Rob, thanks for getting this set up. Bert, we're still on for our own SCM fly championship if w can't get this thing going!
Backstrokers not invited, backstroke is very, very bad!!!
Paul; it isn't so much that backstroke is "bad", it is just that backstroke is so far down the list...........
You see, there is a natural hierarchy in swimming strokes which many are not aware of.
The bottom feeders are, of course, ***-strokers; since it isn't a real stroke anyway. In Europe and Asia, that is what they teach children who cannot master any other stroke. Next up are those poor devils, the backstrokers. I've heard it said that men are from Mars, women from Venus and backstrokers are from Uranus. Whatever that means..... Next come distance freestylers, with a sub-grouping of 200 flyers and 400 IM'ers included. Up another rung and you find the freestyle sprinters........and, naturally, at the apex - the creme-de-la-creme of swimming, sprint flyers.
So now you know the ranking system.
I don't make this stuff up, you know ! ;)
Ladies & Gentlemen,
I ah, harrump, have devised a scientifically reproducable index that takes into account all the REALLY significant factors contributing to TRULY great swimming. It includes things like length and quality of workouts, VO2 Max Uptake stats, mean lactic acid load and standard deviation, a comparison of a representative sampling of swimmers with idealized stroke mechanics demonstrated in the TI video tapes, median IQ measurements of coaches, normed for nationality, a measurement of aesthetic pleasingness while wearing competitive swimming attire ... {WHO PUT THAT IN THERE?! WILBER!! Where are you hiding?} ...
Anyway, the numbers are in, and they clearly demonstrate that distance freestylers and butterflyers rule, and the shorter the races and less butterfly content in them, the more the alleged participants drool. It's scientifically reproducable; just look for our infomercial on the Botox Channel.
M. Graham Shirley, BA, MA, JD
Dept. Head, Bovine Eschatology
Watsamatta U.
Bert -
Since you've obviously hit your head on the edge of the pool too often, your confusion is understandable. At the apex are Open Water swimmers. I have two masters degree in science so you can trust me on this.
-LBJ
OK Paul, I'll bite. I was one of the few (the proud . . .) who voted SCM or SCY but not both.
First, I know myself best, and generalize to others from that. I am not able, because of family and work and money, to travel to more than one national meet a year. If I am at all typical that means that many swimmers will have to choose which meets to attend, and which meets to not attend. This will reduce the number of swimmers at the meets and reduce the competitiveness of the current two national championships. That would make all of the meets less attractive and less fun to attend. It would also reduce my justification when I brag at the company lunch table. "Well yeah, there were only four swimmers in the event . . ." In that scenario the top ten list becomes even more a measure of 'how well' one is swimming. And while I like the top ten list, it is pretty impersonal and not as fun as a competitive championship.
There are lots of good SCM meets already. For me these have/could include the SPMA meet, Pacific championships, and the IGLA world championships, all of which are relatively close to where I live. It think it is valuable to have quality local meets and a championship would reduce their importance and competitiveness. These meets are a good opportunity to get new swimmers involved, and mixing with 'elite' swimmers, without qualifying times.
There is no way I could attend a meet in December. Work and family are just too intense at that time. I find it difficult to figure out when the meet could be held outside of that time. I like to work out hard, when I get a chance to work out, and more big meets would force taper on me more than I would like. A third meet would interfere with some team activities in the winter that I find enjoyable.
I do not have the time to run one of these championship meets, and find it difficult to ask another person to do the work for me. We have already heard how difficult it is to get hosts for these meets. Going back to my first point, for the hosts it is not clear if a smaller meet (more feasible, less work) is better or worse than a larger meet (more income), so a third meet may make it easier or harder to get the other two hosted - that is a big unknown.
If anything, I would prefer getting rid of SCY championships altogether, and replace them with a SCM meet. That would get us in line with the rest of the world and increase the quality of the world records. But I am not much of a traditionalist.
Finally, I swim both sprint and distance fly, *and* backstroke. Both the high and the low, I suppose. I never did like to be stereotyped.
And now back to the subject! As the poll shows, this is clearly an event worth consideration by USMS. Thanks to Mr. Copeland a proposal is going to be submitted!
By the way, although the numbers are small I'd be curious to hear why anyone would not want to have a 3rd national championship held in SCM format?
As our rules stand today, Short Course national can be either 25 Yards or 25 Meters and must be conducted between April 15 and May 31.
The suggested time frame of mid-November through December was presented so that it wasn’t too close to either of the existing nationals and to coincide with the 12/31 Top 10 submission deadline for SCM.
Phil,
Just a quick response, and I don't think we disagree on too many points. I see the basis for your concern about too many National meets sucking dry our volunteer base. I have several observations:
1st, for the near term I am willing to bet that "SCM Nationals" will in fact be one of the many good regional SCM meets you mentioned, with the label of "USMS SCM Championships" stuck on it. Same meet, same people running it, new gloss for the pre-meet publicity, moderately increasing number of swimmers as SCM Nationals are taken more seriously with each passing year. It will be a while before we see a substantial difference.
2nd, I agree a third USMS National meet might siphon off swimmers from the other two. At least in the case of SCY Nationals, I view that as a good thing. I'm with you, I like LCM. But, let's face facts, most Masters swimmers love SC formats. I can go to LCM Nationals, and not feel like Rodney Dangerfield dropped into the middle of the PGA Championships, but if I go to SCY Nationals, I know the field will bury me. I can swim my heart out, finishing 38th out of 44, or swim my usual, and finish 40th, or show-up sick, sleep-deprived and hung-over, and finish 42nd. I know that is not representative of my ability; I know where I stack-up among Masters swimmers in general. But, lots of people my speed (i.e. not meeting NQT's) do not bother with SCY Nationals because there is no meaningful competition for us. If some of the middle of the pack competition gets spread out among three USMS Nationals, it may make these events more accessible for more swimmers.
3rd, I do not agree that a smaller meet is just as hard to run as a full-blown, USMS Nationals extravaganza. If it was, why are there some many regional meets and Zone Championships which are middlin' large run at the same places every year? These meets are not burning out the local volunteer base. Why should one more middlin' large meet that rotates location burn out the national volunteer base?
4th, I do, however, share your concern that we not burn-out our volunteer base. At some point SCM Nationals could get big enough to be a burden comparable to the other two Nationals, and will we be able to find three groups of suckers, er... heroes willing to take on this task? Let me humbly suggest that if USMS gets big enough to run three annual events the size of LCM Nationals or bigger, we will probably be generating enough revenue to hire professionals to do some of the labor intensive drudgery behind a Nationals meet.
As far as the December time frame is concerned, I see your point. But, let me suggest that there is no time frame anywhere in the calendar that does not conflict, at least a little, with other major life commitments. In May, the kids are still in school, or if they are in college taking Finals or moving out of the dorms, and there are potential conflicts with Easter or Mothers' Day. August is prime-time family vacation time, and some schools start up again well before Labor Day. Early December ain't great, but what is? Looking at this purely from a swimming point of view, Dec is just about perfect if you prefer metric formats. The big problem with doing SCY and LCM both, is that the late finish for SCY really compresses the LCM season. If in contrast you can do LCM followed by SCM, you get a two-fer benefit. First, you get a nice long 7+ month season to prep for LCM's, and then, while you are still in shape, before the Holidays really bite (or before you bite them, as the case may be), you get to take a run at SCM, AND all you have to give up is SCY Nationals. This is a really good deal if you like meters!
So, I follow what you are saying, mostly agree with it, but differ as to whether the "problems" you see are good things, or bad.
Matt
