Swimmimg World names top master swimmers for 2006 they are:

Jason is right. For several years I worked closely with Phil Whitten on the project, and it was always very time consuming. The one thought I always wanted to offer the readers was how quality over quantity played into the selection. Over the years, several swimmers who didn't have the most records were part of the group of 12 featured in SWIM Magazine. It’s because the panel felt strongly that the quality of certain swims transcended the numbers. One example is Wally Dicks, who was on our list in 2001. Compared with other swimmers in the top 12, Wally had relatively few records that year – but the exceptional quality of the records moved the panel to include him in the final list. The list is always based on the previous year’s results. In 2000, Wally was the oldest man ever to qualify for the US Olympic Trials. Quantifying that type of performance among other Masters swimmers is not as straightforward as tallying the number of records and comparing it to other swimmers on a list. It requires more interpretation and scrutiny by the panel. Wally’s accomplishment was unique. It would be hard to argue that he shouldn’t have been included in the final group, even though he was not among the top 12 in number of records set. Our approach to the project included statistics, but was also very human. We had thoughtful discussions about the historical context of the swims, as well as the number of records. In several cases, swimmers who were among the top 12 (in number of records set) were left off the list. That was always good for a little drama on the discussion forums – but I have to say, this year’s annual kvetchfest is relatively tame compared to previous years. In all seriousness, I’m very thankful to see Swimming World maintaining this annual feature. It has been especially gratifying to see them develop a global approach to the project, because it’s something Phil and I discussed every time Jane Asher’s name came up. Even though it probably made the process much more involved, I feel the inclusion of swimmers from around the world is a brilliant way to reinforce the magazine’s global perspective on the sport of swimming. Kudos, Bill

Jason is right. For several years I worked closely with Phil Whitten on the project, and it was always very time consuming. The one thought I always wanted to offer the readers was how quality over quantity played into the selection. Over the years, several swimmers who didn't have the most records were part of the group of 12 featured in SWIM Magazine. It’s because the panel felt strongly that the quality of certain swims transcended the numbers. One example is Wally Dicks, who was on our list in 2001. Compared with other swimmers in the top 12, Wally had relatively few records that year – but the exceptional quality of the records moved the panel to include him in the final list. The list is always based on the previous year’s results. In 2000, Wally was the oldest man ever to qualify for the US Olympic Trials. Quantifying that type of performance among other Masters swimmers is not as straightforward as tallying the number of records and comparing it to other swimmers on a list. It requires more interpretation and scrutiny by the panel. Wally’s accomplishment was unique. It would be hard to argue that he shouldn’t have been included in the final group, even though he was not among the top 12 in number of records set. Our approach to the project included statistics, but was also very human. We had thoughtful discussions about the historical context of the swims, as well as the number of records. In several cases, swimmers who were among the top 12 (in number of records set) were left off the list. That was always good for a little drama on the discussion forums – but I have to say, this year’s annual kvetchfest is relatively tame compared to previous years. In all seriousness, I’m very thankful to see Swimming World maintaining this annual feature. It has been especially gratifying to see them develop a global approach to the project, because it’s something Phil and I discussed every time Jane Asher’s name came up. Even though it probably made the process much more involved, I feel the inclusion of swimmers from around the world is a brilliant way to reinforce the magazine’s global perspective on the sport of swimming. Kudos, Bill