I was just wondering if anyone out there knows of masters swimmers who don’t compete and that have achieved Top Ten Times, American Records, World Records, etc. in practice. I know that stories have circulated around about swimmers like Mark Spitz who have done this (although I think he did compete :)). I was just wondering if there are similar stories in the masters ranks. It seems to me that it would be highly probable in masters swimming because so many of its members do not actually swim at meets. Therefore, I would think there are people out there who achieve these (unofficial) times during a practice session and are relatively unknown. If you’ve got a story to share, please do.
I don't understand why it is so difficult to accept that not every masters swimmer will swim in a meet. There are a multitude of reasons/excuses, but forcing everyone to compete would simply eliminate a healthy percentage from particiapting at all.
Are there any concrete numbers as to:
* The total number of registered swimmers with USMS
* The total number of USMS swimmers who swim at least 1 meet a year
* The number who swims at 1 or more national events a year?
Looking back on my team's example, which I don't know if it is representative:
* ~ 175
* ~ 40, 've heard of teams that force everyone to compete in meets. I would either find another team or swim outside of USMS all together if this were forced on me, as would the majority (75%) of my team's members.
Those swimmers who do swim in meets, at least on my team, are in the minority. I don't see anything wrong with that. Masters swimming should be open and inclusive to all, and some of the comments earlier on this thread produce just the opposite effect.
I don't understand why it is so difficult to accept that not every masters swimmer will swim in a meet. There are a multitude of reasons/excuses, but forcing everyone to compete would simply eliminate a healthy percentage from particiapting at all.
Are there any concrete numbers as to:
* The total number of registered swimmers with USMS
* The total number of USMS swimmers who swim at least 1 meet a year
* The number who swims at 1 or more national events a year?
Looking back on my team's example, which I don't know if it is representative:
* ~ 175
* ~ 40, 've heard of teams that force everyone to compete in meets. I would either find another team or swim outside of USMS all together if this were forced on me, as would the majority (75%) of my team's members.
Those swimmers who do swim in meets, at least on my team, are in the minority. I don't see anything wrong with that. Masters swimming should be open and inclusive to all, and some of the comments earlier on this thread produce just the opposite effect.
