A quick question for all of you:
Our state meet is taking place this weekend. The meet entries were cut off last Sunday at 6p.m. The psych sheet was available mid-Monday. About 24 hours later, one of our swimmers found a way to get herself into the meet, despite there being a very strict stipulation regarding no late entries.
She "conveniently" put herself in races where she would place first place without a doubt. In two of the races, she actually knocked her fellow teammates down from first place to second.
Keep in mind that this is not the first time this person has done this, and it should be noted that she repeatedly stated her goal to get "high point" at the meet. According to numerous conversations, she knew she had "missed" the deadline, but failed to seek entry until AFTER the psych sheet came out.
When our coach was notified of this, his reaction was basically, "It's just your time that counts, so I wouldn't worry about points." However, this obviously affects not only the swimmers on her team who were screwed, but other swimmers and other teams who may also be trying to get high point status.
Am I wrong in thinking that this is deceptive at best, and a very clever and manipulative use of a loophole that allows a swimmer to have a very unfair advantage? Is this what USMS has become - winning at any cost? Has anyone else experienced this kind of thing?
I'm going to play devil's advocate. I think blaming the swimmer is misguided. This person obviously knew what they could do, and they took advantage of it to accomplish their goals. I'm not excusing it, by any means. But IMHO, all of the invective should be directed at the host for not enforcing the rules, thereby hurting those who follow the rules to a T.
That said.......seems to me that pulling out of the meet is a bit like cutting off one's nose to spite their face. Do most masters swimmers compete just for the awards? Granted, I've not done a meet, yet, but I know that my kids would rather go to a much more competitive meet and swim against some great swimmers than go to a smaller meet and (one of them) be a lock for hte high point.
I'm going to play devil's advocate. I think blaming the swimmer is misguided. This person obviously knew what they could do, and they took advantage of it to accomplish their goals. I'm not excusing it, by any means. But IMHO, all of the invective should be directed at the host for not enforcing the rules, thereby hurting those who follow the rules to a T.
That said.......seems to me that pulling out of the meet is a bit like cutting off one's nose to spite their face. Do most masters swimmers compete just for the awards? Granted, I've not done a meet, yet, but I know that my kids would rather go to a much more competitive meet and swim against some great swimmers than go to a smaller meet and (one of them) be a lock for hte high point.
