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
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by TheGoodSmith
You are missing the point regarding the level of competition.
With all due respect I think you missed my point entirely.
The event in question is the FINA World Masters Championships and whether you agree with their reasoning or not FINA has defined that teams are to be made up of swimmers from the same club not the same country. Just because you want it to be a country against country competition doesn't mean it is. If country against country competition is what you want organizing your own competition is an option. You have found a way to defeat the intended purpose of the rules and give yourself an advantage over teams that abide by the spirit as well as the letter of the rules. That's your choice.
If the four fastest non-US swimmers got together and swam for Outer Hypothetia and beat out the US for Olympic Gold because they decided that the Olympics were about four people getting together to see what they could do rather than country on country competition people would have a valid basis for objecting, even if it was all done perfectly legal. The parallel is pretty exact.
Personally I don't care one way or another, I'm just making the case for why this isn't just about four guys and what they want to do, it's also about the other competitors and other people holding and contending for world records.
Originally posted by TheGoodSmith
You are missing the point regarding the level of competition.
With all due respect I think you missed my point entirely.
The event in question is the FINA World Masters Championships and whether you agree with their reasoning or not FINA has defined that teams are to be made up of swimmers from the same club not the same country. Just because you want it to be a country against country competition doesn't mean it is. If country against country competition is what you want organizing your own competition is an option. You have found a way to defeat the intended purpose of the rules and give yourself an advantage over teams that abide by the spirit as well as the letter of the rules. That's your choice.
If the four fastest non-US swimmers got together and swam for Outer Hypothetia and beat out the US for Olympic Gold because they decided that the Olympics were about four people getting together to see what they could do rather than country on country competition people would have a valid basis for objecting, even if it was all done perfectly legal. The parallel is pretty exact.
Personally I don't care one way or another, I'm just making the case for why this isn't just about four guys and what they want to do, it's also about the other competitors and other people holding and contending for world records.
