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.
Just make sure it's gluten free barbecue sauce! And surely the South doesn't object to fruit?
Plenty of fruit and nuts. You will be coming to the land of peaches and pecans.
Don't be surprised, however, when you go out to eat and see macaroni and cheese listed as a vegetable.
We have to ask why are we doing this: Are we here to kick everyone's in our agegroup's ass? Show the world how great we are as we age? Are we here to enjoy the swimming as a healthy lifestyle choice? Are we here to promote swimming as an inclusive and accessible sport to all, including physically challenged people? Enjoy the triumphs and console the misfortunes of all who attend whether they are awesome swimmers or just awesome people to be around? Ask yourself why you swim? If you want hardcore competition, USA is still an option...if you can't cut it with the 18 year olds...then you belong with masters...but masters belongs to all of us...equally.
Stud, you rock ! I'm with you 100% on this!!! :applaud:
Here is one idea: give exclusive use of the pool to men for 15 minutes and then to women for 15 minutes (Swimstud can choose either or both since he is the Stud).
Well this isn't a choice...it's more like "by popular demand" I think...
(The early warm up did work for me Jeff, with a brief tune-up before the actual race)
Boys LOVE bashing around together.
Girls like to swim in orderliness.
Really, and the girls like to throw the B word about too...check my blog :D
Maybe ya'll will be lucky for future nationals in that GA Tech or the people of Georgia Masters swimming won't bid on a future nationals after all the bitchin that has gone on.
This was their first time hosting nationals at Ga Tech. The hosts will have learned a lot about hosting scy nats at Tech.
Then again, if anyone one on the forum can do better, please submit a bid for nationals.
Then again, maybe Georgia swimming won't host nationals again after listening to all the whinning.
Wookiee you're spot on...there was too much whining on the forum during the meet...I had no issues with the cramped pool. It worked if you were patient, and prepared to adjust.
The problem rests with the attitudes of some swimmers (creating the danger in the pool not posting about it) not the meet.
I loved the meet, the food, the pool and mostly your absence :p
Whining about the warm up pool goes no where with me. It was crowded, extremely crowded, but what options did the meet people have? Here's all I can come up with:
1. Limit the number of swimmers in the pool. Negative, then a lot of us wouldn't get to warm up.
2. Put multiple 30 minute breaks in the meet or use only one pool for competition periodically so people could warm up. Negative, would still be insanely crowded and add a ton of time to the meet, which already took a long time.
3. Force slow, medium and fast lanes. Negative, would still be terribly crowded with the same predictable issues.
4. Have the meet elsewhere. This is the only option I can come up with.
Courtesy and common sense goes a long way in that situation. I always yelled "entering" as I jumped in.
When I did Tempe in 2003 the warm up pools were just as bad, maybe worse. What do you expect in a meet this size? It's a mess, just make do. Or, take up distance events cause it was not as crowded on Thursday.
So what you are saying is stop whining or stay home. I shouldn't have to accept battery to attend a swim meet. I expect crowds, I expect a few bumps, but not outrageous, aggressive, "me first" behavior. When someone pulls you under from behind to crawl over you for a pass, that is unacceptable! I'm not the only one concerned about this issue. As I said before, put the Hot Shots in the same lanes and let them duke it out.
Whining about the warm up pool goes no where with me. It was crowded, extremely crowded, but what options did the meet people have? Here's all I can come up with:
1. Limit the number of swimmers in the pool. Negative, then a lot of us wouldn't get to warm up.
2. Put multiple 30 minute breaks in the meet or use only one pool for competition periodically so people could warm up. Negative, would still be insanely crowded and add a ton of time to the meet, which already took a long time.
3. Force slow, medium and fast lanes. Negative, would still be terribly crowded with the same predictable issues.
4. Have the meet elsewhere. This is the only option I can come up with.
Courtesy and common sense goes a long way in that situation.
