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.
Parents
Former Member
I don't understand what you mean by time trials.
I am thinking of basically all the requirements for a time trial to get an official time, optionally with relaxation of things like pool measurements and certification of officials if you don't care about an official time. So you have exactly the same opportunity to get an accurate time as you do by going to a meet, without all the time and travel requirements.
I am trying to tease apart the various aspects of going to a meet to see which parts people want and which they can do without. Do people just want to get an accurate time under controlled conditions to measure their progress? Do they need a competitor to race or do they actually avoid that?
Clearly a lot of people don't go to meets due to the time and inconvenience, I am wondering if there is an alternate solution that meets most of the same requirements, or, alternately, identify why no other solution can substitute for racing in a meet. It's also clear that different people are looking for different things or value different aspects differently. The idea is not to replace meets but to find if there is a way to deliver something that will be valued by some significant portion of the large majority of swimmers that don't go to meets.
I don't understand what you mean by time trials.
I am thinking of basically all the requirements for a time trial to get an official time, optionally with relaxation of things like pool measurements and certification of officials if you don't care about an official time. So you have exactly the same opportunity to get an accurate time as you do by going to a meet, without all the time and travel requirements.
I am trying to tease apart the various aspects of going to a meet to see which parts people want and which they can do without. Do people just want to get an accurate time under controlled conditions to measure their progress? Do they need a competitor to race or do they actually avoid that?
Clearly a lot of people don't go to meets due to the time and inconvenience, I am wondering if there is an alternate solution that meets most of the same requirements, or, alternately, identify why no other solution can substitute for racing in a meet. It's also clear that different people are looking for different things or value different aspects differently. The idea is not to replace meets but to find if there is a way to deliver something that will be valued by some significant portion of the large majority of swimmers that don't go to meets.
