We're on opposite sides of the fence on this issue, and knowing Nancy for a long time (over 30 years), I would never call her a whiner. I have also talked with others who were at the Y Nats and had exactly the same comments.
We see things from different perspectives and will probably never change our minds. I would not wear a rubber suit if they were free, as I prefer to measure my progress, or lack of backsliding when you get to my age, without the suits. If the suits continue, I'll just know that I will probably never win Nats or maybe even make the Top 10 again, but I will continue to compete with all and continue to have the enjoyment and health benefits that Masters Swimming has given me since 1972.
Cheers!
I heard many comments about Y Nats as well. Most of the comments I heard, though, centered around swimmers who were not regular Y members and hadn't previously competed for Y teams "crashing" Y Nats. Many of those swimmers were the ones wearing tech suits and breaking records. If Y Nats wants to limit competition to true Y swimmers (who often don't wear tech suits), it needs to revise its entry rules.
I agree on the different strokes for different folks. But since I have only swum in tech suits for almost 5 years, that's how I measure my progress. I've swum in a B70 since June 2008 and have a huge base of times for comparison. I'd rather stay on that track. But, if I can't, I also have a huge base of Pro bodysuit times for comparison. Wearing a poly tank suit and checking my progress is an oxymoron for me.
I agree they were arguing the wrong point (cost) on tech suits. That's why I found it somewhat dull.
We're on opposite sides of the fence on this issue, and knowing Nancy for a long time (over 30 years), I would never call her a whiner. I have also talked with others who were at the Y Nats and had exactly the same comments.
We see things from different perspectives and will probably never change our minds. I would not wear a rubber suit if they were free, as I prefer to measure my progress, or lack of backsliding when you get to my age, without the suits. If the suits continue, I'll just know that I will probably never win Nats or maybe even make the Top 10 again, but I will continue to compete with all and continue to have the enjoyment and health benefits that Masters Swimming has given me since 1972.
Cheers!
I heard many comments about Y Nats as well. Most of the comments I heard, though, centered around swimmers who were not regular Y members and hadn't previously competed for Y teams "crashing" Y Nats. Many of those swimmers were the ones wearing tech suits and breaking records. If Y Nats wants to limit competition to true Y swimmers (who often don't wear tech suits), it needs to revise its entry rules.
I agree on the different strokes for different folks. But since I have only swum in tech suits for almost 5 years, that's how I measure my progress. I've swum in a B70 since June 2008 and have a huge base of times for comparison. I'd rather stay on that track. But, if I can't, I also have a huge base of Pro bodysuit times for comparison. Wearing a poly tank suit and checking my progress is an oxymoron for me.
I agree they were arguing the wrong point (cost) on tech suits. That's why I found it somewhat dull.
