Clovis in 09??

Since it's the South, I can use my rocket launcher to shoot at things, things like stone confederates, right? Sure, as long as you are willing to take shots in return.

Really? Don't they have to change it around to avoid unfairness? They cycle through three orders. Since there are two other meets betwen Austin and Indy (Portland and Clovis), Indy will have the same order as Austin did.

They cycle through three orders. Since there are two other meets betwen Austin and Indy (Portland and Clovis), Indy will have the same order as Austin did. My understanding is that Indy will have a five day format, which means a different order of events. Supposedly Saturday will be a relay-only day and will include 400M relays as well as the 800M free. I think Monday will be the distance day. Mel Goldstein is in the midst of getting the order of events approved so this is a work in progress. Things could change but Indy will probably have a unique order of events compared to past Nationals.

Yup, those are the two bidders. I believe the Michigan bid is for Ann Arbor also, but I haven't seen that bid yet. There is also a rules proposal under consideration at convention (see R18 in www.usms.org/.../proposals.pdf) to limit USMS nationals to be within the boundaries of USMS, which would rule out the San Juan bid. What's wrong with PR? It's no worse than going to Clovis from NYC!

But, uh, how is PR in August? Swim outside or in? Average temperature in August (according to weatherReports.com is 82. As for the facility, it is both indoors and outdoors. It was based on the design of the Atlanta Games pool. The side walls are open, the scoreboard end wall is open and there is a roof over the entire facility to provide shade. I was there last year for a meet and it was hot outside, but surprisingly comfortable in the natatorium. To see what the pool looks like, go to www.natacionmasterpr.com/Photos Natatorium.htm

Would love to know who proposed THIS little gem. Our "friends" in Pacific Masters...as I noted above I'd love for one of them to come forward with an explanation. In my humble opinion the more we can find extremely desirable "vacation" locales that will host a USMS nationals the better. Along with being a great place to go spend some fun time...it also has one of the nicest pool facilities in the world. Also, since PR is considered a "unincorporated territory" of the USA and its residents are "statutory US Citizens" why do our friends in NoCal want to discriminate?

I, for one, choose to attend a Nationals meet based upon three simple criteria: location dates whether or not I'm actually in shape enoughIn general, great options on points #1 and #2 will override #3. I think that most of the USMS members like to travel; I know I'm always looking for a reason to go new places. While I certainly love pools & towns like Austin and Indy, I think having a wide variety of locales is great. Besides, if we can get people to come to Piscataway, New Jersey for a Nationals meet, I gotta believe a location that's actually attractive (e.g., Puerto Rico) would draw a great crowd. Before we automatically rule something out, why don't we try it? P.S. No offense to the group at Rutgers: that was a great meet, a great pool and great hosts. I spend about a week a month in that part of the world on business, so my view of the location as a 'vacation spot' is quite colored.

In all fairness to the Championship Committee it is my understanding that getting ANY location to bid on hosting Nationals is a challenge. USMS has made things a bit easier for the sites to do it and actually make money (I know so un-American)....but the reality is that all of us need to step up if we want to see a meet hosted in a particular location and help out. Case in point, I'd love to see a Nationals back in Arizona and will try and support efforts to make that happen.

What we are seeing here in the last four postings is exactly what I said in the fourth paragraph - location is the largest factor in the decision of the marjority of the participants. Last year it took about nine hours to get from San Francisco to San Juan and about 11 hours to get back, it was a one stop. It was also a very inexpensive ticket (my guess because it was the middle of hurricane season ticket). I would like to see the championships move around the country so that all members will have a chance to compete in a championship that is relatively nearby. When talking about San Juan, it is a minimum of a two hour flight from the nearest US airport. michael Personally, I choose my meets largely around my kids' schedules. But in my 3 years of masters swimming, I have travelled to SF for Worlds and to Coral Springs and Austin for SCY Nationals. Last year, instead of driving to my local CZ meet, I flew to Boston the next weekend. Local is unquestionably easier, but there are many reasons to go, or not go, elsewhere. I'd definitely go to PR over Clovis, and they're both pretty darn far. Y Nationals sounds rather appealing as well.

What we are seeing here in the last four postings is exactly what I said in the fourth paragraph - location is the largest factor in the decision of the marjority of the participants. Last year it took about nine hours to get from San Francisco to San Juan and about 11 hours to get back, it was a one stop. It was also a very inexpensive ticket (my guess because it was the middle of hurricane season ticket). I would like to see the championships move around the country so that all members will have a chance to compete in a championship that is relatively nearby. When talking about San Juan, it is a minimum of a two hour flight from the nearest US airport. michael Hmmm, if you don't like the location, compaign or vote against the bid. Seems you have some logical reasons that may persuade people, although the travel/location stuff was much worse for Hawaii, which you don't seem to have a problem with. But I'm not a big fan of over-legislation so I find the declaration that nationals "must be within an LMSC" less than compelling and don't see why this has to be written into the rulebook. And in the current era of few bids for national championships, why in the world would we want to introduce bids that further limit the possibilities? Everyone is complaining about Clovis but, as has been noted, IT WAS THE ONLY BID. Rather than spending our time at convention arguing about rules that limit bids, let's spend the time talking about how to increase their number.