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.
How the heck do coaches get away with this kind of thing???
Oh right... their swimmers let them.
I very respectfully call BS on this. Ahelee, I know you don't mean to put the onus completely on the swimmer for allowing coaches (or other swimmers?) to engage in that sort of behavior.
But I think of swimmers who are excited to get 1-2 QTs and feel like they've earned a "right" to go to nationals. And then to be told by the coach that they essentially don't belong with the group with which they practice? That's absolutely disgraceful behavior.
I actually like the small/medium/large idea, but in my mind this sort of behavior (which I am sure -- maybe wishful thinking? -- would be quite rare) is enough to use some other system. We went to a straight-up, no categories, system and a number of people from local teams objected to competing (in the team scores) against regional teams. And so here we are.
To address Gull's complaint without banning regional clubs (I don't even know how that would be done), we'd have to have separate categories also for relay placing, just like OW races have categories for wetsuit and non-wetsuit swims. I don't know that I think that is necessary but I'm not sure I would oppose it either. (There would be many more medals to give out though.)
How the heck do coaches get away with this kind of thing???
Oh right... their swimmers let them.
I very respectfully call BS on this. Ahelee, I know you don't mean to put the onus completely on the swimmer for allowing coaches (or other swimmers?) to engage in that sort of behavior.
But I think of swimmers who are excited to get 1-2 QTs and feel like they've earned a "right" to go to nationals. And then to be told by the coach that they essentially don't belong with the group with which they practice? That's absolutely disgraceful behavior.
I actually like the small/medium/large idea, but in my mind this sort of behavior (which I am sure -- maybe wishful thinking? -- would be quite rare) is enough to use some other system. We went to a straight-up, no categories, system and a number of people from local teams objected to competing (in the team scores) against regional teams. And so here we are.
To address Gull's complaint without banning regional clubs (I don't even know how that would be done), we'd have to have separate categories also for relay placing, just like OW races have categories for wetsuit and non-wetsuit swims. I don't know that I think that is necessary but I'm not sure I would oppose it either. (There would be many more medals to give out though.)
