I have been so busy with the XI FINA Masters World Championships, I have not been able to report some of the other things that I learned at the FINA Bureau meeting in Dubai last month.
One of the great things about going to the meetings is the ability to develop personal relationships with the members of the Bureau. On Saturday afternoon, the Bureau meetings were finished. I was walking through the lobby of the beautiful Fairmont Dubai, at one table was Cornel Marculescu, FINA Executive Director, Bill Matson and Dale Neuburger, our FINA rep.
I got called over to them and we talked about the championships to be held at Stanford. After a couple of glasses of wine, somehow the conversation got on the topic of evening out the competition. I told them that when I was in high school in San Francisco, they had a system of exponents for teams and a person could have no more than x amount of points (points were given for age, height and weight). This way you could have a basketball team of people of about like physical ability playing the game.
Bill Matson said that FINA Masters Committee was looking at differenciating the records. The FINA Bureau wants to be more inclusive and the ability to have more records. When you have different types of records more people can go after them.- it will create more excitement and maybe more people will want to swim Masters As FINA is divided into different geographical segments North America, South American, Europe, Asia and Pacific the FINA Masters Committee will be recommending that the records be kept for those areas. (I thought I heard that this was being proposed by the French who wanted there swimmers to be able to get international recognition – there best women Masters swimmers are in the same age group as Laura Val).
Dale said that the US is been opposed to this and that he and June Krauser have been working to keep it in committee, but it looks like he does not have the votes to keep it there. The US thinks that there should be only one set of records and in the current format.
He also said that there is going to be “super category” of Masters records. Masters Masters (age 40-59) and Senior Masters (60+). Cornel said that Walt Reid, who keeps track of all the International Masters Records, while initially opposed to the idea, has developed the software to handle all the new data that will be coming in.
Dale said FINA Masters will be recommending that the Federations have new categories for swimmers who were not age group swimmers (he thought this was marketing than from the competition committee). I laughed and said yea – right – the next thing you would do is to keep records on the BMI (Body Mass Index Scale). Cornel said that was considerd but they would like to see some other changes made first.
Bill said that all that is left to do is that it has to pass the FINA Masters Committee. They will be meeting in Riccione, Italy just before the X FINA Masters World Championships. (Dale thinks that the French and Europeans have the votes to get it through). After it passes there, it will go the the FINA Congress (In past years, it met at the same time as the Olympics, but starting with this Congress, it will meet at the World Championships).
Anyway, that is what I learned at Dubai. And thought you might like to know.
michael
Former Member
Originally posted by gull80
Yes, Ion, and you dismissed the concept of internal rewards, which is what drives most of us, as New Age pablum.
Not entirely.
I said that I value the internal but that I am not a monk and I performed well last year when cheered on by teammates.
One who was a champion of oneself is Tim Shaw, described in the book 'Four Champions, one Gold Medal'.
But he was not immune to external rewards either.
When he had anemia in 1976 and people were turning away from him in meets, he was affected too.
Ion, if overcoming a challenge means championing one's self, then it is Tom's place to complain about the lack of recognition of the challenge, not yours, and as he said, he has zero complaints.
Originally posted by laineybug
Ion, it was a rhetorical question. You miss a lot of the subtle nuisances in the informal way Americans speak.
Mine is a rhetorical question too.
You miss a lot of the subtle nuances (not 'nuisances' like you just wrote, 'nuisances' means something else totally different) in the informal way I speak.
I differ with this:
Originally posted by laineybug
Ion, if overcoming a challenge means championing one's self, then it is Tom's place to complain about the lack of recognition of the challenge, not yours, and as he said, he has zero complaints.
Inspirational challenges are welcome by me.
Ok, Ion, I will take the bait....How much emphasis do your think would have been enough for me? Heck, I am the guy who banged away, trained and planned for those swims and achieved an element or small degree of success, and I am MORE then happy with the recognition and emphasis given me.
What more could I possibly want, deserve or expect? Especially when I swim a couple of minutes slower in the mile then the greats in my age group; like Jim Mc Conica, Kevin Polanski, Keith Bell, Bill Cerney, Larry Woods, Leo French and many other guys who have pounded me like a drum in that event..and...most of them do it year in, year out, year in, year out....
Originally posted by Tom Ellison
....How much emphasis do your think would have been enough for me?
....
For you, as little as you want.
For me, more emphasis than what you are happy with.
If this emphasis is intruding in your private life and you don't want more of this, then there are other challenges that can be emphasized.
Thanks Ion, I'll let you proof read my psychological evaluation reports for me, I could use a secretary that can proof read.
Ion, Americans communicate informally (we make typos, we don't use perfect grammar, etc.) and over look things like typos in forms like this. Would I have allowed something like that to get by in formal writing? No.
Ok, I can buy that answer Ion. Please, let me propose a question then. If your were ME, given my situation, knowing what I overcame, and the small degree of success I achieved in USMS, what amount or degree of recognition, emphasis would you want….and in what forum?
What's inspirational about Tom's story, and that of others like him, is that he overcame the challenge. That he did it without drawing attention to himself or seeking special recognition makes it that much more impressive.
Originally posted by Ion Beza
You hadn't been insulted by me.
You and who thinks otherwise re-read my post.
More slowly.
It says that you overcame a challenge that was not seen.
USMS has an obscurantist way that doesn't see challenges.
maybe if you stopped grandstanding, people would be more expectant of something good and respectful coming out of you.
You know, the majority of the responsibility of a message being understood falls on the comunicator, not the listener.
In an attempt to yet again sound oh so superior, you obscuranted your own message.
Try plain english next time, instead of the peacocky poppycock that you write.
So, now don't go putting people down and blaming them for your ineffective communication style. It's noone but your own damn fault that most people didn't, or didn't bother to try and understand what you said. Also, even though, in an extremely awkeard and self serving way, you tried to give Tom kudos for what he overcame, in the same breath you attacked the organization (USMS) that he believes in.
Well, no **** sherlock, preople aren't gonna like what and how you say it, even if in an obscure way you attempt to say something positive.
You know, using fancy language is no sign if superiority. Actually using it in a casual forum such as this (out of place) is not very smart.
As for obscurantisam in USMS, that's just your skewed perception. There is plenty of recognition even in the SWIM magazine for peoples accomplishmenmts, including mine, which is hardly an accomplishment, compared to many other people.
The reasons you aren't getting the pat on the back that you so badly think you deserve is yet again, internal, on your part, and it has to do with your attitude, and nothing to do with USMS, other than perhaps the fact taht it's an organization run by humans, who will react to your bad attitude, just like any human would.
The biggest thing you have to overcome is yourself. You've got a long way to go. If some day you do, you migh even get noted for it. For now, you're stuck in your own piss and vinegar, and it will be like that no matter where you are, home, work, swim team or any other place you find yourself.
And, you should be aware that most people in here are rather annoyed with your going on and harping on your own agenda. Heard you the first time, disagreed, repeating is just annoying people, and not getting them any closer to being on your side, if anything, you're driving them aeay, even if somewhere far away and long ago you might have had a decent idea, it's now lost under your Mount Attitude.
