meets, they will do away with the 500 freestyle. And (when my daughter was on the HS team) I personally witnessed that it's sometimes because the coaches can't entice anyone to swim it. Lame! Sometimes it's because the team is so small that they don't have enough swimmers. OK...maybe! First, if I were the coach, and I have plenty of swimmers on my team, I pick a kid and tell him/her to get up on the blocks and swim the race!!! But...if the rules are going to be bent by not conducting an event...when a team is truly shorthanded...why not bend the rules differently? Instead of scratching an event, let certain swimmers compete in an extra event so that ALL the scheduled events can be competed?
Dan
I would not like to see them change the rules and allow swimmers to swim more events. Believe it or not there is quite a bit of strategy to setting up a meet sheet. Allowing schools to enter kids in extra events gives schools with a couple of really good studs a much bigger advantage than a team like mine with some solid depth. Also I wouldn't consider it "bending the rules" by not running an event.
But are you saying that because you don't want to deal with the difficulty of convincing a swimmer to enter the 500, and rearranging the meet sheet? The rules change wouldn't be a general change to allow all swimmers to compete in an extra event. It would only allow one, maybe two per team...only when the team is undermanned...and only allow the extra event to be the 500 (since that's the event that always gets cancelled). In a meet where both teams have enough members to fill all starting positions in all events...the extra event would not be allowed.
I know it's a different sport...but if the football team is undermanned and doesn't have a punter...they don't cut out the punts. The team has to find someone to punt the ball. IMO swimming should be the same way. Compete all the events.
Dan
I would not like to see them change the rules and allow swimmers to swim more events. Believe it or not there is quite a bit of strategy to setting up a meet sheet. Allowing schools to enter kids in extra events gives schools with a couple of really good studs a much bigger advantage than a team like mine with some solid depth. Also I wouldn't consider it "bending the rules" by not running an event.
But are you saying that because you don't want to deal with the difficulty of convincing a swimmer to enter the 500, and rearranging the meet sheet? The rules change wouldn't be a general change to allow all swimmers to compete in an extra event. It would only allow one, maybe two per team...only when the team is undermanned...and only allow the extra event to be the 500 (since that's the event that always gets cancelled). In a meet where both teams have enough members to fill all starting positions in all events...the extra event would not be allowed.
I know it's a different sport...but if the football team is undermanned and doesn't have a punter...they don't cut out the punts. The team has to find someone to punt the ball. IMO swimming should be the same way. Compete all the events.
Dan