It was tough and I hate hearing stories of injuries like Karen's and swoomer's. Someone jumped on me (thankfully no harm was done to either of us and she was profusely apologetic); accidents will happen even when everyone is trying hard to be nice. But swimming as if you have the lane to yourself is very bad form. (I didn't see too much of this.)
I don't think having slow/medium/fast will help; it is too subjective. It may well be that, just as a large fraction of people consider themselves "above average" drivers, there may be fewer people who put themselves in the slow lane. I suspect the "medium" lane would be the most popular. Plus it doesn't make the best use of space.
Also, I would have to get out and move over 3-4 lanes if I ever wanted to do breaststroke in warmup... :)
The only options I can see that Geek missed is:
tighten qualifying standards
limit the number of swims you can do without qualifying to 2 (or even 1) instead of 3, and/or
limit the number of events to 4 or 5.
These would not be popular options, and unless the situation gets even worse (there is a safety element in this, after all) I don't think they should be implemented.
Warmup at nationals is often crowded. There are other fast meets out there (Zones, Y-Nats, LMSC Champs) that are less so.
Whining about the warm up pool goes no where with me...What do you expect in a meet this size? It's a mess, just make do.
I agree. You've just got to expect warm ups are going to be a mess at meets like this. My strategy has been to rarely warm up in the main pool. Yes, it's nice to get a feel for the walls, etc. but when there's 50 people in the lane you're not going to get much feel for the pool anyway. Just get to the pool an hour before your first race and get in the warmup pool. There have been several Nationals meets where my first swim in the competition pool was when I dove in for my first event. I think people get a little hung up on what they do for warmup sometimes, anyway. Probably the most important thing is to get in and get your muscles warmed up for 15 or 20 minutes.
OK, I had to peel off the duct tape for one more comment. I don't think that sharing safety concerns is whining. I think I understand everyone's frustrations, and always try to understand the point of view of other people and stay out of the way. I just want others to do the same. Injuries that result from a disrespect for all swimmers need to be discussed. That's not whiny. Check out the thread for positives. You'll see that I'm not a total boo-bah!
I fixed my previous comment..I meant attitudes of the reckless swimmers in the pool not you guys giving your opinions.:)
So what you are saying is stop whining or stay home. I shouldn't have to accept battery to attend a swim meet. I expect crowds, I expect a few bumps, but not outrageous, aggressive, "me first" behavior. When someone pulls you under from behind to crawl over you for a pass, that is unacceptable! I'm not the only one concerned about this issue. As I said before, put the Hot Shots in the same lanes and let them duke it out.
Or, just do LCM Nationals. The meet is only a 1000 people, PR will be much less. Gosh, I had ample warmup/warmdown space at Indy. Great seating area. Locker rooms weren't crowded. Just perfect. I am sorry but almost 2000 people is way too big for any Nationals meets. Toughen the QTs and/or increase the amount of events that you did QTs for. It is funny how they never drop the 6th event at Spring Nationals with that many people but they always seem to do it with LC Nationals.
So what you are saying is stop whining or stay home.
No, I'm just saying to stop whining. What do you propose with a meet of 2K swimmers? Battery, that's ridiculous, HTFU. Until you propose a workable realistic solution, it's just noise.
I don't understand your Hot Shot comment at all. Half the people there are hot shots, at least. And, being a hot shot doesn't mean you are discourteous in warm up.
I think Mesa has two 50 meter pools, maybe you won't be so assaulted there. That's a rare breed of pool complex in America.
On our team I know NQTs kept one swimmer away who didn't have any times. However, allowing three swims encouraged two of my teammates to attend who did not have QTs. They were easily the most vibrant and excited of our 30 member team. I agree that reducing it to 2 or 1 events would essentially elminate those wihout QTs from attending, for the most part. I believe 3 is a nice balance and a good goal for improvement. Limiting it would serverly imperil the mission of USMS and make it look quite elitist if our annual biggest event was for the elite only.
The acceptance that this meet will just be a massive event with some massive event issues goes a long way towards the enjoyment of it. You cannot expect a meet of this size or stature to be the intimate setting of a one-day meet in your home pool.
