At Nationals we seem to have gone to having a relay early on the last day.At Mesa it is the MR and it is right before the 200 BR.I think this is a lousy time to have a relay.I know the idea is to not have a relay as the last event so that people who want/need to leave early can swim it,but that could be accomplished by having 2 relays at the end of the previous day.I know many of you will just say "man up",but look at it this way,the difference between 1st and 2nd,or 3rd and 4th(3rd being the last of the "big medals") or 10th and 11th(10th getting a medal,11th not) could be .01 sec.You train for months,taper,fly across country,pay for a hotel,do everything you can to swim your best,and then can either be a lousy teammate and skip the relay or swim your event with less than adequate rest.If you are in an older age group ,but are on a small team that can only field a team in a younger age group you could end up with very little rest indeed.I'd like to see this changed.
Or simply ask that you not be put in the relay on Sunday morning.
I think this is the best option. I like to swim on relays, too, but my individual events are my priority. For example my only event on Friday is the 400 IM. I'm not going to return to the pool at the end of the day to swim the relay. I have a feeling the Oregon team "needs" Allen a lot more than PNA needs me, though, so I can definitely see his dilemma.
Or simply ask that you not be put in the relay on Sunday morning.
I think this is the best option. I like to swim on relays, too, but my individual events are my priority. For example my only event on Friday is the 400 IM. I'm not going to return to the pool at the end of the day to swim the relay. I have a feeling the Oregon team "needs" Allen a lot more than PNA needs me, though, so I can definitely see his dilemma.
