No decision is written in stone or cut and dry. I don't understand why it has to be a "dead issue" if there is support for or a valid reason for change. Just my viewpoint; uniformity for the sake of uniformity holds no appeal for me. And I find it kinda compelling that SCY could be unique and feature a different jazzy set of rules than the other courses. Those who hate SCY and tech suits (e.g., Tom) could swim FINA distances and those who love tech suits can concentrate on SCY if they are so inclined. Or everyone can do both without whining. Could be the best of both worlds and offer the most options.
One thing that makes me laugh is that, when *FINA* was the one doing the waffling, everyone (esp the tech suit lovers) was all over their case, how they couldn't make a decision and stick with it, etc. But now "nothing should be set in stone."
At convention there will probably be all sorts of claims about how tech suits increase participation (or not). A good example is that in the interview Rob implies that attendance at nationals was high because of the suits.
What I would love to see is a broad, professionally designed survey that attempts to answer that question. The majority of our members have no plans to compete and could care less. So I would like answers to the following questions:
-- for "newbies" (ie, those who are thinking of competing but haven't done so), would the tech suits be a draw or a deterrent?
-- for those who compete regularly or semi-regularly, would the tech suits increase their enjoyment of the sport and/or make them more or less likely to continue to compete?
I think the whole "FINA doesn't care about SCY" argument is flimsy, though. No other rules are different, that I know about. (I sure would love to get rid of the 15m rule, for example.)
No decision is written in stone or cut and dry. I don't understand why it has to be a "dead issue" if there is support for or a valid reason for change. Just my viewpoint; uniformity for the sake of uniformity holds no appeal for me. And I find it kinda compelling that SCY could be unique and feature a different jazzy set of rules than the other courses. Those who hate SCY and tech suits (e.g., Tom) could swim FINA distances and those who love tech suits can concentrate on SCY if they are so inclined. Or everyone can do both without whining. Could be the best of both worlds and offer the most options.
One thing that makes me laugh is that, when *FINA* was the one doing the waffling, everyone (esp the tech suit lovers) was all over their case, how they couldn't make a decision and stick with it, etc. But now "nothing should be set in stone."
At convention there will probably be all sorts of claims about how tech suits increase participation (or not). A good example is that in the interview Rob implies that attendance at nationals was high because of the suits.
What I would love to see is a broad, professionally designed survey that attempts to answer that question. The majority of our members have no plans to compete and could care less. So I would like answers to the following questions:
-- for "newbies" (ie, those who are thinking of competing but haven't done so), would the tech suits be a draw or a deterrent?
-- for those who compete regularly or semi-regularly, would the tech suits increase their enjoyment of the sport and/or make them more or less likely to continue to compete?
I think the whole "FINA doesn't care about SCY" argument is flimsy, though. No other rules are different, that I know about. (I sure would love to get rid of the 15m rule, for example.)
