Anyone planning on attending the World Masters in Italy?
Former Member
Who here is planning on going to the World Masters in June? I am making plans, however, at this time I am still a bit shy on my qualifying times. I have been working out, swimming more so I hope that my times will drop a lot so I can make it. I will begin to know in a couple of weeks as the yards season is begining.
I still don't know what I want to swim, I know I'm close on the 200 *** and 200 free, the rest are a bit far off, but I've dropped a lot of time lately so I might also try out for the 400 IM.
I plan on using the trip as an excuse to travel around Europe for about a month after it's over with as well. That might be more fun then the meet!
Parents
Former Member
Ed,
On the qualifying times: use your head. You may already have a perfectly ethical QT.
First, read the rules on QT's. There is usually a window (say within the last year or the last 18 months before the meet) which you have to swim the time you need. I haven't read the rules, so I don't know what that window is, but take your best swim in the event you want to enter.
Second, we Americans have limited opportunities to swim fully prepped and tapered LCM swims. Yes, we inflicted this situation on ourselves, but there it is. However, Masters meets generally do not require proof the swimmer has actually swam the QT (again read the rules to see what this Meet is doing). The sanction for people who do not qualify is that you are DQ'ed and your time is not reported if you fail to make the QT during the meet.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not telling you to cheat. You have staked out the admirable position of not entering unless you make the QT, and I applaud that. I do think it would be ethically acceptable for you to take your best SCY time, go to a widely recognized time converting calculator (such as the one at www.swiminfo.com; look for it on the toolbar on the left), and see if it converts to a time under the QT. If so, I think you are well within the ethical bounds of Masters to submit that as your entry time in the event.
You may feel uncomfortable doing that because you think you will not be in the same shape at the time of the meet as when you swam the time, etc. etc. However, this is the same issue everyone who has just barely made a QT faces. This is Masters; there is no big money or fame in a Masters meet. We are all doing this only because we want to, and we are all adults. Because of all that, the enforcement of the ethical boundaries is the honor system, and I think your decision should be based on your personal view of what is the honorable thing to do here.
Matt
Ed,
On the qualifying times: use your head. You may already have a perfectly ethical QT.
First, read the rules on QT's. There is usually a window (say within the last year or the last 18 months before the meet) which you have to swim the time you need. I haven't read the rules, so I don't know what that window is, but take your best swim in the event you want to enter.
Second, we Americans have limited opportunities to swim fully prepped and tapered LCM swims. Yes, we inflicted this situation on ourselves, but there it is. However, Masters meets generally do not require proof the swimmer has actually swam the QT (again read the rules to see what this Meet is doing). The sanction for people who do not qualify is that you are DQ'ed and your time is not reported if you fail to make the QT during the meet.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not telling you to cheat. You have staked out the admirable position of not entering unless you make the QT, and I applaud that. I do think it would be ethically acceptable for you to take your best SCY time, go to a widely recognized time converting calculator (such as the one at www.swiminfo.com; look for it on the toolbar on the left), and see if it converts to a time under the QT. If so, I think you are well within the ethical bounds of Masters to submit that as your entry time in the event.
You may feel uncomfortable doing that because you think you will not be in the same shape at the time of the meet as when you swam the time, etc. etc. However, this is the same issue everyone who has just barely made a QT faces. This is Masters; there is no big money or fame in a Masters meet. We are all doing this only because we want to, and we are all adults. Because of all that, the enforcement of the ethical boundaries is the honor system, and I think your decision should be based on your personal view of what is the honorable thing to do here.
Matt
