50s are not real swimming races

Not sure where I left the civilized path in my posts but each to his own. But to address your 'points' such as they are. Hmm, true you never said 'long tenured' but you did state: "I've been a swimmer and a coach for over 40 years." So forgive me if I construed 40 years of coaching, as meeting the concept of 'long tenured', I should have said 'so experienced' "But then once the clock strikes 11 (years old), all of the 50s go away (less one)" "Then the cycle progresses to where the shortest races are 100s (other than free of course) for 13-18 yo's" "Do many young swimmers swim 50s? Undeniably, yes. Do swimmers swim 50s (other than free) between 13-18? No." What am I missing here? Because all these statements that you made seem to indicate that there are no 50s of non-free for swimmers over the age of 12. Please enlighten me as to where my reading comprehension issues appear? :applaud: You tell him, Paul!

A boy on my kids' team who hasn't been to a workout in months swam a zone time in a 50. The first thing he said to the coach was, "See!? I don't have to practice to swim fast!" Guaranteed that he couldn't do the same in the 400IM without going to practice. So this bothers you why? Would you just as well see people that can't or don't want to train for 400IM's completely quit competing in swimming or what? FTR... 13-18 age group and through college you can and do swim 50's of the strokes on relays. I had to swim 50's of the strokes nearly every meet on relays all the way through college. Not quite sure why you're so diehard against people liking 50's ?? Are you just another biased distance coach that stinks at coaching sprinters? Jealousy? What fuels the attitude? You still didn't answer my question about the 100m dash track event. Should that not be allowed til people are older?

They swim 50s in college.They swim 50s at the FINA World Championships. USMS Fan,if you are a coach you should know that the debate between sprinters and distance swimmers is passionate.Don't hit the hornets nest and then wonder that you got stung. I'm new to this web site. Not new to swimming. So I was surprised to see how many masters swimmers focus on 50s. And then I pointed out the cycle of young ones and older ones focusing on the 50s. :argue:

But then once the clock strikes 11 (years old), all of the 50s go away (less one) It is actually 13/14. While it is a known fact that people who swim 50s require a lot of coddling and endless adoration, the 50 is an exciting event to watch and is a unique part of Masters. An example is the upcoming 50 free this weekend featuring Fort and Stud in the same heat.

If the 50s were taken away it would further decrease the minority of masters swimmers who compete. It might increase the politeness factor on this forum. I was torn between the two choices, but I have decided that sprinters are people too. Perhaps a bit aggressive, self serving, egotistical, toy sporting, tech geeks, but still they are people who swim. They just swim short distances. A distance swimmer will fare much better in a sprint than a sprinter will fare in a distance event.

OK. Perhaps there are swim meets where 13+ year olds swim 50s. Fine. I haven't seen any of those meets where I live. And I have scowered the USA Swimming web site and can find no indication that anyone over 12 swims 50s other than freestyle. But that doesn't mean that there aren't meets where those races are swum. See attachement. As far as I can tell, in USA Swimming there are no 50s other than freestyle for 13+ year olds. I understand that does not mean that those races aren't held at some swim meets. I was at a college meet where an event was a 50 x 50 freestyle relay. But that doesn't mean that the 50 x 50 realy is an NCAA event. In a little over an hour, we'll be watching the 50 fly in the Pan Pac Champs.

You've obviously never seen my 50s. I allow plenty of room for error. Your only error is entering.

First thing: What a troll. but in case anyone reading this thread thinks your opinion is one shared by all. Lots of kids can swim relatively fast 50s compared to other kids even when their stroke technique is truly awful. Wow, lots of kids compared to other kids? Seems that if a majority of a group is swimming fast then there isn't much of that group left to be compared to. Have you ever thought as to why that is? It's not because 'anyone can swim a fast 50' as you seem to think, it's because children mature at much different rates not to mention you can have as much as an 363 day difference in ages for 2 swimmers who are techinically the same age. Many factors contribute to swimming ability: physical, proprioceptive, neurological maturity are just several factors. I coach a 10yo boy who is very fast but has the some of the worst body control that I have seen. We work on body position/control all the time. Why is he so fast? Well it helps that at 10 he's a full head taller than any of the other 10 year olds he swims against. Does that make him a better or worse swimmer? No, it just makes him a unique set of one. Just like every other swimmer. I also coach a 10yo girl who has some of the best technique I've seen but still hasn't gotten the concept of sprinting. Each to his own. But then once the clock strikes 11 (years old), all of the 50s go away (less one) I sure hope you mean 13 as in the 11-12 AG in USA Swimming, 50s are contested in every stroke plus there is still the 100 IM. My question is at what age are we masters swimmers when we start thinking 50 backstroke, 50 butterfly and 50 breaststroke are OK to race again? It is not OK. It brings our sport down to a level where people who train only 100s or less and focus on 25s are taking over our pools. No more I say!!! I think USMS rules should only allow these races for people in their 70s and older. Who is with me?!!! :worms: :bolt: Wow, who elected you king of USMS? If you don't like 50s, then don't enter them. I'm a sprinter and as such I prefer the all out, get after it nature of 50s but that doesn't mean that any distance over a 100 has to be banned, I appreciate those folks who swim the longer events (not that I understand them but that's a different point :angel:). Each to his own as the saying goes, USMS offers a wide range of pool events so that everyone who wants to participate be it sprinter, middle-distance or distance oriented can. Next time you find yourself frowning on the sprinter folks, try this little set: 10x50 stroke of your choice on 2:00 interval - goal on each is best time +5s (from a push) or best time +2s from a dive. Have fun and let me know how you did.

The concentration required is much greater than for distance events. When you get up on the blocks for a distance event, all you need to do is be relaxed; the outcome is pretty much already determined by that point. Well said. You know, before the start of my 1000 in Atlanta, I was so relaxed the timers had to wake me up. There are just so many things to think about during a 50--strategy, pacing, breathing pattern. Now I understand why all of the really smart people swim 50s.

How can you make such absolute statements like you do? I can not fathom how, if you are such a long tenured coach as you say, that you are certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that no LMSC anywhere offers non-free 50s for 13-14 or 15-18 age groups. It must be nice to be so certain. Which absolute statements are you talking about? Please stop fabricating statements and stay with the facts. It takes away from your credibility. Show me where it says I am a "long tenured coach?" I never said "beyond a shadow of a doubt" that no LMSC anywhere offers non-free 50s. Again, if you keep making things up, I'll have to keep pointing out the your reading comprehension errors. Keep it civilized bubba.