Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool

Originally posted by aquageek I prefer the track start for the sole reason it doesn't require the flexibility of the hamstrings that the traditional start does. Alternatively, I could be doing both wrong. I completely agree, as one who was not blessed with flexibility. I also switched to a track start back in high school because it kept me from false starting on blocks with a heavy slant. Like people have said, you do what is most comfortable for yourself. I was at Duel in the Pool this year, and also watched it on TV, and I have to admit that neither was really "exciting" in the traditional sense. Didn't even compare to the energy last year in Long Beach at Trials, but there wasn't as much on the line either. It didn't help that it was a total blowout, with the American men so dominant over all the Aussie men except Hackett. But, the live announcer (not the NBC ones) was fantastic. I don't know if he's with Novaquatics (the host) or NBC, but he had the crowd cheering for one thing or another the whole time. If he's not with a broadcast company, he should be. I thought NBC's coverage was great though. I've personally loved swimming since I was a kid, but in my experience, most swim meets are roughly as exciting as watching water boil. NBC mixed it up with interesting backgrounds on different swimmers (from BOTH teams no less), and I thought it was great that they always interviewed the winner, even if an underdog won the race. They made it clear that the US has a team beyond the Michael Phelps Show, and I have to appreciate that. I do, however, think it's a little weird that this meet found the $ to get a major broadcast, and Worlds did not.

Originally posted by aquageek I prefer the track start for the sole reason it doesn't require the flexibility of the hamstrings that the traditional start does. Alternatively, I could be doing both wrong. I completely agree, as one who was not blessed with flexibility. I also switched to a track start back in high school because it kept me from false starting on blocks with a heavy slant. Like people have said, you do what is most comfortable for yourself. I was at Duel in the Pool this year, and also watched it on TV, and I have to admit that neither was really "exciting" in the traditional sense. Didn't even compare to the energy last year in Long Beach at Trials, but there wasn't as much on the line either. It didn't help that it was a total blowout, with the American men so dominant over all the Aussie men except Hackett. But, the live announcer (not the NBC ones) was fantastic. I don't know if he's with Novaquatics (the host) or NBC, but he had the crowd cheering for one thing or another the whole time. If he's not with a broadcast company, he should be. I thought NBC's coverage was great though. I've personally loved swimming since I was a kid, but in my experience, most swim meets are roughly as exciting as watching water boil. NBC mixed it up with interesting backgrounds on different swimmers (from BOTH teams no less), and I thought it was great that they always interviewed the winner, even if an underdog won the race. They made it clear that the US has a team beyond the Michael Phelps Show, and I have to appreciate that. I do, however, think it's a little weird that this meet found the $ to get a major broadcast, and Worlds did not.