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
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
Their schedule says they are going to be at USMS nationals in April. Maybe you'll have an opportunity to tell them what you think about the race club. I'd buy a ticket to that. Come to think of it, they'd probably sell tickets.
Hmmmm. Trying to bring publicity to swimming, what a horrible thing. Lets all sit in our pools do our thing and not try to let anyone else in. In fact throw away the key.
This is a free country and if they want to promote the passion they have for swimming let them do it. If they fail, they fail. But don't tell me having these former world class athletes (your opinion) trying to do something in the public eye for swimming is a bad thing. We don't get the attention we deserve.
If you have some personal vendetta against Gary Hall (for whatever reason) deal with it. But don't use this forum to landbast them as bad for the sport especially with your so called disclaimer. If you know Jon Olson, you would also know he would not associate himself as the head coach if this were not a worthwhile endeavour.
By the way, the fact that there is only one woman on the team is a problem is laughable. I wonder how you feel about collegiate swim teams that train separately. i.e. University of Texas and Stanford must be some of the worst swimming programs you know since the men and women train separately.
I hope I am not being to personal here, I do not mean to take personal shots. I just truly believe any good publicity in our sport is a good thing.
So if you are saying you are member of The Race Club you don't or won't "bust your ass"? I would love to hear what Roland Schoeman or Sabir Muhammad or many others on the team might say about that.
Don't get me wrong Michael Phelps is a phenomenal talent and works his tail off, but to ASSUME just because you like to race and are a sprinter with The Race Club doesn't mean you don't work hard to achieve your goals. Let them have a shot at making this work.
We don't need people that have the same passion for the same sport tearing them down just because we have a personal problem with the one who came up with the idea.
Matt S - I don't understand your hysterical loathing of this race club thing. Did you not get invited or somthing? They are just promoting swimming. Have you watched TV lately and seen the promotions for the NBA, NFL, PGA? This is small potatos compared to that. Just relax and let them have their fun. To the best of my knowledge no one is hurt by it, excpet for you maybe.
Solicitation of corporate sponsors, oh no, how terrible. No sport does that these days! Were you wathcing Bowl Season, seen a PGA golfer's attire lately or caught a glimpse of a NASCAR car in a while? Heck, no sport survives without corporate sponsorship.
What I am trying to say, my personal shadow, is that I think that Coughlin/Phelps-like style and effort will get them and their sport further (has Speedo offered $1MM to any TRC performances?--and I am not being flippant here) than "media blitzes" and the like. I will also not say that any of the aforementioned TRC athletes are not training as hard as anyone else out there. The Olympics and medals are obviously their goal, but they are multi-tasking a bit too much...IN MY OPINION.
I am going to add 10x35-foot lobster dives to my regimen immediately, though.
I was thinking about joining but the membership goodie bag didn't come with a cape. And I wasn't too keen on the club's mascot.
When I was little (about six) I used to have a bathing suit with a belt buckle on it. I think it was a sea horse or something. Now that's what would entice people. Forget about the decoder ring.
Now, riddle me this...do the Circle of Champions swim up on the right and back on the left? Or is it a completely different circle?
Got to run.
I'll take the Michael Phelps-style of swimming promotion any day over what I am seeing here: et in the water, bust your ass at every meet where you are challenged, don't ask for anything, and prove your worth to anyone who demands it. More of people like he and Natalie Coughlin will help this sport; not SELF promotion and the seemingly earnest pleading that this website demonstrates.
Realistically, however, considering the entertainment value, endorsement dollars, and face time given of the NBA, NFL and MLB, swimming and sports like it, will NEVER get over the hump here--the best we can hope for is to be considered the best ATHLETES on the face of the earth and I am good with that, because basketball players and baseball players certainly are not.
GO US SWIMMING.
Ah, excellent! I was worried that my tone wasn't sharp enough to draw comment. Some of the respondents might consider that in exchange for some mild razzing, the Race Club and its web site have been brought to the attention of a few more folks. (Trust me, Sam & Aquageek, when I have a hysterical loathing for someone, you will know it.)
However, since the concept of razzing appears to be a bit dim for some, let me restate my position more directly. Let's review some of their statements, shall we:
"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. "
"Members of The Race Club's Circle of Champions train throughout the world and can use the organization for different levels of support and public visibility including attending meets as a group while representing their club team, travel expenses to certain swim meets, obtaining equipment, media, sponsorships, and training camps....The group is designed to pool talented male and female swimmers from around the world that have a shot at representing their country at the Olympics."
"The Race Club is not about any one team or group, or a country or a specific event or stroke. We're about taking all of the currently segregated factions of swimmers from around the world and uniting them to form an organization that truly gives swimming fans the opportunity to see their sport a lot more often, gives sponsors a lot more reach, and enables elite swimmers to earn a living for as long as they can in the sport."
"Anyone with the love to race and the desire to help advance the sport of swimming into the mainstream can become a member of The Race Club.
"The revenue for all Race Club camps, clinics, merchandise, and sponsorships will go to support more swimmers, promote events, and drive our sport into the mainstream."
Now let's compare the statements with what they have done so far. First, the Race Club is about elite swimmers swimming fast. Thus far they've not shown up as a Club for one meet. Second, it's about pooling talented male and female swimmers, not necessarily in any one stroke or event, who have a shot at swimming in the Olympics. Currently, the Circle of Champions is composed mostly of older, male (only one woman) sprinters. Moreover, with a couple of notable exception, this group has not done much recently in terms of World Rankings. Third, anyone who loves to race can join, and revenue will go to support more swimmers and promote events. Thus far, I have seen no evidence that any of the energetic fund-raising has paid for anything other than the expenses of the folks training in Florida.
This is ambitious. Generally, if someone is asking me for donations or support, I would expect to see some evidence they will deliver on their goals. To be more specific, if I am looking for a virtual, internet team to help me with my swimming, I am more likely to look to Emmett Hines and his virtual team because he has a proven track record as a coach. If I want to buy gear from a team which is cool because they have some of the best in sport on the team, I am more likely to be interested in Michael Phelps' NBAC. What has the Race Club actually done other that issue press releases and ask for donations? What I would actually, sincerely like to see is for the Race Club to start delivering on some of its stated goals:
(1) Show up for some meets and have some of your swimmers post some top times.
(2) Get real about the kind of swimmer your are training (i.e. sprinters in their late-20's or older who are training to maintain World Class conditioning), and begin sharing with the rest of the community some of your training techniques and approaches to swimming that take that into account.
(3) Start sharing some of the resources you are raising to more swimmers that the "Circle of Champions." (At least the airline miles or hotel points for crying out loud.)
(4) Stage a few events that generate the kind of publicity and interest you think will be good for the sport.
There is a scene from "The Right Stuff" that comes to mind. NASA has just introduced to the public the first group of astronauts with great fanfare and hoopla. Chuck Yeager, the man who broke the sound barrier but declined to participate in the space exploration program, observed the proceedings and remarked, "they've just be labeled the hottest thing in flying and all they've done so far is show up for a press conference." Now, we all know what those Mercury and Gemini astronauts achieved. I would be delighted to see the Race Club achieve something comparable, and I'd be the first to praise their efforts and call for a victory parade if they do. So far, they've only shown up for a press conference. Please, get down to what you do well, swimming.
Matt
