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 agree completely with both of your points, though it should be said that this swimmer has done this kind of thing before and has obviously gotten away with it. She even found a way to skew an open water swim that I was in, but that's another story!
I only entered the meet because I am one of the coaches on the team and would have to be at the meet all weekend. I figured I'd register for the 1650 as a way to get an easy swim in since I would not be able to swim otherwise. My entry time reflected my rather cavalier attitude to the race. I actually pulled out of the meet because I would have been the coach on deck for the team, and therefore for the cheating swimmer. The thought of sitting with her under a tent for 3 days was not something I was willing to do.
My other justification was that if she was gonna brag at practice about how she won the 1650, when people asked her how many other swimmers there were, she would have to answer "none". LOL
I agree completely with both of your points, though it should be said that this swimmer has done this kind of thing before and has obviously gotten away with it. She even found a way to skew an open water swim that I was in, but that's another story!
I only entered the meet because I am one of the coaches on the team and would have to be at the meet all weekend. I figured I'd register for the 1650 as a way to get an easy swim in since I would not be able to swim otherwise. My entry time reflected my rather cavalier attitude to the race. I actually pulled out of the meet because I would have been the coach on deck for the team, and therefore for the cheating swimmer. The thought of sitting with her under a tent for 3 days was not something I was willing to do.
My other justification was that if she was gonna brag at practice about how she won the 1650, when people asked her how many other swimmers there were, she would have to answer "none". LOL
