Joel from the17thman posted a quote by Australian swimming hero and bodysuit proponent, Ian Thorpe, in which the Thorpedo states he does not think records set in bodysuits should require an asterisk next to their times. Joel goes on to provide a colorful quote of his own on the topic of bodysuits:
“Dear press, before you bitch about swim suits I offer you the challenge of 1 year in USMS or FINA Masters or Competive Swimming. Otherwise your views are pointless and well [expletive deleted]!” (source)
Joel touches on an important point: shouldn’t those in a position to make decisions (or provide views and analysis) about the sport’s future be active participants in the sport itself?
This got me thinking more about athlete representatives. I remember some talk about it in the heat of the suit debacle this past year, but I don’t remember anything substantial being released. After some digging I found the USA Swimming Athletes Committee Manual online. This provided some information about the type of athlete representation that is currently in place.
As stated in the manual, the purpose of the Athletes
1 Comment:
I can't imagine the Athletes' Committee releasing a statement with anything other than praise for the Board of Directors' decisions. In USA Swimming, the athletes' committee is provided a voice WITHIN meetings – so their opinions are probably included within the minutes.
As for the press: I think times are changing, and opinions based in nostalgia are significantly out dated.
Athletes need to speak up! A few blogger opinions doesn't replace an organization-wide consensus.
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