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
Wayne- I agree with your description of tell-tales & add: a certain fullness under the jawline, hard to describe, but distinctive & as well, behavioral signs- arrogance, intolerance, regarding others as 'lesser beings'. Yes, I know, the latter can just come naturally to some, but these are observed by me over 33 years of fairly regular weight training & observing some pretty overt steroid abuse.
What concerns me about this discussion is that while I don't doubt that there is some drug 'cheating' in Masters, I feel that it is a small minority who will reap their own rewards in possible side effects in later years; the rest of us are far too straight & respectful of our bodies to partake of such experimentation. I do think any potential major sponsor of US Masters Swimming might well misinterpret the results of GoodSmiths's poll & not wish to be associated with such behavior.
Wayne- I agree with your description of tell-tales & add: a certain fullness under the jawline, hard to describe, but distinctive & as well, behavioral signs- arrogance, intolerance, regarding others as 'lesser beings'. Yes, I know, the latter can just come naturally to some, but these are observed by me over 33 years of fairly regular weight training & observing some pretty overt steroid abuse.
What concerns me about this discussion is that while I don't doubt that there is some drug 'cheating' in Masters, I feel that it is a small minority who will reap their own rewards in possible side effects in later years; the rest of us are far too straight & respectful of our bodies to partake of such experimentation. I do think any potential major sponsor of US Masters Swimming might well misinterpret the results of GoodSmiths's poll & not wish to be associated with such behavior.
