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?
When I was a kid...we didn't have mini-vans...or moms to drive us around. We'd walk to the pool. In the snow. Two feet deep at times.
In the summer, I'd bike 4 miles to practice in the hot sun before commencing two two hour practices with weights in between. I then pedaled very, very slowly home afterward. When I was old enough to drive, I occasionally drove a pick up truck and all my friends piled in the back and we drove from pool to pool. The pick up truck also came in handy for outdoor movies, another relic of the past.
I fondly remember belgrade swimsuits, windmill starts, no goggles, no caps, seriously damaged hair, painted wooden starting blocks (assuming you had them), bucket turns on backstroke, no real taper except practicing turns, and mega yardage galore. Muttered complaints resulted in 200 flys or push up duty as punishment. Really, there was very little whining compared to what I hear today. No one was burned at the stake if they false started; they just felt like asses. One thing I miss: every year we'd have a big relay meet in Mpls. where you had back relays, fly relays, etc. Very fun.
My college alma mater had/has a cool pool. It is a 50 year old 8 lane 25 yard pool. Lanes 7 and 8 have a bulkhead beyond which they turn into 50 meter lanes going down a catacomb like tunnel. Beyond the tunnel is a 4 lane pool that dates from the early 20th century.
Kirk:
There are still those dial-a-number time result boards at virtually every summer swim league pool here in northern virginia. No electronic timing even at the all-star champs. You want to do a backstroke start? You get "legs," i.e., you hold on to a friend's ankles to heft yourself up on the start. Still no starting blocks in summer league. All the elite swimmers do it nonetheless. It's a fabulous break from LC. Cotton candy for snacks.
P.S. For the nasties on the AAU, everyone could read Deep Water by Don Schollander. Other chuckles inside as well.
When I was a kid...we didn't have mini-vans...or moms to drive us around. We'd walk to the pool. In the snow. Two feet deep at times.
In the summer, I'd bike 4 miles to practice in the hot sun before commencing two two hour practices with weights in between. I then pedaled very, very slowly home afterward. When I was old enough to drive, I occasionally drove a pick up truck and all my friends piled in the back and we drove from pool to pool. The pick up truck also came in handy for outdoor movies, another relic of the past.
I fondly remember belgrade swimsuits, windmill starts, no goggles, no caps, seriously damaged hair, painted wooden starting blocks (assuming you had them), bucket turns on backstroke, no real taper except practicing turns, and mega yardage galore. Muttered complaints resulted in 200 flys or push up duty as punishment. Really, there was very little whining compared to what I hear today. No one was burned at the stake if they false started; they just felt like asses. One thing I miss: every year we'd have a big relay meet in Mpls. where you had back relays, fly relays, etc. Very fun.
My college alma mater had/has a cool pool. It is a 50 year old 8 lane 25 yard pool. Lanes 7 and 8 have a bulkhead beyond which they turn into 50 meter lanes going down a catacomb like tunnel. Beyond the tunnel is a 4 lane pool that dates from the early 20th century.
Kirk:
There are still those dial-a-number time result boards at virtually every summer swim league pool here in northern virginia. No electronic timing even at the all-star champs. You want to do a backstroke start? You get "legs," i.e., you hold on to a friend's ankles to heft yourself up on the start. Still no starting blocks in summer league. All the elite swimmers do it nonetheless. It's a fabulous break from LC. Cotton candy for snacks.
P.S. For the nasties on the AAU, everyone could read Deep Water by Don Schollander. Other chuckles inside as well.
