The anti-sandbag law:
"if a swimmer enters an event with a time significantly slower or faster than that swimmer's recorded time in the past two years, the meet director may, after a discussion with the swimmer, change the seeded time to a realistic time" (104.5.5.A(10)).
Concerning my Auburn nationals entry, I confess, when faced with a 7 hour 2 stop flight and 3:45 nonstop at an earlier time, I did what any warm-blooded middle-aged American swimmer with low self-esteem would do--sandbag my entry so I could catch the earlier flight, thus diminishing the possible time spent sitting next to a 400 pound Alabama slammer with sleep apnea wearing nothing but overalls and body odor. Of course, I was caught in my bold fabrication and my time was "fixed."
USMS seems to have an identity problem. Are we hard core with rigid qualifying times? It would seem not as 2 of my not-so-speedy family members were allowed to swim four events last year in Puerto Rico. If we are not hard core, why does anybody care that I sandbag? More to the point, why can one person enter a crappy time and another cannot? Just wondering.:)
But, a meet isn't about a single swimmer or their lane assignment. Should everyone sandbag to get a better lane? Wouldn't that put us right back in the same position? What makes it more or less fair for one swimmer is completely irrelevant because that invariably makes it less fair for another, which is also irrelevant.
For the record I have never seen a mixed gender event in the Dixie Zone meets I attend except the 400/500+ events. And, I've been chicked in many distance events where the woman had a "better" lane than me. That's not fair, or is it?
I've yet to see a meet in the NW that is run with genders separated. The only masters meet I've been to so far that has been separated was Nationals this spring. I'd rather swim mixed anyway...the women are better to look at than the men. :)
But, a meet isn't about a single swimmer or their lane assignment. Should everyone sandbag to get a better lane? Wouldn't that put us right back in the same position? What makes it more or less fair for one swimmer is completely irrelevant because that invariably makes it less fair for another, which is also irrelevant.
For the record I have never seen a mixed gender event in the Dixie Zone meets I attend except the 400/500+ events. And, I've been chicked in many distance events where the woman had a "better" lane than me. That's not fair, or is it?
I've yet to see a meet in the NW that is run with genders separated. The only masters meet I've been to so far that has been separated was Nationals this spring. I'd rather swim mixed anyway...the women are better to look at than the men. :)
