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.:)
One thing I should also point out. Yes, sandbagging is a pet peeve of mine. However, I understand that this is not always a scientific process. I know we have new swimmers. I know some people are tapering for the first time. I get it. We're adults.
My only real expectation is that you think about your seed time, and make an honest effort at coming up with a seed time that accurately reflects how you expect to swim. Honest effort, people. That's all I want.
A year ago at our NE SCY champs, one swimmer on my own team massively goofed on her seed times. Way off. I don't even remember if she was way fast or way slow. But way off. Ended up on my "naughty seeders" list after the meet.
After the meet, she talked to me, and told me about a very complex formula that she had put together to estimate her seed times. She had never really competed after tapering before, and had also spent some time away from the pool on a research trip. It was quite a complex formula. (And she is a very scientific research-type person.)
In my book, she gets a 100% free pass. My goal was accomplished. She thought about her seed times. She didn't pull numbers out of the air. She thought about them. She was wrong. Oh well. But she learned from it, and the next time, she was a lot lot better. Victory, in my book.
I know we have a lot of inexperienced swimmers. Or people who have been away from the pool for decades, and are getting back, and aren't fully in the groove yet. That's great. My expectations are not high there.
But if you're someone who swims a 52-second 100 SCY freestyle, and you seed yourself at 59.99, then you're sandbagging. You know better. I expect more from you. So do all of the other swimmers around you.
-Rick
One thing I should also point out. Yes, sandbagging is a pet peeve of mine. However, I understand that this is not always a scientific process. I know we have new swimmers. I know some people are tapering for the first time. I get it. We're adults.
My only real expectation is that you think about your seed time, and make an honest effort at coming up with a seed time that accurately reflects how you expect to swim. Honest effort, people. That's all I want.
A year ago at our NE SCY champs, one swimmer on my own team massively goofed on her seed times. Way off. I don't even remember if she was way fast or way slow. But way off. Ended up on my "naughty seeders" list after the meet.
After the meet, she talked to me, and told me about a very complex formula that she had put together to estimate her seed times. She had never really competed after tapering before, and had also spent some time away from the pool on a research trip. It was quite a complex formula. (And she is a very scientific research-type person.)
In my book, she gets a 100% free pass. My goal was accomplished. She thought about her seed times. She didn't pull numbers out of the air. She thought about them. She was wrong. Oh well. But she learned from it, and the next time, she was a lot lot better. Victory, in my book.
I know we have a lot of inexperienced swimmers. Or people who have been away from the pool for decades, and are getting back, and aren't fully in the groove yet. That's great. My expectations are not high there.
But if you're someone who swims a 52-second 100 SCY freestyle, and you seed yourself at 59.99, then you're sandbagging. You know better. I expect more from you. So do all of the other swimmers around you.
-Rick
