Why aren't we seeing questions and discussions about the World FINA championship problem? The issue is apparently that Sweden was the only nation to volunteer to host the 2010 world championships - but Gothenburg Sweden does not have a site with two 50 meter pools in the same location. So the meet will be apparently be conducted in two separate pools in different parts of the city. Our and probably many other teams will be impacted by separating male and female swimming events. It's not only team cohesiveness and support, but the important role of our coach that's affected. He can't be in two places at once. Our team from Reston was planning to have a good turnout - but now those plans are cancelled.
I hope to contact USMS officials to see if any other options are possible - even startiing early in the morning and ending late at night.
If anyone has further info or insights we'd welcome hearing them, because my wife and I had looked forward to this opportunity.
:confused:
that's right. Riccione was 7000.
they had the beach too./
i was finished every day by 1.30 or 2.
warm up pools were a zoo though and indoor one, didnt have backstroke flags. lets face it folks worlds comes down to where do u wanna go on vacation
I am with Mr. Manheim on the two-pools problem.
In my particular case, my team would probably send only two members, myself and a female. The two of us swim several of the same events, and since this person happens to be very special to me, I would prefer to be able to watch her events (and she mine). We both grew up on (and/or currently drive) volvo's, love to ski, and have a great appreciation for European culture, so this would be an awesome opportunity for us. But logistically, I don't know that we would be able to make this work.
I can see that for some people who may be travelling in a one-person or single-gender team, that your interpretation of the scenario may be different, but for those of us with mixed-gender groups, it is a very different view.
I'm not going to 2010 LCM Nationals in Puerto Rico because it is in the middle of hurricane season
I know this isn't exactly the 2010 Puerto Rico forum, but since the premise of the above quote was mentioned herein a few times, I'll run with it.
In my opinion, making a statement like this is akin to saying "I skipped Fresno Nationals because of the threat of Earthquakes in California."
Hurricane season lasts from June 1 - November 1, but a majority of storms occur in late August, September and early October when the tropical waters that fuel these storms are at their warmest. The event (August 9-12) is toward the early side of peak hurricane time.
Let's not forget that Atlantic hurricanes do not follow the same path. Some form off the coast of Africa; others form in the middle of the Atlantic; still others form from storms coming through Mexico and Northern South America. Most take east-to-west paths, but some go west to east; some go pretty straight north. Yes, Puerto Rico is in the danger zone, but they have just as good a chance of taking a direct hit as anyone. As Mark Gill pointed out last year at convention, remnants of Hurricane Ike caused significant damage to his home, landlocked Louisville Kentucky, as he prepared his bid for this meet in mid-September. It can happen anywhere.
Size matters. We all know Katrina was a huge monstrosity of a storm, with Hurricane-force winds stretching for 250 miles east to west when it made landfall. Such large storms, however, are rare, as most average size hurricanes have a much smaller reach. In October 2008, Hurricane Omar passed through the USVI some 130 miles to the east, but due to its average size, its weakest outermost bands caused mostly isolated flooding damage in PR.
Finally, history is on our side. A search of hurricanes actually hitting or coming extremely close to making direct hits to Puerto Rico comes up with 20 (en.wikipedia.org/.../Category:Hurricanes_in_Puerto_Rico). Most have hit PR in September and October. Though there are a couple that have hit during the same dates as our meet, they were multiple decades ago and show that the likelihood of another direct hit is pretty slim.
In conclusion, yes, there is a threat of a hurricane hitting PR during the meet, but I think it is naive to brush off the meet because of that threat. These guys did their homework when scheduling the meet, and I would say we're pretty safe. Nevertheless, if you want to stay home, more room for me to swim 6 events.
I agree it would be better if all events were at Valhalla with long days, but then again, I'm not working the event. It doesn't look like other events need the Valhalla facility before or after the swimming sessions, so what gives? Are Worlds better-attended than US Nats? I would think that unless the Valhalla facility is limited in its capacity, it would require less work to run one facility for all events. Then again, I have not organized an event like this before- am I being naive?
It doesn't look like other events need the Valhalla facility before or after the swimming sessions, so what gives?
For one thing, the facility will also be used for diving. Diving events are being done the week before swimming, so the facility is blocked for two weeks for Worlds. Think about teams that train there or just locals who use the facility. Would you want your pool closed for two straight weeks in the summer?
Are Worlds better-attended than US Nats?
Yes. At Stanford in 2006 there were somewhere around 6,000 competitors. It's huge. If men and women used the same pool I would think the sessions could be approaching 20 hours long.
If men and women used the same pool I would think the sessions could be approaching 20 hours long.
Good thing the sun will be up for 90% of the sessions! :angel:
