This new thread occurred to me while reading posts comparing Spitz to Phelps, as well as reflecting upon mortality considering heart attacks etc. In swimming we immortalize individuals or teams for various feats or contributions, but do little to preserve a feeling for subsequent generations of enthusiasts about what it was like to train and compete 'back in the day'. Just what day am I talking about? Exactly: there have been many 'days' or more properly 'eras' that can be narrowly characterized by differences in equipment, distances swum and trained, coaching methods or more widely by larger factors: world war, global depression, racial segregation, inequality of the sexes. All of these can contribute to very different experiences than what are common today to the younger swimmer; hence, 'what was it like'. I visualize a thread that continues to be added to as new people read it and remember their own experiences. As well, experience can vary with national origin, not just era. There have already been posts on this topic scattered in various threads, please feel free to copy or quote material from them to here.
Please remember that this is not about how fast a particular swimmer was, but about the conditions that defined competitive swimming of that day.
We also have a priceless resource out there: aging swimmers in their 80's or 90's who may be less likely to read or hear of this thread; why not ask them for some of their memories or impressions and pass them on to us, while we still can?
Parents
Former Member
25 years ago my swimming friends and I swam and practiced in a pool covered with a bubble (yes, I know they still exist). But here's what was funny.
We were 10 years old at the time and arrived early to practice and planned to just play around in the pool. We were all having a good time when we suddenly noticed "doody" in the pool. No doubt about it! We all screamed and laughed and simply got the pole w/ the net, scooped it out, threw it in the trash and continued to have a great time. There were no lifeguards to tell. Oh well. There was no clearing out of the pool or anything like that. :rofl: :rofl: Guess that was gross, but we really didn't care. We did not think about things like E.coli and neither did our parents.
25 years ago my swimming friends and I swam and practiced in a pool covered with a bubble (yes, I know they still exist). But here's what was funny.
We were 10 years old at the time and arrived early to practice and planned to just play around in the pool. We were all having a good time when we suddenly noticed "doody" in the pool. No doubt about it! We all screamed and laughed and simply got the pole w/ the net, scooped it out, threw it in the trash and continued to have a great time. There were no lifeguards to tell. Oh well. There was no clearing out of the pool or anything like that. :rofl: :rofl: Guess that was gross, but we really didn't care. We did not think about things like E.coli and neither did our parents.
