Why does it appear many masters swimmers are taking USMS so seriously?
What's the difference between the typical "selfish train all day", "it's all about me" triathlete and a masters swimmer who seriously trains as hard as they can.... particularly to focus on setting masters records?
Seems like there is a growing parallel between triathletes and many masters swimmers these days.
Isn't it just "masters swimming" for health and fun in the end?
Does a masters record really mean that much?
Is this a good thing? ..... or a turn off for those who look on with amusement.
Good avatar, Paul. I dare you to head out on your next bike ride similarly dressed.
I think 99.9% of folks on the forum would agree that the behavior you mention is over the edge. Screaming at the person? I might be able to understand quietly muttering it or thinking it to oneself in the stands as one is watching his/her record be threatened. I hope somehow the person you mention was messing with the other person in fun, but I get the feeling he/she wasn't. If he/she was serious, I would have to agree that a masters record, or any record for that matter, is not worth acting the way you describe.
From what I am gathering, there is not a problem with folks being hard-core about their training. It seems to be more about how people are manifesting their competitive nature.
There are loose screws in every sport (as there are in every profession, hobby, etc.). That's a pretty extreme degree of attraction to one's record, but hopefully, this was some private joke between the two swimmers that they alone understood (though given reports of parents ganging up and beating up umpires who make calls against their children, anything is possible).
Where does legitimate passion for a sport and competition spill over into something pathological? I think when there's lack of respect for one's competitor--or oneself. I can try my darnedest to beat the person coming up on me in a run or swim, but I respect that person's effort to keep me at bay as well. We're both battling not only each other but our own little voice that says "it's getting too hard... ease up!" Holding up against that is a shared enterprise.
In the latter example, where the "former great" is treated condescendingly by the newcomer, that seems like a case of envy or insecurity--the person crowing over beating someone who doesn't get the marks s/he once did seems not to respect him/herself anymore than s/he respects the former great. But is this so frequent as to deter people from returning to competition? Or is it that people who behave disrespectfully are more readily noticed/remembered?
Good avatar, Paul. I dare you to head out on your next bike ride similarly dressed.
I think 99.9% of folks on the forum would agree that the behavior you mention is over the edge. Screaming at the person? I might be able to understand quietly muttering it or thinking it to oneself in the stands as one is watching his/her record be threatened. I hope somehow the person you mention was messing with the other person in fun, but I get the feeling he/she wasn't. If he/she was serious, I would have to agree that a masters record, or any record for that matter, is not worth acting the way you describe.
From what I am gathering, there is not a problem with folks being hard-core about their training. It seems to be more about how people are manifesting their competitive nature.
There are loose screws in every sport (as there are in every profession, hobby, etc.). That's a pretty extreme degree of attraction to one's record, but hopefully, this was some private joke between the two swimmers that they alone understood (though given reports of parents ganging up and beating up umpires who make calls against their children, anything is possible).
Where does legitimate passion for a sport and competition spill over into something pathological? I think when there's lack of respect for one's competitor--or oneself. I can try my darnedest to beat the person coming up on me in a run or swim, but I respect that person's effort to keep me at bay as well. We're both battling not only each other but our own little voice that says "it's getting too hard... ease up!" Holding up against that is a shared enterprise.
In the latter example, where the "former great" is treated condescendingly by the newcomer, that seems like a case of envy or insecurity--the person crowing over beating someone who doesn't get the marks s/he once did seems not to respect him/herself anymore than s/he respects the former great. But is this so frequent as to deter people from returning to competition? Or is it that people who behave disrespectfully are more readily noticed/remembered?
