I realize this thread will create a lot of controversy.
Over the past five years I have worked very hard to develop clubs and increase membership in USMS. The very fabric of my work and others in this area is building relationships and comradairre within the LMSC and or Club. Small clubs and large teams are proud of their "elite" swimmers and boast of their successes. With this said, it is very disturbing to me as I read through the FINA World Championships Physch Sheets to see the number of elite swimmers "jumping ship" to other clubs to swim on "elite" relays. If USMS had "Team USMS" I would have no problem with everyone coming together for a team effort. I don't have a problem with four guys coming together who swam in college using the Worlds as reunion of sorts. Where I have problem is the swimmer or swimmers who have been a member of a club or LMSC for years and because of individual egos leaves his team. What this says to me is our "elite" swimmers ego is more important than his or her club. How do you think the other 3 swimmers who normally swims on the relay with the "elite" swimmer feels. We are good enough througout the year, however we are not good enough for the Worlds. Instead of swimming for his or her club so all members of the club can be proud of the "elite" swimmers accomplishments, it is more important to this swimmer he or she represent someone else at the Worlds for personal gratification. If the relay team does win and breaks a WR the record does not show USMS as the record holder, but the name of a club the swimmer transferred too.... what a shame...
It is regretable I bring up this discussion, but it tears at the very fabric of the USMS mission regarding building club or LMSC relationships...I realize what these swimmers are doing is within the rules.. I just think it is wrong.
Mel
Ed:
It is my understanding that FINA does not want masters swimming to compete as National Federations but as they are naturally, like the club you would normally represent at Local, State or National competition. There have been suggestions for our FINA reps to go to the FINA technical meetings and get this changed so all of the masters swimmers could represent there National federations like swimmers in the Olympics/World Championships do. It has been said that to do this with FINA would be like hitting a brick wall. They discourage this and want to keep things the way they are.
That is why there is such lax rules regarding eligibility representation of masters swimmers with FINA. You could swim for any country or federation in good standing at any time and there is no eligibility or citzenship requirements like there is for the Olympic/Word Championship swimmers. You could recruit the best swimmers in the World and form a relay at these World Championships and it would be perfectly legal under the FINA rules to do that. You could not do this under Swimmming with the current rules FINA has for federations to follow.
Ed:
It is my understanding that FINA does not want masters swimming to compete as National Federations but as they are naturally, like the club you would normally represent at Local, State or National competition. There have been suggestions for our FINA reps to go to the FINA technical meetings and get this changed so all of the masters swimmers could represent there National federations like swimmers in the Olympics/World Championships do. It has been said that to do this with FINA would be like hitting a brick wall. They discourage this and want to keep things the way they are.
That is why there is such lax rules regarding eligibility representation of masters swimmers with FINA. You could swim for any country or federation in good standing at any time and there is no eligibility or citzenship requirements like there is for the Olympic/Word Championship swimmers. You could recruit the best swimmers in the World and form a relay at these World Championships and it would be perfectly legal under the FINA rules to do that. You could not do this under Swimmming with the current rules FINA has for federations to follow.
