Let me first say that I had a blast in Atlanta and enjoyed every minute of it (even the last minute of the 1000), so this list is somewhat tongue in cheek:
10. No Starbucks within walking distance of the Hampton Inn.
9. The taste of an Italian soda called "Beverly" at the Coca Cola Museum; it reminded me of viscous lidocaine--what is with that?
8. The stairway access to the pool deck from the stands.
7. Missing out on a medal in the 200 free relay because eight of the teams finishing ahead of us were from "regional" clubs representing entire states.
6. Two swimmers from TXLA trying to recruit my 87 year old father to join their team instead of swimming for Nitro.
5. No Starbucks within walkiing distance of the pool.
4. Turning at the bulkhead, although I nailed all of mine.
3. That one starter who shall remain nameless.
2. Not getting to meet Rich Abrahams, among others.
1. It ended.
Jeff,
On the topic of host teams not making any money, why is Nationals so cheap? If Nationals costs $50 or $200, it has very little impact on my decision to swim.
Good point. I'll end up paying $105 (via early entry) to swim the 1 mile and Gatorman at LaJolla, $190 if I wait until day-of-entry. I know one of the benefits of swimming is that it is a relatively low cost sport compared with triathlons / running races (even with tech suits), but we could probably raise the entry fees with little impact on people's wallets, little impact on participation and make hosting Nationals more attractive for a team.
Jeff,
On the topic of host teams not making any money, why is Nationals so cheap? If Nationals costs $50 or $200, it has very little impact on my decision to swim.
Good point. I'll end up paying $105 (via early entry) to swim the 1 mile and Gatorman at LaJolla, $190 if I wait until day-of-entry. I know one of the benefits of swimming is that it is a relatively low cost sport compared with triathlons / running races (even with tech suits), but we could probably raise the entry fees with little impact on people's wallets, little impact on participation and make hosting Nationals more attractive for a team.
