sportsillustrated.cnn.com/.../index.html
From the man whose WR has been broken four times in the last two months.....
I like his attitude. He could never be a USMS swimmer. Too much whining here about everything.
The only real issue in USMS championship events might be if there was a limited number of entires allowed and the wetsuit people started pushing out the non-wetsuit people due to the limit being reached. There could be some bad blood over that.
That would be a nice problem to have. In my experience, there is usually the opposite problem: not very many entries, even in national championships. Having wetsuit categories can help boost entries. I think USMS wants to use OW swims as a way to reach triathletes and get them interested in masters swimming.
But there are probably going to be some races where large numbers are a problem. I think it should be left to the race director to decide how to handle such cases -- eg, a separate start or eliminate the wetsuit category -- rather than legislate from on high. The directors would be most familiar with the course and conditions.
Still, triathlons often have 2000 entries and if THEY can do it, why can't we?
The only real issue in USMS championship events might be if there was a limited number of entires allowed and the wetsuit people started pushing out the non-wetsuit people due to the limit being reached. There could be some bad blood over that.
That would be a nice problem to have. In my experience, there is usually the opposite problem: not very many entries, even in national championships. Having wetsuit categories can help boost entries. I think USMS wants to use OW swims as a way to reach triathletes and get them interested in masters swimming.
But there are probably going to be some races where large numbers are a problem. I think it should be left to the race director to decide how to handle such cases -- eg, a separate start or eliminate the wetsuit category -- rather than legislate from on high. The directors would be most familiar with the course and conditions.
Still, triathlons often have 2000 entries and if THEY can do it, why can't we?
