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.:)
I don't care if people manipulate their seed times for whatever reason. I'm with you on that, Q. Personally, I try to enter expected times because I like to race and I believe that being next to a swimmer likely to race me is far more valuable than the value of 'clear' water or a 'non-outside-lane.' But, those are my personal value judgements. I get it that some people value things differently. I also get it, to Kurt's original point, that sometimes a meet schedule and life schedule conspire so that sandbagging is a viable and respectable option to be able to swim the race you trained hard for, traveled long for and tapered exquisitely for.
I don't care if people manipulate their seed times for whatever reason. I'm with you on that, Q. Personally, I try to enter expected times because I like to race and I believe that being next to a swimmer likely to race me is far more valuable than the value of 'clear' water or a 'non-outside-lane.' But, those are my personal value judgements. I get it that some people value things differently. I also get it, to Kurt's original point, that sometimes a meet schedule and life schedule conspire so that sandbagging is a viable and respectable option to be able to swim the race you trained hard for, traveled long for and tapered exquisitely for.
