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?
What are we, 12? This is the silliest thing I've ever heard of. I don't pick up any of my awards unless they're functional (ie I once got a crate of strawberries) or unless I know I can donate them. What do you do with them? Your trophy room? Grow up.
What are we, 12? This is the silliest thing I've ever heard of. I don't pick up any of my awards unless they're functional (ie I once got a crate of strawberries) or unless I know I can donate them. What do you do with them? Your trophy room? Grow up.
Is your question directed to Webgal or the gal she is talking about?
What are we, 12? This is the silliest thing I've ever heard of. I don't pick up any of my awards unless they're functional (ie I once got a crate of strawberries) or unless I know I can donate them. What do you do with them? Your trophy room? Grow up.
I polish my medals once a day (twice a day during taper to get myself psyched up). Being competitive isn't an indicator of maturity level. This seems a little tangential to the original post.
Also I always pick up my awards, even if I am going to toss them in the garbage later: no sense in causing a backlog of awards at the scorer's table, that would just be rude.
(twice a day during taper to get myself psyched up)
Dude! You'll break your taper doing that too much!
Also, I do have my Masters Nats medals from last spring hanging by my TV next to my wife's running medals.
And I got a cool little trinket thing for breaking the pool record in 100 IM last weekend :P
Some people only compete against themselves, that's fine. Some people are motivated by racing others. That's fine too IMHO. If you've seen me at a meet you can guess which camp I'm in. This thread started over breaking the rules to win. Cheating to win is not winning and just demeans the cheater and hurts the competition.
I polish my medals once a day (twice a day during taper to get myself psyched up). Being competitive isn't an indicator of maturity level. This seems a little tangential to the original post.
Also I always pick up my awards, even if I am going to toss them in the garbage later: no sense in causing a backlog of awards at the scorer's table, that would just be rude.
Also:
ITT: My awards room in my house is larger than yours (and has more medals than yours). I also have a bigger trophy than you.
Dude! You'll break your taper doing that too much!
Also, I do have my Masters Nats medals from last spring hanging by my TV next to my wife's running medals.
And I got a cool little trinket thing for breaking the pool record in 100 IM last weekend :P
Sorry forgot to say during taper my kids polish my medals for me...under my watchful eye.
:popcorn: This is great! It reminds me of the good ol' days when That Guy and Jaadams1s used to keep us all entertained on here. That Guy was :lmao:! I miss him. :cry::sad:
Getting back on subject, I bought one of these for some of my medals:
11894
This hangs in my home office above a book shelf where I have my trophies displayed. In addition to taking photos at meets (especially travel meets), I enjoy having these souvenirs as a reminder of an enjoyable experience; a nice keepsake. My favorite medal was from 2013 Summer Nationals in Mission Viejo, just 40 minutes south of where I grew up. The palm tree and surfboard remind me of home where my family is still located. The 2011 medal from Auburn flashes my memory back to Allen Stark and Seal Girl cheering me on in the 200m Breaststroke. He also broke the World Record in that same event, and I will never forget shooting video of that race and cheering him on. (Sorry, King Frog; I ruined your video with my screaming!)
Our forum moderator might remember when I swam my first open water swim in 2012, and signed up to do the 3K and 1K back-to-back with just a few minutes in between the two. I was so excited that I finished the 3K that I couldn't wait to go back in for the 1K! I turned right around at the finish line and joined the group in the water. I ended up winning medals in both races and was flying high. That medal represents one heck of a FUN DAY! The same goes for the Ironman Pentathlon our moderator ran (with cool trophies!), where I swam the 400 IM and 200's of each stroke in around two hours. I deserved that trophy, even though I was the only one in my age group to race it!
So, amswimmer, at 57, I guess I still haven't grown up in your eyes; and, I don't care. The medals and trophies represent great memories, and seeing them in my home office makes me happy. It also represents accomplishments that I enjoyed experiencing and that I am proud of accomplishing.
I did not realize all of this drama was right under my nose at the AZ state meet!
As a self-confessed high point whore I can sympathize with your plight. I try to pick events based on who I think may show up. As an example, last summer SW Zone meet in Mission Viejo. The entry clearly stated 800 or 1500 but not both. A bunch of people entered both as I would have done, if I weren't following rules. Not sure if they would have gotten away with the banned double, but I emailed the director. Psych sheets were out and theoretically the extra event was then allowed to be cherry-picked by the people who either couldn't read or were trying to get away with something. (Don't worry. I got my beloved high point towel!)
In my older days, I have become more philosophical. I wouldn't automatically assume nefarious motives by meet directors. I think some just want to increase meet participation and be flexible.
