I spawn this thread off the "illegal drugs" thread because this is not really a discussion on illegal drugs in masters meet.
To be honest to you guys, the thread really broke my heart. I'm a newbie in masters swimming and I've been working my a** off to improve my strokes and time, so that I can eventually win something in a masters swim meet. I will never ever cheat, it's against my principle.
Well ... if people are cheating in masters meet, then I start to wonder what's the point of working so hard on improving my stroke and time. Swimming is not my career, I love doing it and it's a healthy hobby for me. What's the point of entering a master's swim meet? Isn't it stupid to be so hard headed? Maybe you guys can give me some reasons why I should continue to work hard and having "winning a masters swim meet" as a goal.
Thank You!
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by penguin4501
if people are cheating in masters meet, then I start to wonder what's the point of working so hard on improving my stroke and time. Swimming is not my career, I love doing it and it's a healthy hobby for me. What's the point of entering a master's swim meet? Isn't it stupid to be so hard headed? Maybe you guys can give me some reasons why I should continue to work hard and having "winning a masters swim meet" as a goal.
If you make it to the Olympics or to the FINA world championships, your fellow swimmers will be carefully scrutinized to insure that they are not cheating. But if you don't make it that far, your wins have no real significance beyond your own personal satisfaction.
Keep in mind that the swimmers you will be competing against in masters meets differ widely in how old they were when they began competing, how many years they have been competing, how many meets they have been in, how good their coaching has been, how many hours per week they can spend in the pool, etc., so there is nothing approaching an even playing field. Because of this, the swimmer you should really be competing against is yourself. If you set a new personal best time or do a new event that you've never done before in competition, you've won, regardless of what your placing was. And if you succeed in improving your health and longevity by swimming regularly, that's the most important victory of all!
Bob
Originally posted by penguin4501
if people are cheating in masters meet, then I start to wonder what's the point of working so hard on improving my stroke and time. Swimming is not my career, I love doing it and it's a healthy hobby for me. What's the point of entering a master's swim meet? Isn't it stupid to be so hard headed? Maybe you guys can give me some reasons why I should continue to work hard and having "winning a masters swim meet" as a goal.
If you make it to the Olympics or to the FINA world championships, your fellow swimmers will be carefully scrutinized to insure that they are not cheating. But if you don't make it that far, your wins have no real significance beyond your own personal satisfaction.
Keep in mind that the swimmers you will be competing against in masters meets differ widely in how old they were when they began competing, how many years they have been competing, how many meets they have been in, how good their coaching has been, how many hours per week they can spend in the pool, etc., so there is nothing approaching an even playing field. Because of this, the swimmer you should really be competing against is yourself. If you set a new personal best time or do a new event that you've never done before in competition, you've won, regardless of what your placing was. And if you succeed in improving your health and longevity by swimming regularly, that's the most important victory of all!
Bob
