With the continued growth in USMS membership, I would submit that it's time to eliminate the regional teams at Nationals. Case in point: NCMS sent a "team" of 123 swimmers to Atlanta, enough to enter A, B, C, and D relays in many events (e.g. the mens 35+ 200 free relay in which our club team placed 13th behind eight regional teams). It's been argued that the formation of regional teams allows more swimmers to participate in relays, yet local clubs from North Carolina sent as many as thirty or more athletes and could have entered relays on their own as our club (with eight swimmers) did. Swim with the guys you actually train with.
It's been argued that the formation of regional teams allows more swimmers to participate in relays
And it does. You're singling out one regional team that had a huge number of swimmers as reason for not having regional teams, but what about all the regional teams that were only able to field relays at all because they were a regional team?
I think it's lots of fun to swim relays at Nationals and regional teams encourage more relays.
It's been argued that the formation of regional teams allows more swimmers to participate in relays
And it does. You're singling out one regional team that had a huge number of swimmers as reason for not having regional teams, but what about all the regional teams that were only able to field relays at all because they were a regional team?
I think it's lots of fun to swim relays at Nationals and regional teams encourage more relays.
