our weekend

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We spent the weekend in suburban Grand Rapids (Michigan), at the Masters Swim 2011 Michigan state meet.

Our daughter swam for her high school, and swam for her university. Masters swim is a (much less intensive!) way for swimmers to stay in the pool, get some exercise, hang out with other swimmers, and compete, if they wish. Competition is by gender, by age, with five-year groups -- under 25, 25-29, 30-34, etc.

For those of you who have never been to a swim meet, there are many events. There will probably be 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle, for example. ("Freestyle" is what we used to call "crawl," back in the day......)

At a big meet there will probably be many heats of a popular event like the 50 free. The pool only accommodates so many swimmers at one time (6 lanes? 8 lanes?). If the pool is eight lanes, and 43 women are swimming the 50 free, there will be six heats, starting with the three slowest people, and then the next-slowest eight people, and ending with the eight fastest people. The intent is that a heat be comprised of competitors of similar ability.

At a masters' meet, you may have winners in every heat. If only one woman in the 60-64 age range competes, she will win every event she swims, regardless of how fast anyone else in her heats (or any other heats) may swim.

While it's true that the oldest people tended to be slower, and the youngest tended to be faster, it's also true that most heats had people who were several decades apart in age. Nineteen-yr-olds with forty-five-yr-olds, for example. Where else can the young bucks and the silverbacks stand on level ground (sort of!) in an athletic competition?

This was our first big masters' meet. It was *excellent* to see so many people in their 70s and 80s racing! How wonderful that they feel good enough to race, that they get out and swim on a regular basis, that swimming is an activity that is so inclusive (and healthy!)!!!!!

I asked my better half, yesterday, when was the last time he was at an athletic competition with such a high average age. He asked me if bridge counted, and I said "No. Unless you sweat because of physical exertion necessary for the activity, it's not an athletic competition!" (This is an on-going joke in our household, as the bridge people have tried to get bridge designated as an Olympic sport!)

It was all very interesting, and all very inspiring, and was a huge paradigm shift from a very competitive high school program (our daughter's high school team were national champions two of the three years she was there), and a serious college program, to a much more low-key and fun way to swim. Not that people weren't serious about competing, at this state meet, but there was more of a sense of proportion. At least that is this spectator's take on it.

It was one of those times when you honor every single participant, just for being there, and for all the work that preceded being there.

Good job, all!


In order to facilitate chronological traverse of these swim meet posts, here is a link to the next one.

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