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.:)
Former Member
Let's not get carried away Wookie, self control is about as common as common sense.
In otherwords, we are going to continue to worry about Chris drinking diet cokes before a race, fearing he might get an advantage from the extra caffeine. Dang, maybe one day I will have a time faster than his backstroke.
...conditions are always great for me...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 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.
Y'know, I don't mind but it's getting old looking at the psyche sheets and thinking "Hmm I can place here." Then you see the results and you're 10th.
I've gone as far as reviewing my age group competitors post meet to see how the have swum in the last few meets. I just giggle when I see Jonny X swims the 50 BR in :31 6 of 7 times and entered at :33.5.
With the exception of certain meets where the Meet Manager is actively watching the entries. I may be economical with the truth of my times. Fed up with being lane 3 or 4 and a good body length behind at the wall.
As Geek said once or twice it's a new PB or a misjudged guess and I can handle that but I do look up results and have vowed to nix the SB strategists by SB'ing myself into a more correct heat.
I feel I train too hard to hard to be eating the kick wash of a sandbagger who wants lean water. It isn't fair.
That said, Leslie's and Allen's points about fastest in age group or sex should be considered when seeding so that they don't get end lanes against much younger folks or opposite sex seems reasonable.
Fastest woman should be in center lanes of final heat with fastest guy (or the penultimate heat etc) and work backwards alternating sexes--it must be doable by computer.
:2cents:
I'm curious, though, when's the last time you swam in lanes 1 or 8? Do you really think that lane placement makes no difference?
I don't know because I honestly don't pay attention to it. For sure in relays all the time. Proly at senior champs too. The only thing I dislike about the outside lanes is that I can't see people on the other side. No, I don't swim any slower in them.
I'm curious, though, when's the last time you swam in lanes 1 or 8? Do you really think that lane placement makes no difference? I agree that one can elevate the importance of these things and make it psychologically more difficult. But things like lane placement, quality of pool, mixed gender heats, tech suits, etc. can potentially make a difference; it seems somewhat naive to deny that.
Hold up, I though anti-sandbaggers were victims. Now I see that sandbaggers are victims of aquatic injustice. Very confusing, all these victims.
I thought conditions in Mesa were fantastic. It was slightly distracting the beautiful blue skies and incredibly clear water but I put those aside and swam anyway.
But since you D and mid-D types are so much more emotionally stable, you can have all the outside lanes you want!
... maybe because we're not so mean ....
...COULD be a great sprinter but isn't mean enough...
IIt's easy to downplay the little things. But little things sometimes matter. Especially for sprinters. But since you D and mid-D types are so much more emotionally stable, you can have all the outside lanes you want!
Well, little things matter to everyone. All I do is train the little things because I sure don't want to repeat a little thing 9 thousand times in a long race.
I hate the outside lanes but that's part of the deal with racing. No need to dwell on it. You can't put the fix in on every race.
