Ques on seed times

I agree with Kurt (and Chowmi). Most people seem to put times in that are slightly slower to compensate for RL or because they're unrested or cranky and sore or whatever. Not a big deal. Probably not more than Rick's 10% permissible deviation standard. And, aside from meet directors like Rick who have a vested interest in running an efficient meet, many people who complain about sandbagging or NTs (like the 5 pack freestylers) have the luxury of not struggling with the order of events every meet or worrying about adequate rest. By contrast, I recall that, after correctly seeding myself first in the 50 back at our last zones meet, I was beaten by someone who swam almost 3 seconds faster than her seed time. Who cares? She's an awesome swimmer. I also think it is somewhat inaccurate to say people are at meets to "race." True, but many people are just swimming against themselves and trying to improve on their own times. Often, they don't care what other swimmers are doing, particularly if they're not in their age group. And, George, it is perfectly possible to swim fast with an NT. At my meet last weekend, the meet director lost my 50 fly entry (I was seeded at the exact time I did at the beginning of the season last year), and I had to swim in an NT heat. Not my choice, but it's not the end of the world. I agree with everything Fort is saying. I've only been back in swimming for a year, so I'm still learning how to seed myself appropriately. But I know that a large percentage of those who know what they're doing seed themselves about a second or so per 100 slower than they expect to swim. If I want a competitive heat, I do the same. But I care more about my time than how I place in my heat (which I care very little about, unless there is someone else in my age group in my heat).

I agree with Kurt (and Chowmi). Most people seem to put times in that are slightly slower to compensate for RL or because they're unrested or cranky and sore or whatever. Not a big deal. Probably not more than Rick's 10% permissible deviation standard. And, aside from meet directors like Rick who have a vested interest in running an efficient meet, many people who complain about sandbagging or NTs (like the 5 pack freestylers) have the luxury of not struggling with the order of events every meet or worrying about adequate rest. By contrast, I recall that, after correctly seeding myself first in the 50 back at our last zones meet, I was beaten by someone who swam almost 3 seconds faster than her seed time. Who cares? She's an awesome swimmer. I also think it is somewhat inaccurate to say people are at meets to "race." True, but many people are just swimming against themselves and trying to improve on their own times. Often, they don't care what other swimmers are doing, particularly if they're not in their age group. And, George, it is perfectly possible to swim fast with an NT. At my meet last weekend, the meet director lost my 50 fly entry (I was seeded at the exact time I did at the beginning of the season last year), and I had to swim in an NT heat. Not my choice, but it's not the end of the world. I agree with everything Fort is saying. I've only been back in swimming for a year, so I'm still learning how to seed myself appropriately. But I know that a large percentage of those who know what they're doing seed themselves about a second or so per 100 slower than they expect to swim. If I want a competitive heat, I do the same. But I care more about my time than how I place in my heat (which I care very little about, unless there is someone else in my age group in my heat).