Below are the number of entrants for each event at the Junior Nationals for 2008. What do these figures mean for men's swimming long term? The number of boys in the sport trails girls quite siginficantly in many events. In relays where a team tends to show its depth, boys are out numbered by girls nearly 2:1
If things continue or get worse we've got problems ahead of us in 2 Olympics.
It's a good thing collegiate budgets aren't cutting mens swimming these days.... :-)
ncsassociation.homestead.com/PsychFINAL.htm
.............Women Men
1650/1000... 78.. 75
Med. Relay... 97.. 51
100 free... 264.. 140
100 ***... 179.. 102
200 back... 173.. 111
200 fly... 149.. 91
800 fr rly... 81.. 43
50 fly... 170.. 106
50 ***... 151.. 82
200 free... 252.. 159
400 IM... 183.. 106
400 free rly... 84.. 45
100 back... 194.. 152
500 free... 188.. 112
200 ***... 152.. 82
100 fly... 242.. 161
200 fr rly... 84.. 45
50 back... 135.. 115
200 IM... 268.. 169
50 free... 282.. 153
800/1500 fr... 98.. 67
400 med rly... 105.. 54
It would be interesting to see if there is a reduction in numbers of competitive swimmers in northern states vs. southern. If a pool-building crunch (which we definitely see here... even in Naperville land of the yuppies) is squeezing swim teams, I'd expect the crunch would hit harder in areas with less access to outdoor facilities. It is a heckuva lot cheaper to build an outdoor pool than an indoor one.
Geek, are your outdoor pools open an extended portion of the year... if not to the general public, then maybe to swimmers? Here in Naperville and around Dorothy's Champaign area, the outdoor season is strictly Memorial Day to Labor Day... There is no indoor LCM pool in this area which makes for some crowded scy pools Sept through May.
It would be interesting to see if there is a reduction in numbers of competitive swimmers in northern states vs. southern. If a pool-building crunch (which we definitely see here... even in Naperville land of the yuppies) is squeezing swim teams, I'd expect the crunch would hit harder in areas with less access to outdoor facilities. It is a heckuva lot cheaper to build an outdoor pool than an indoor one.
Geek, are your outdoor pools open an extended portion of the year... if not to the general public, then maybe to swimmers? Here in Naperville and around Dorothy's Champaign area, the outdoor season is strictly Memorial Day to Labor Day... There is no indoor LCM pool in this area which makes for some crowded scy pools Sept through May.
