Simple. You have absolute power to change any technique rules, start/finish rules, age up rules, sky is the limit as long as the rules pertain to swimming. What would you change and why?
The main reason for prohibiting the standing (in the gutter) backstroke start was safety. There were a couple of cases of swimmers arching high and then coming down on the bottom of the pool to hurt themselves. The NFHS was the last organization to change surprisingly taking a couple of years to do it after the other organizations. Then again, they don't own their own insurance company so they may not be as motivated (not to imply that anyone had a financial motive as the primary motivation.)
There was a comment about the rules matching up. For those that are not aware, there is a group, called the Our Kids Initiative, that meets annually to discuss the differences in the rules. The groups consists of representatives from USA Swimming, NCAA, YMCA, NFHS, ASCA, NISCA, NCSCA, FINA and more recently joining USMS (we are just kids with bigger credit card balances/limits.) Over the years, this group has been able to achieve its initial goal of decreasing the differences in the rules so the kids don't have to worry about which set of rules they need to follow for today's swim. Right now the differences are very small. You can go to the recently created OKI website for a list of the major differences: www.ourkidsinitiative.org/ The biggest difference is the NCAA's backstroke turn rule allowing non-continuous turns as long as they are initiated after the flags.
The initiative was the brain child of Pat Lundsford and many thought that the above organizations wouldn't even get in the same room together to discuss rules. Through patient work a lot has been accomplished.
Leo
couldn't have been that long ago - a girl on my high school team did it her four years, and she graduated in 1999.
maybe people just stopped doing it because it wasn't as fast as the other?
is it in the rules that you can't do it?
I would like to see some program to 'bridge the gap' between age group and masters. There seems to be a growing awareness among national-class and university swimmers about masters and the various benefits (competition, life & health enhancement, social), but there is a vast 'underclass' of age-groupers who have labored greatly but just won't make it to the 'elite' levels & quite often are encouraged to leave some swim clubs in their mid-teens 'cause they take up space. I don't mean having sixteen year olds swimming masters, what I am trying to say is that it would be great if they could be aware of masters as an desirable option for a happy & healthy life.
There are situations where there is some integration of age groupers and masters, but others where there is a great abyss of ignorance. One concept that appeals to me, is having some of our best & brightest i.e. Jeff, Rich, The Smiths etc. giving talks to age groupers on why they choose to still train & compete. What do you think?
"...we should also have an annual sprint quadrathon."
There is a "Pentathlon" meet in Toronto.
The only events are 50 fly, back, *** and free and a 100 IM.
Competitors have to enter ALL events and the winners by age group are based on the TOTAL time for all 5 events.
Haven't done it but it sounds like fun.
That is my kind of meet!! :applaud: I may have to move to Canada and leave USMS, as I'm unaware of any comparable event here.
Poolraat:
I thought you were going to work on your breaststroke this year? Given up already? LOL
I thought you were going to work on your breaststroke this year? Given up already? LOL
I've occassionally seen sprint pentathlon meets on the Pacific Masters schedule.
If *** were eliminated then I wouldn't have to spend time practicing it.
But then I wouldn't be able to entertain those on deck when I swam it in a meet.
I think Breaststroke should be swam in it's own pool away from the other wannabee strokes...especially butterfly, and even more especially, Heather! :wave:
I would also impose a rule banning Fortress from "Necroing" any more posts from last year! :thhbbb:
Hey, what did I ever do to you? :dunno:
As for the rules .. ban breaststroke ... take it out of the IM at the very least ...
I would also impose a rule banning Fortress from "Necroing" any more posts from last year! :thhbbb:
I wanted to point out that there are other events in swimming besides the engine-building postal one hour swim. Sprinters should not be discriminated against! Most people swim more than one stroke, which makes a quadrathon fun! :thhbbb: :thhbbb:
