Call me an old fashioned cynic, but Gary Hall's oh so exclusive "Race Club" seems to generate more amusement than intimidation. To review the bidding for those with real lives, Mr. Hall announced a few months ago his intent to form his own club dedicated to elite swimming. It has a fabulous location and training facility in the Florida Keys. It will cover travel, training and living expenses. (I'm tempted to ask who is fronting the money, but I won't denigrade Mr. Hall's ability to raise funds.) If you want to join them, send in a resume; don't call us; we'll call you. Let us look over your accoplishments and decide whether you are worthy.
Hmm, great facilities, don't have to share pool time with the non-world class members (i.e. 99%) of a Swim Club, just about all expenses paid. Unless you have your own lucrative endorsement deal, what swimmer wouldn't want to join this team?
Well, the initial members of the "Swim Club" were announced last week. www.swiminfo.com/.../6097.asp Eight Olympians sounds real impressive. But then you look at the list a little more closely. Eleven swimmers, and although I have not googled everyone of them, all of the ones I have googled are in their late 20's or older. Or in other words, 3 of the 11 swimmers are chronologically at the back end of their careers, and they have not yet made their nation's Olympic Team. Closer scrutiny reveals 10 of the 11 are men. Just about all of them swim the 50 free or 50 fly, and few of them seriously compete in anything other that the 50 or 100 free or fly. In contrast to the lack of age, gender and event diversity, the team does have members of many nationalities and ethic backgrounds. However, the most telling stat of all is that roughly half of the members I checked are not currently ranked in the World Top 20 Rankings, LCM or SCM, in any event.
Overall, the "Swim Club" sort of reminds me of the kind of team a rookie fantasy league coach would assemble--there are a lot of names you would recognize, but their most productive years may be behind them. To be fair, all of these folks are amazing, world-class swimmers. Their careers to date have been awesome, and they remain extraordinary today by any standard, except arguably World Rankings. In contrast, I am an opinionated loud mouth. I would be delighted to see them find new speed and light up the scoreboards next year with medals and records, and make a complete monkey of me. As of right now, I think may the "Swim Club's" gloss may have exceeded its actual capabilities.
Matt
Parents
Former Member
Guess what, the swim team that is #1 in the World for publicity has managed to make the headlines again without any actual competition. Yup, "The Race Club" of the Florida Keys will send its first contingent to an actual meet (and of course, media events) in conjunction with NYC2012. See article at www.swiminfo.com
Let me be clear about this; I wish Gary Hall and his group of sprinters all the luck in the world as they try to push the envelope of what is considered a world-class swimmer’s prime. Good on you guys (there being only one woman in the “Circle of Champions” i.e. the people who train at the Florida facility), I think it would be thrilling for you to put together some sizzling times.
However, the relentless self-promotion and high ratio of publicity to performance is getting a little hard to take without comment. This goes far beyond a workout group with a high opinion of its abilities. They have a web site (www.theraceclub), “the Race Club enables all swimmers from throughout the world to work as a unit to help drive more exposure and revenue for the sport without a concern for nationality.” How exactly do they do that? They join the Race Club (for a fee), and get some “Race Club” gear! Ballcaps, t-shirts, membership cards…(what, no secret decoder rings?) They also offer swim clinics, for a fee, but if you join the “Race Club” you get a discount on the clinics. But, that’s not all; the web site also solicits corporate sponsors, and individual donations of money, equipment, and (I kid you not) airline miles and hotel points. The Race Club also offers product endorsements. And let’s not forget the newsletter. The homepage thoughtfully informs us of their cutting edge training techniques, which includes diving for lobster, 35 feet deep.
Puhlease, people! You are (or were at one time) serious, world-class athletes. This club of yours is beginning to remind me of all those mediocre “Rat-Pack” movies Frank Sinatra and his pals used to make. Basically, they were an excuse to get together, party, and maybe shoot a movie on the side. Enough with the press conferences already; please, Please, PLEASE get down to serious swimming! Nothing would delight me more than to see you tear off a few world rankings and maybe the odd Olympic medal, national or world record. Stop turning yourselves into caricatures.
Matt
Guess what, the swim team that is #1 in the World for publicity has managed to make the headlines again without any actual competition. Yup, "The Race Club" of the Florida Keys will send its first contingent to an actual meet (and of course, media events) in conjunction with NYC2012. See article at www.swiminfo.com
Let me be clear about this; I wish Gary Hall and his group of sprinters all the luck in the world as they try to push the envelope of what is considered a world-class swimmer’s prime. Good on you guys (there being only one woman in the “Circle of Champions” i.e. the people who train at the Florida facility), I think it would be thrilling for you to put together some sizzling times.
However, the relentless self-promotion and high ratio of publicity to performance is getting a little hard to take without comment. This goes far beyond a workout group with a high opinion of its abilities. They have a web site (www.theraceclub), “the Race Club enables all swimmers from throughout the world to work as a unit to help drive more exposure and revenue for the sport without a concern for nationality.” How exactly do they do that? They join the Race Club (for a fee), and get some “Race Club” gear! Ballcaps, t-shirts, membership cards…(what, no secret decoder rings?) They also offer swim clinics, for a fee, but if you join the “Race Club” you get a discount on the clinics. But, that’s not all; the web site also solicits corporate sponsors, and individual donations of money, equipment, and (I kid you not) airline miles and hotel points. The Race Club also offers product endorsements. And let’s not forget the newsletter. The homepage thoughtfully informs us of their cutting edge training techniques, which includes diving for lobster, 35 feet deep.
Puhlease, people! You are (or were at one time) serious, world-class athletes. This club of yours is beginning to remind me of all those mediocre “Rat-Pack” movies Frank Sinatra and his pals used to make. Basically, they were an excuse to get together, party, and maybe shoot a movie on the side. Enough with the press conferences already; please, Please, PLEASE get down to serious swimming! Nothing would delight me more than to see you tear off a few world rankings and maybe the odd Olympic medal, national or world record. Stop turning yourselves into caricatures.
Matt
