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.
Parents
Former Member
If we didn't keep team scores at nationals, would we still have regional teams? In other words, is combining for relays as important as combining for team scores?
But the way points are kept now encourages participation. There is no limit to the number of relays and relays are scored with double points. This is a big motivating factor for coaches to get their swimmers out for the big meets like zones and nationals. And it helps make the headache of putting those relays together worth their effort.
If we didn't keep team scores at nationals, would we still have regional teams? In other words, is combining for relays as important as combining for team scores?
But the way points are kept now encourages participation. There is no limit to the number of relays and relays are scored with double points. This is a big motivating factor for coaches to get their swimmers out for the big meets like zones and nationals. And it helps make the headache of putting those relays together worth their effort.
