Don't want to start a screamfest, but the controversial issue of "getting enough rest" between events led me to wonder --- how do you get an order of events that is somewhat uniformly fair?
Since I'm apparently challenging John Smith for most annoying masters swimmer, I'll just say that I have been aggravated by the order of events in most of my recent meets. As a fly-backer-er, somewhat odd, it seems that those events are always close together. I guess the fly-*** or fly-free or all free combos are much more common. I have basically given up swimming the 100 IM and haven't swum the 100 back in SCY in 2 years. My last meet, the 100 fly and 100 back were within minutes of each other, and unlike Chris Stevenson and Jeff Roddin, I admittedly didn't have the chops to do both. At my Dec. taper meet, all my best events were on Saturday. At anther meet, all the 200s were in the first half of the meet and all the sprints in the second half, annoying almost everyone and causing a lot of scratches. I have also noticed the inequity between rest for freestylers and strokers. Folks entering the 5 pack freestyle (50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 or 1650), very common set of entries, always have adequate rest because these events are always spaced out pretty well. So it's pretty easy for freestylers to think others are whiney, since they never experience the rest problem.
So how do you fix these inequities and get a fair lineup of events? At a minimum, can't meet directors change the order of events each year to attempt to provide some equity? Or have a 15 minute break scheduled somewhere? This would probably reduce whining and the apparently repugnant practice of sandbagging to get more rest. Since I only swim 5 meets a year or so, it'd be nice to attempt to swim reasonably well. Swimming more meets is just not an option. There's obviously no way to make everyone happy all the time, but it seems like the system could be improved.
Former Member
I think this is a situation where being a mediocre swimmer with a narrow range of events that can be swum well (the 500 and the 1000, and I am using the term "well" loosely) is an advantage.
.I went to a meet last year where the 100 and 200 BR had only one event between them.I asked the meet organizer about it and he apologized saying the 200 fly and 200 Br had gotten reversed on the entry form.
Allen, did I do that entry form?
I think this is a situation where being a mediocre swimmer with a narrow range of events that can be swum well (the 500 and the 1000, and I am using the term "well" loosely) is an advantage.
That sounds like me!
Except I'm sub-mediocre.
Patrick King
If anyone has great suggestions for a 2 day meet with all events except the 1000/1650 I'll take them.
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Heather, check out the word file I attached in an earlier message. It has 5 different choices of order of events. It has worked really well for Oregon for many years now.
Rotate schedules. Come up with 2 or 3 or even 4 or 5 and give it nicely to the meet host. Suggest that things change from year to year so that at some point everyone should be happy. Some years are harder than others obviously. We have currently have one schedule and then every other year it just flips completely. I prefer even years to odd years. Though with that schedule my events are back to back every single time ...
I really do think the only fair thing to do is to rotate between multiple schedules. But my real advice is to get involved and help make the changes yourself.
I am surprised the fly-back combo occurs a lot these days. With the evolution of the underwater dolphin kick, both strokes increasingly are becoming the same, especially in short course.
Just checked LCM nationals
www.lcnationals2008.net/O_of_E.htm
Day 2: 200 back followed immediately by 100 fly
Day 4: 200 fly followed immediately by 100 back
But, hey: at least the 50s fly & back have 2 events between them! Because that's when you really need the recovery time.
I think the answer is to select events randomly.
I do that sometimes... some meets, where mens events are even numbered, i'll say, "ok, I'll do everything that ends in a 2" (or whatever other number), and that is that. 50 *** be darned. i do a lot of meets, so doing this helps keep me from doing 15 100 frees during the course of a season.
Just enter 1 event once a year. On the second Tues in June, then you don't have to give it a thought.
Rotate schedules. Come up with 2 or 3 or even 4 or 5 and give it nicely to the meet host. Suggest that things change from year to year so that at some point everyone should be happy. Some years are harder than others obviously. We have currently have one schedule and then every other year it just flips completely. I prefer even years to odd years. Though with that schedule my events are back to back every single time ...
I really do think the only fair thing to do is to rotate between multiple schedules. But my real advice is to get involved and help make the changes yourself.
