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.:)
Strangely, kids don't seem to care what seed time someone enters with.
To some extent, I would agree that kids don't care as much. However, as gull pointed out previously, prelims/final format somewhat eliminates this problem in all major meets. I think a swimmer is dodging the competition by intentionally putting down a slow time.
On the other hand, all high level USA-S meets have swimmers who are fast enough to cruise prelims and make finals. This is widely considered to be an acceptable practice. Occasionally, swimmers will win from outside lanes. They may have deprived another swimmer from "seeing" them easily in the pool by swimming slower in prelims, but I don't know anyone that has a problem with it. Sometimes energy conservation is the purpose, other times the reasoning is not so clear.
I don't think swimmers should intentionally put down slow times, but I don't think the meet management should change times either. When all is said and done, as a swimmer, I don't let any of this stuff get to me.
Strangely, kids don't seem to care what seed time someone enters with.
To some extent, I would agree that kids don't care as much. However, as gull pointed out previously, prelims/final format somewhat eliminates this problem in all major meets. I think a swimmer is dodging the competition by intentionally putting down a slow time.
On the other hand, all high level USA-S meets have swimmers who are fast enough to cruise prelims and make finals. This is widely considered to be an acceptable practice. Occasionally, swimmers will win from outside lanes. They may have deprived another swimmer from "seeing" them easily in the pool by swimming slower in prelims, but I don't know anyone that has a problem with it. Sometimes energy conservation is the purpose, other times the reasoning is not so clear.
I don't think swimmers should intentionally put down slow times, but I don't think the meet management should change times either. When all is said and done, as a swimmer, I don't let any of this stuff get to me.
