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?
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.
Back when Masters swimming was governed by AAU I was told that if you swam Masters you would no longer be eligible for regular AAU meets because Masters were "officially" professional since coaches could swim masters and coaches were professionals.
Great stuff, keep it coming. Anyone out there who can tell us what went on with swimming during the war years? How about someone explaining to modern folks what the AAU was and what role it played? Have there been inter-service competitions in the military beyond what we see at NCAA's?
A small difference I just thought of: most local meets I went to as a kid, the pools only had six lanes, thus only 6 finalists, no consols.
A lot of west coast cities had monumental outdoor waterfront saltwater pools- anyone compete in them?
My original YMCA team trained in the nude, sexes segregated.
Mid-fifties and Beyond:
- Four (or five!!) lane pools with NO lane ropes, led to:
- DQs for obstructing an opponent by swimming in their lane.
- Transition from all underwater breaststroke to keeping head above water; made me a champ (my lungs were not great in those days).
- Taper consisted of starts, turns, and 25s the day before a meet.
- 5 length 100s in 20 yard pools.
- Minerva (Swiss) stop watches that you had to wind; really classy if you had the model with a split hand. (Still have one that I purchased about 1973) Our Masters coach loves to use it when we're doing the one-hour swim.
- AAU rules different from YMCA, High School, and College. In AAU you had to touch with your HAND on free and back turns. Did a kind of tumble turn, sliding the hand down the wall as you began flip. Had a great sprinter who could not judge turns. Great HS and College, but was terrible in 100 in AAU meets.
- Pre-Chet, three-part Frog Kick; teaching mantra: Up, Out, Together
- YMCA and YWCA different orgs for a number of years, no coed. All-nude YMCA swimming except for meets.
- Starting blocks that were just concrete blocks covered with pool tile, built into the pool. Used wet towels over the edge to keep from slipping on start.
- Eating steak about 4 hours before the meet to get power from the protein!!
- Taking COLD showers before a race so the dive into the 70 degree water wouldn't be so shocking.
- Training for long course in a gigantic public pool, starting from knee deep water swimming to a rope set at approx 50 meters, swimming in waves with rec swimmers all around.
- Swam a medley relay at YMCA state champs where they made us swim butterfly second and *** third.
- Weight training only in off-season, and then only pulley weights.
I had a HS meet in a pool that was all white. No lane lines or targets. We put a towel at the end of our lanes to see to turn. This worked werll until the final relay. The towel came loose and drited about 5 ft. down the lane. Our,very nearsighted,anchor swimmer flipped at the towel and came up with no idea where he was. Another meet the filtration system on our opponents pool broke. The visibility was literally 4 in. Several people came up in the wrong lanes on the turns. Fortunately ONLY one collision.
Remember Pete, YOU asked for it.
When I was 11 or 12, swimming age group summer, a fellow 11 or 12 year old boy jumped out of the pool and proclaimed he could not swim any more due to the fact that the scab on his leg was bothering him. Coach looked at the scab on his leg (which seemed pretty damn big at the time) and ripped it off the kid's leg with his hand, in front of 50 other young and impressionables in the pool, and told him to get the hell back in the pool and start swimming.
To my knowledge, not one word was mentioned, by a kid to a parent, following the event. Several kids seemed amused. Team went on to win the league championships. What would happen to coach today?
If you like that, I have more.
Great Thread!!!! I remember (1963+)when the distance swimmers swam the 200 and 400 free. We not only had lap counters for the 200 but many swimmers did open turns. And there were no fancy plastic lap counters, we yelled the number at the swimmer when he did his open turn.
Not an experience of mine, but just a note...it was someone's reality: Next door to my house there use to be a HUGE (probably close to 50m) cement hole in the ground that they filled with river water and use to have team practices in an so such, every so often according to my parents who heard from locals, they would drain a little water out and refill it up or let the rain do the work...there was no chemicals or cleaning of the "pool." The pool still is there, but it's filled with dirt and grass and trees now. Ironically, the town never went on to build another town pool, but we have the last relic from the pool--a metal sign that has a huge black arrow and states Swim Spot.
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.
On a related note, Swimming World's website has a neat interview with Alan Ford, the first person to go under 50sec for 100y free in 1944. Interesting stuff and don't miss clicking on the video button to see him swim, complete with in-depth LOL technique analysis by the announcer.
