As noted in "Swim Rant" I was DQ'd in the 100 M BR yesterday,after swimming a really great race for me(unfairly I believe.)I was talking to Laura Val who was DQ'd in the 200 BK after a WR time(unfairly she thought).She thought we should have a thread to ventilate,commiserate,etc.Has it happened to you?How did you cope?
I felt like leaving the pool and not competing any more,for about 5 minutes,then I felt really sad for about an hour. Then I woke up at 2:30 in the morning and had a terrible time going back to sleep.Finally I decided to focus my emotions on my next swim.Fortunately for me that worked and I swam a 50 M BR that I was really happy with.If I had swum a lousy 50 I suspect I'd still be in a funk.
So what about you?
By the way,we don't need to limit this to DQs,any meet disappointments that you want to vent about are fair game as far as I'm concerned.
On the other hand ... I went to a senior olympics meet last summer where, you know, participation is everything. They weren't deeking people for anything. Illegal suits, flagrant one-handed turns in breaststroke, yanking on the lane lines in backstroke ... everything was ok. No DQ's. About halfway through the meet I wondered, why am I here?
This is a little disturbing to hear, given that you will often see a person here and there who gets a top 10 time at the senior olympics. I went to these one year--the first year I was eligible, actually, and only because it was being held at Trees Pool in Pittsburgh, where I sometimes actually practice.
It seemed like a bit of a money making scam--you had to first "pre-qualify" the summer before to be allowed to even swim in the actual meet. Both meets were fairly pricey, as I recall, and the "pre qualifying" one involved a long drive and spending money on a motel, etc.
As for all you who have been DQ'd or otherwise victimized by rules run amok and perhaps unfairly applied, you have my sympathies! I always think of figure skater Jill Trenary, who I interviewed years and years ago. She was an excellent skater in many ways, but her one area of clear domination was the thing that actually gave figure skating its name: carving exact figures in the ice. That used to count for a significant minority of scoring points, and she had devoted countless training hours to getting really good at it. But then the powers that be decided that it wasn't telegenic enough--frankly, it was kind of boring to watch these slow motion maneuvers followed by judges with protractors and measuring devices attempting to quantify how close to perfect the etch lines were--but anyhow, it did seem really unfair to me that the powers that be just chanced the sport suddenly like that.
I suspect the dolphin kick in breaststroke was added after that Japanese guy was accused of getting away with one (when it was illegal) and beating Hansens in the Olympics?
Sorry. Enough meandering. Steelers losing. Time for bed.
On the other hand ... I went to a senior olympics meet last summer where, you know, participation is everything. They weren't deeking people for anything. Illegal suits, flagrant one-handed turns in breaststroke, yanking on the lane lines in backstroke ... everything was ok. No DQ's. About halfway through the meet I wondered, why am I here?
This is a little disturbing to hear, given that you will often see a person here and there who gets a top 10 time at the senior olympics. I went to these one year--the first year I was eligible, actually, and only because it was being held at Trees Pool in Pittsburgh, where I sometimes actually practice.
It seemed like a bit of a money making scam--you had to first "pre-qualify" the summer before to be allowed to even swim in the actual meet. Both meets were fairly pricey, as I recall, and the "pre qualifying" one involved a long drive and spending money on a motel, etc.
As for all you who have been DQ'd or otherwise victimized by rules run amok and perhaps unfairly applied, you have my sympathies! I always think of figure skater Jill Trenary, who I interviewed years and years ago. She was an excellent skater in many ways, but her one area of clear domination was the thing that actually gave figure skating its name: carving exact figures in the ice. That used to count for a significant minority of scoring points, and she had devoted countless training hours to getting really good at it. But then the powers that be decided that it wasn't telegenic enough--frankly, it was kind of boring to watch these slow motion maneuvers followed by judges with protractors and measuring devices attempting to quantify how close to perfect the etch lines were--but anyhow, it did seem really unfair to me that the powers that be just chanced the sport suddenly like that.
I suspect the dolphin kick in breaststroke was added after that Japanese guy was accused of getting away with one (when it was illegal) and beating Hansens in the Olympics?
Sorry. Enough meandering. Steelers losing. Time for bed.
