Masters Swimmers Acting Like Triathletes

:rofl: Chris Stevenson IS a big boy. I can't decide if this is an epic fail on Stillwater's part, or if he was just trolling. But then, isn't trolling itself chock full of fail? I'll err on the side of adding something to the discussion. Hey Stillwater, paragraph six.

So that's his split, huh? And here I thought it was some fancified yoga pose. I think he has good legs. Plus, pink is clearly his color, and he should stick with it. Perhaps he could amuse us at meets by wearing that suit instead of his Pro or B70? It does appear to be a fancy yoga move instead of the splits, although it may be that it is as close as he can get on the splits. I have to admit when I first saw his avatar, I thought he was imitating you. Yes, pink does look good on him. If he doesn't wear the suit, perhaps he could wear a pink cap and pink goggles. I have a pair of pink goggles he could borrow.

Let's let him speak for himself, then. I think my initial questions and observations on opening this thread were clear. Many chose not to answer the question directly about the trend I noticed, and just chose to be offended. It is my opinion that there are more and more masters swimmers dedicating a disproportionate amount of time in their life to winning at, talking about and training for masters nationals/worlds (or their favorite event) instead of attending the meets in order to see old friends, generally stay in shape, race and laugh at the finish. Do I care if they continue their hard earned goals? Of course not. Go for it. I just took note at the beginning of the thread that it seems like there are more and more of these totally driven/life dedicated personalities. A few of them have been at the top of USMS for years publicly trolling their talent and knowledge. Some started competitive swimming much later in life yet find equal life dedication. Of course.... to each his own....... the thread was started as more of an observation and a few general questions that few have bothered to answer directly.

I know one woman who faults Dara Torres for being so "self-absorbed" and making her whole life about her swimming. I don't relate. If I were that good, had the resources to train like she does and was able to raise my kid with help, I can't say I wouldn't choose the same thing. I don't understand being upset that someone else chooses to live this way. How is it hurting anyone else??? Perhaps we should leave Miss Torres out of this discussion. The thread apppears argumentative enough as it stands.

It is my opinion that there are more and more masters swimmers dedicating a disproportionate amount of time in their life to winning at, talking about and training for masters nationals/worlds (or their favorite event) instead of attending the meets in order to see old friends, generally stay in shape, race and laugh at the finish. Oh, so you are upset that USMS is becoming more of a competitive organization, kinda like USAT, and less of a social organization. That is not offensive at all. You should work on growing the social side of the organization, and I will work to grow the competitive side of the organization. In the end, we will have a larger organization with strong social and competitive aspects.

Hmmmmm. . . couple of observations. And I'm not even disagreeing with Laura or our thread poster in any way. 1. I may be the only one who did not grow up with Wally and the Beave, but based on the stunts that my brother and I pulled as kids, if my mother's worst reaction was denouncing us children in public and claiming that she loved her hobby over her kids, that would be considered a very good day for us!!! 2. I'm starting to think I will not live to see the day when we women stop being so critical of eachother (in every area but particularly when it comes to family, career and children.) Don't worry, Creampuff. I'm FAR more critical of my husband than I am of any woman. And, I'm just stating my opinion: if you aren't going to put your family as your number one priority, don't start one in the first place.

I really think that Mr. Negative should address the burning issue of foreign scholarship swimmers who take NCAA's far too seriously while neglecting the opportunity to soak up in the local culture in a place like, say, Auburn.

A little late to the game here, and not all the way through the thread, but this jumped out at me: Wow, what an incredibly elitist attitude. I doubt "most" think that, and I would venture to guess there are quite a few who would be horrified to know you are representing them this way. For those who are that arrogant: Some of us didn't have the opportunity for "real competition" in our younger days. I swam on a school team from 7-12th grade and loved it, but there were no age group opportunities where I lived. Because of finances and housing issues I landed at a college without a swim team. All my workouts there came from phone calls to my high school coach. My parents thought swimming, and all my other athletic endeavors, were irritating and expensive time sucks, so I didn't push the issue as much as I would've liked. Now I am (mostly) in control of my own schedule, have a spouse that understands my competitive nature, and the finances to go where I need to go to get the training I want. I don't see what's so wrong about that. :dunno: Should I continue to be penalized for not having better opportunities available to me in my youth, just to pacify the egos of those who did? I'm going to take a wild guess here...but will assume that about 99% of the people bashing Mr. Negative here would also have to admit if asked that they thought Gary Hall Jr. was an arrogant showboat...in fact I could pretty easilly go into some old threads from here and pull their comments about him up... There are VERY few masters swimmers that would compare but there are some...and I think its amusing that he started a thread to call it...or similar acts of arrogance at this level of swimming out and how many people got so pissy and defensive about their own competitivness when that was never in question.

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? If you're comparing masters triathletes - who, like most masters swimmers - have jobs, families, lives, etc - probably there's little or no difference. Seems like there is a growing parallel between triathletes and many masters swimmers these days. Word. Isn't it just "masters swimming" for health and fun in the end? Given the relatively small percentage of the membership that competes, probably yes for most. But I don't find that health and fun and hard training/competition are mutually exclusive. Does a masters record really mean that much? I suppose that depends on each individual's goals, background, etc. Many masters records are very fast, as you know, having set many yourself. While the times may not compare to what yesterday's or today's elites did/do, maybe it still means "something" to be the fastest 50-54 100m freestyler in the world - at least in the relatively small world of competitive swimming. One should be able to enjoy one's accomplishments, having (likely) worked hard for them. It would be nice if we all enjoyed them with a degree of humility - knowing that there will always eventually be someone faster - but that is probably wishful thinking. Inability to put things in perspective is not unique to triathlon or masters swimming. Is this a good thing? ..... or a turn off for those who look on with amusement. I'm not sure who looks on with amusement; are there many former elites who won't swim masters because those who do swim take it too seriously? If so, that would be too bad - it seems to me that masters meets are by and large all about healthy competition, and pre- and post-race fun and friendship. I would love to see more of my old teammates and competitors get back into it; I do my best to recruit them when I can... My :2cents:: It is probably to be expected that the growth of masters swimming from its humble beginnings would have desirable and undesirable side-effects. You can hopefully name a few desirable ones along with the negatives. I personally enjoy the fact that many former "elites" have found their way back to the sport in their 30s, 40s or 50s. Could it be that there is an even larger number NOT coming back precisely because of the "changed" atmosphere? Perhaps - but we'll never know, by definition. Isn't it good for swimming - and masters swimming - that Mr. Gaines swam in Ft. Lauderdale and Clovis? Suppose you were a was a mid 43 100y freestyler in the early 1980s. You're now in your late 40s. You're thinking about swimming masters. But you see that the tech suits have enabled many "lesser" swimmers to achieve times that you think they could not have achieved with a regular suit, perhaps not even "back then". What should you do? I say, put on a B70 or other suit of choice and have a go. All you've got to lose is a few extra pounds, right? And if there are a few swimmers who beat you on occasion, and think that it means something, let them enjoy their moment of glory. After all, you had yours, too, all those years ago. :chug:

It seems pretty clear that your open water experience is limited. Most events are just as competitive as those swam in a pool; Olympians and the like. Times are very important, and recorded. There are All Americans and rankings. I admire your unorthodox style of backstroke and your speedy times, but you won't do squat swimming that way with the big boys. :rofl: Chris Stevenson IS a big boy.