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.
I guess I'm obligated to chime in since I'm on a regional team and the one that apparently is causing the angst. I really don't have a political opinion on the value of regional clubs and it wouldn't bother me either way if they were outlawed. There are a few things I sure do enjoy about the NC team, as follows:
1. It is great to swim with people from across the state that I compete against at every other meet. I was on one relay and it had swimmers from three of our state teams. I really enjoyed that experience. And, it's all about me, not gull.
2. It does make for a great team spirit when you go as a regional team.
3. It is lots of fun to put the beat-down on tiny little Texas teams that have defectors from our super powerful massive regional team. If you swim in NC and leave, we will find you and crush you like we did poor pitiful gull. You are now warned.
Our really large gigantic massive Texas ego crushing swimming machine lost to an equally all-powerful and awesome Geogria team by 18 points. So, take heart, you can still suffer a soul crushing defeat even when you are on a big team.
So, gull, in summary, remember there is no "i" in team but there is an "m" and an "e."
I guess I'm obligated to chime in since I'm on a regional team and the one that apparently is causing the angst. I really don't have a political opinion on the value of regional clubs and it wouldn't bother me either way if they were outlawed. There are a few things I sure do enjoy about the NC team, as follows:
1. It is great to swim with people from across the state that I compete against at every other meet. I was on one relay and it had swimmers from three of our state teams. I really enjoyed that experience. And, it's all about me, not gull.
2. It does make for a great team spirit when you go as a regional team.
3. It is lots of fun to put the beat-down on tiny little Texas teams that have defectors from our super powerful massive regional team. If you swim in NC and leave, we will find you and crush you like we did poor pitiful gull. You are now warned.
Our really large gigantic massive Texas ego crushing swimming machine lost to an equally all-powerful and awesome Geogria team by 18 points. So, take heart, you can still suffer a soul crushing defeat even when you are on a big team.
So, gull, in summary, remember there is no "i" in team but there is an "m" and an "e."
