I think it is insulting to say the hard work and achievements of today's athletes is a joke, they can't help the times they are in. When I see a group of Olympic hopefuls at the pool at 6:30 am on Saturday morning, the first thing that comes to mind is hard work and dedication, not "they are only good because they have new technology." Of course, I also think they should swim from 5-6:30 am on Saturday mornings instead of the Masters so I could get more sleep.
For those of us that shuttle kids endlessly around to practices and meets and see the incredible effort they put in, it's not so much of a joke. In an era when swimming is losing out to sports that are flashier, have more gizmos and cool stuff (and that is hugely relevant to kids), insisting on some antiquated set of rules and resistance to inevitable change will do nothing but put swimming further and further behind other more popular sports.
I think it is insulting to say the hard work and achievements of today's athletes is a joke, they can't help the times they are in. When I see a group of Olympic hopefuls at the pool at 6:30 am on Saturday morning, the first thing that comes to mind is hard work and dedication, not "they are only good because they have new technology." Of course, I also think they should swim from 5-6:30 am on Saturday mornings instead of the Masters so I could get more sleep.
For those of us that shuttle kids endlessly around to practices and meets and see the incredible effort they put in, it's not so much of a joke. In an era when swimming is losing out to sports that are flashier, have more gizmos and cool stuff (and that is hugely relevant to kids), insisting on some antiquated set of rules and resistance to inevitable change will do nothing but put swimming further and further behind other more popular sports.
