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!
Given my (lack of) speed in both swimming and running these days, I haven't too much worried about winning, just competing with prior times--although I will admit that if I see someone near me giving me a race, the competitive juices, unenhanced by any illegal substances, ;) will start to flow. Generally speaking, though, since this is what I do for enjoyment, beyond giving it my best effort, I see no reason to let the fact that someone might be cheating worry me. It's their loss b/c they won't know what they really have in them.
Also, as for awards, sometimes there are few or no competitors in my age group (w55-59), so sometimes I'll win awards by default (and sometimes in running, will have a good race and actually win against competition, which is pretty cool). But for the most part, I enjoy awards more as souvenirs of the event than as proof of my speed or any such. Which is fine because my attention is then focused not on what I can win but on how I perform.
Given my (lack of) speed in both swimming and running these days, I haven't too much worried about winning, just competing with prior times--although I will admit that if I see someone near me giving me a race, the competitive juices, unenhanced by any illegal substances, ;) will start to flow. Generally speaking, though, since this is what I do for enjoyment, beyond giving it my best effort, I see no reason to let the fact that someone might be cheating worry me. It's their loss b/c they won't know what they really have in them.
Also, as for awards, sometimes there are few or no competitors in my age group (w55-59), so sometimes I'll win awards by default (and sometimes in running, will have a good race and actually win against competition, which is pretty cool). But for the most part, I enjoy awards more as souvenirs of the event than as proof of my speed or any such. Which is fine because my attention is then focused not on what I can win but on how I perform.
