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.
Doug - I hope others in your LMSC, and Mesa in particular, have a more enthusiastic attitude about Nationals. If I'm paying to go all the way to AZ in 2011 I hope to make it a special trip, not one where I'm told the opinions of those who compete is relatively unimportant.
Doug - I hope others in your LMSC, and Mesa in particular, have a more enthusiastic attitude about Nationals. If I'm paying to go all the way to AZ in 2011 I hope to make it a special trip, not one where I'm told the opinions of those who compete is relatively unimportant.
