So, now that we are on the countdown to May 09 - who is coming and what do you plan to swim?
This will be my first US Master's National meet, and it happens to be happening in my back yard (at least very close to where I grew up and swam USA club). Over is San Luis Obispo now, but it's a short hop, skip, and jump over the foothills to Clovis!
I think this is superficially appealing, but is it wise? This isn't an electoral college. If we have 2/3 of the meets in central and western locations, doesn't that just entrench the western "monopoly?" West coast swimmers will be more likely to attend nationals, go every year, enjoy the benefits of high level competition, etc. (When I look at my age group, west coast swimmers seem to dominate. If they have easier access to the fastest pools and fastest meets, that's somewhat of an advantage.)
I think it makes more sense to move the meet around fairly evenly, to the extent possible. Otherwise, in addition to fostering the west coast monopoly, east coast swimmers will be penalized with a greater travel/expense burden than their west coast peers. Nothing can be perfectly fair, of course, but, since we pay USMS dues and shell out big bucks for our hobby, it would be nice to feel the love too!
Maybe West Coast folks are more inclined to put out the effort than East Coast folks?
Just a thought - not saying East Coasters are lazy or anything like that so don't go off on me. :whiteflag:
Maybe WC just bids more often than EC - still haven't seen an answer that delineates bid history to any degree. I think if the EC swimmers want it on the EC more often, they're going to have to come up with the possibilities and just bid more.
I think this is superficially appealing, but is it wise? This isn't an electoral college. If we have 2/3 of the meets in central and western locations, doesn't that just entrench the western "monopoly?" West coast swimmers will be more likely to attend nationals, go every year, enjoy the benefits of high level competition, etc. (When I look at my age group, west coast swimmers seem to dominate. If they have easier access to the fastest pools and fastest meets, that's somewhat of an advantage.)
I think it makes more sense to move the meet around fairly evenly, to the extent possible. Otherwise, in addition to fostering the west coast monopoly, east coast swimmers will be penalized with a greater travel/expense burden than their west coast peers. Nothing can be perfectly fair, of course, but, since we pay USMS dues and shell out big bucks for our hobby, it would be nice to feel the love too!
Maybe West Coast folks are more inclined to put out the effort than East Coast folks?
Just a thought - not saying East Coasters are lazy or anything like that so don't go off on me. :whiteflag:
Maybe WC just bids more often than EC - still haven't seen an answer that delineates bid history to any degree. I think if the EC swimmers want it on the EC more often, they're going to have to come up with the possibilities and just bid more.
