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
Parents
Former Member
The apparent erosion of scholarships won't kill this sport. Most swimmers on Division I teams don’t have athletic scholarships (Division I rules allow fewer than 10 for swimmers). Division III, the most pure of the divisions, allows no athletic scholarships in any sport. Yet, there are opportunities for kids to swim while also getting a decent and appropriate education. Even Division III can be a lot of fun for accomplished swimmers (the Div. III men’s nationals are ending today: Now, I agree, it would be nice if athletic departments, especially at big schools, were to get over their football fixations, and it would have been be nice if the choices imposed by Title IX hadn’t exposed the athletic departments’ perennial preferences for sports like football that in most schools lose buckets of money. But, with apologies for the long post, I think determined kids - boys and girls - who hit the books and the pool with equal vigor and who look in the right places will be able to find (and pay for) an appropriate and decent education that also allows them to enjoy the fun of swimming on a college team.
There are a lot of great ideas here.
I have an enormous amount of respect for coaches at the Division I level, but I don't think the pressure that they face on the men's side are reflective of men's swimming as a whole.
I think the country is big enough for the football junkies to have their fix, and for a few dedicated, gifted swimmers making their mark, and for a lot of kids to get into the pool and fun.
BTW, my 12 year old son has just rejoined his swim team after a year of basketball. He'll never be an Olympic Trials swimmer, but he'll hopefully maintain the lifetime appreciation for the sport that I have.
BTW, even at $24,000/ year, I'd say a public university can be a great value (depending on the motivation of the student, of course).
The apparent erosion of scholarships won't kill this sport. Most swimmers on Division I teams don’t have athletic scholarships (Division I rules allow fewer than 10 for swimmers). Division III, the most pure of the divisions, allows no athletic scholarships in any sport. Yet, there are opportunities for kids to swim while also getting a decent and appropriate education. Even Division III can be a lot of fun for accomplished swimmers (the Div. III men’s nationals are ending today: Now, I agree, it would be nice if athletic departments, especially at big schools, were to get over their football fixations, and it would have been be nice if the choices imposed by Title IX hadn’t exposed the athletic departments’ perennial preferences for sports like football that in most schools lose buckets of money. But, with apologies for the long post, I think determined kids - boys and girls - who hit the books and the pool with equal vigor and who look in the right places will be able to find (and pay for) an appropriate and decent education that also allows them to enjoy the fun of swimming on a college team.
There are a lot of great ideas here.
I have an enormous amount of respect for coaches at the Division I level, but I don't think the pressure that they face on the men's side are reflective of men's swimming as a whole.
I think the country is big enough for the football junkies to have their fix, and for a few dedicated, gifted swimmers making their mark, and for a lot of kids to get into the pool and fun.
BTW, my 12 year old son has just rejoined his swim team after a year of basketball. He'll never be an Olympic Trials swimmer, but he'll hopefully maintain the lifetime appreciation for the sport that I have.
BTW, even at $24,000/ year, I'd say a public university can be a great value (depending on the motivation of the student, of course).
