Yet...... another comment on "elitism" in masters swimming. This ongoing battle of two imaginary groups....... the selfish former elite swimmers and the non elite counter parts.
Yes..... The Evil Smith and I have taken great pleasure throughout the last decade trying to secretly split USMS into these two groups. Our efforts to perpetuate this divide and fuel our intolerance for "learners" is now being undermined..... :-)
One Big Happy Family: Marcinkowski’s Masters
reachforthewall.com/.../
"Butcher, Zerkle and others say numbers have soared because Marcinkowski has tried to strip the elitism from masters swimming, often thought to be populated with former competitive stars who have little tolerance for learners."
"Butcher, Zerkle and others say numbers have soared because Marcinkowski has tried to strip the elitism from masters swimming, often thought to be populated with former competitive stars who have little tolerance for learners."
I thought it was interesting that Curl was able to grow so much in a short amount of time. However, I doubt it has much to do with the lack of elitism. Maybe the lack of elitism from the new coach allowed them to combine with the local triathlete training group whereas the prior coach wasn't as open minded. Many masters groups in Colorado are comprised of mostly triathletes and fitness swimmers, not USMS swim competitors. Open door policies are the rule, not the exception so I don't understand how Curl's lack of elitism really helped them produce results better than the many other teams that do the same thing. I would guess that Curl has to be doing something else very well and it would be interesting to know what other factors have contributed to their growth.
You never know how these articles get written, but you would think that Rob Butcher would be a bit more careful in how he is quoted. Some of the people I have seen take the most time, provide the most encouragement, and have the most patience with beginners and triathletes in the pool and outside the pool are some of the "elites" in our sport. We see it every day in this forum. I think the "elitism" angle to this article is silly especially coming from USMS leadership. The real angle seems to be partnering with other training groups and possibly some other things that failed to even get mentioned.
Tim
"Butcher, Zerkle and others say numbers have soared because Marcinkowski has tried to strip the elitism from masters swimming, often thought to be populated with former competitive stars who have little tolerance for learners."
I thought it was interesting that Curl was able to grow so much in a short amount of time. However, I doubt it has much to do with the lack of elitism. Maybe the lack of elitism from the new coach allowed them to combine with the local triathlete training group whereas the prior coach wasn't as open minded. Many masters groups in Colorado are comprised of mostly triathletes and fitness swimmers, not USMS swim competitors. Open door policies are the rule, not the exception so I don't understand how Curl's lack of elitism really helped them produce results better than the many other teams that do the same thing. I would guess that Curl has to be doing something else very well and it would be interesting to know what other factors have contributed to their growth.
You never know how these articles get written, but you would think that Rob Butcher would be a bit more careful in how he is quoted. Some of the people I have seen take the most time, provide the most encouragement, and have the most patience with beginners and triathletes in the pool and outside the pool are some of the "elites" in our sport. We see it every day in this forum. I think the "elitism" angle to this article is silly especially coming from USMS leadership. The real angle seems to be partnering with other training groups and possibly some other things that failed to even get mentioned.
Tim
