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.:)
Thanks for pointing that out, Mike. Now we can dispense with the prior accusations of cheating, rule violations, illegalities, immorality, tragedy of the commons, etc.
Now we're simply down to people in the masters swim community having different opinions about the gravity and impact of sandbagging.
I fail to see how the fact that sandbagging is forbidden at only nationals invalidates any of that. And it is pretty obvious that we have different opinions on the gravity/impact.
So sandbagging is so abhorrent to you that you can't give Kurt one free pass to leave early when he's been sitting around FOR YEARS at meets waiting through all the slow to fast heats? You have to make attending his nana's birthday an inherently selfish act?
Sometimes I think certain people just feel superior scolding others or ferreting out rule violations.
You got it.
I am quite sure that there are others in the distance events who would love to sandbag their times for reasons that seem eminently reasonable to them. Allowing them all to do it would be a mess (or a tragedy of the commons, if you prefer).
I have been a masters member for 25 years, enduring slow to fast. I have no problem with it, since it can often prevent 80-year-olds swimming at 10pm. And somehow I've managed this without building a reservoir of simmering resentment against all the slowpokes out there.
I have seen many people skip a day or an entire meet of nationals if real life conflicts in some way. So what? Geez, cry me a river already.
Thanks for pointing that out, Mike. Now we can dispense with the prior accusations of cheating, rule violations, illegalities, immorality, tragedy of the commons, etc.
Now we're simply down to people in the masters swim community having different opinions about the gravity and impact of sandbagging.
I fail to see how the fact that sandbagging is forbidden at only nationals invalidates any of that. And it is pretty obvious that we have different opinions on the gravity/impact.
So sandbagging is so abhorrent to you that you can't give Kurt one free pass to leave early when he's been sitting around FOR YEARS at meets waiting through all the slow to fast heats? You have to make attending his nana's birthday an inherently selfish act?
Sometimes I think certain people just feel superior scolding others or ferreting out rule violations.
You got it.
I am quite sure that there are others in the distance events who would love to sandbag their times for reasons that seem eminently reasonable to them. Allowing them all to do it would be a mess (or a tragedy of the commons, if you prefer).
I have been a masters member for 25 years, enduring slow to fast. I have no problem with it, since it can often prevent 80-year-olds swimming at 10pm. And somehow I've managed this without building a reservoir of simmering resentment against all the slowpokes out there.
I have seen many people skip a day or an entire meet of nationals if real life conflicts in some way. So what? Geez, cry me a river already.
