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?
I remember one year when a butch of girls on my team shaved lower part of the back of their hair. Did anyone else do this in the early 90s or still do that.
Oh geez... I did that my senior year of high school along with 3 other girls on our team (it was our relay). The sad thing is that we thought we were really cool. It was 1993...
When I swam age-group in the late 80s in CO, I LOVED it when we got to play water polo instead of swimming! We definitely played the 'kill the kid with the ball' version. Sometimes, after someone successfully completed a get-out swim, we'd get to play jump or dive too. This was where the coach yelled "jump" or "dive" as soon as your feet left the diving board. It was a blast to play and watch.
I remember one year when a butch of girls on my team shaved lower part of the back of their hair. Did anyone else do this in the early 90s or still do that.
Oh geez... I did that my senior year of high school along with 3 other girls on our team (it was our relay). The sad thing is that we thought we were really cool. It was 1993...
When I swam age-group in the late 80s in CO, I LOVED it when we got to play water polo instead of swimming! We definitely played the 'kill the kid with the ball' version. Sometimes, after someone successfully completed a get-out swim, we'd get to play jump or dive too. This was where the coach yelled "jump" or "dive" as soon as your feet left the diving board. It was a blast to play and watch.
