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.:)
This needs to be a mantra we all repeat to ourselves. I heard a great quote yesterday on NPR from a woman, "No whining on the yacht." Yeah, we all don't have yachts* and it's certainly not champagne, caviar and carefree life, but all of us on these forums are fortunate to have the time, health, energy and financial resources to be able to *at least* train swimming as Masters (many of us also to compete) ... so life's already pretty good for us compared to the vast majority of humanity.
Quit whining, enter whatever time you want, but just race and enjoy the fact you can race.
* if anyone does have a yacht, though, I'd like to try it out to see if being on one really does reduce whining :)
This is the post of the decade. Every time I hear some pointless and self serving whining about swimming I just ask "what could be better?" Hot water, boo hoo. Noodlers, boo hoo. Order of events, boo hoo.
I attended a meet recently where someone complained because they started 18 SECONDS late. She was watching the clock. Good grief, enough already.
This needs to be a mantra we all repeat to ourselves. I heard a great quote yesterday on NPR from a woman, "No whining on the yacht." Yeah, we all don't have yachts* and it's certainly not champagne, caviar and carefree life, but all of us on these forums are fortunate to have the time, health, energy and financial resources to be able to *at least* train swimming as Masters (many of us also to compete) ... so life's already pretty good for us compared to the vast majority of humanity.
Quit whining, enter whatever time you want, but just race and enjoy the fact you can race.
* if anyone does have a yacht, though, I'd like to try it out to see if being on one really does reduce whining :)
This is the post of the decade. Every time I hear some pointless and self serving whining about swimming I just ask "what could be better?" Hot water, boo hoo. Noodlers, boo hoo. Order of events, boo hoo.
I attended a meet recently where someone complained because they started 18 SECONDS late. She was watching the clock. Good grief, enough already.
