Fact or Fiction…. Combined National Championships

FACT… Why not? No one has given me one good reason to say it shouldn’t be combined, unless they are going to not let as many kids go to the meet, boy, that would be a shame. If we can keep similar numbers, give kids more rest and let it be in a faster pool, then I say go for it. Might make those parties after the meet a bit more interesting huh Herbstreit… *nudges Herbstreit*

Most of the sports that share a season are already combined. Let’s be honest, if swimming were more of a fan favorite and crowd pleaser in a non-Olympic year, they would already be televised and we would never be having this conversation. You don’t see the Duke women playing their home games before the Duke men down at Cameron Indoor. The fact remains, as much as you all hate to admit it, swimming isn’t a big revenue sport. It is easier for the NCAA to combine the two. You will see the same teams swimming together all year long, coached by the same man or woman in most instances swimming the fastest at the same time, NOT a week apart. That is how it is done at the Olympics and Worlds, why should the NCAA be above that? Anytime you can imulate how it is done at the highest level, I am all for that. Fact.

I would say NO NO NO and again NO to a combined men’s and women’s meet. First of all, a 4th day would probably have to be added otherwise the sessions would take forever. Secondly, a combined meet would definitely detract from the women’s meet as they would become an afterthought to the men’s swimming. I realize that it saves the NCAA some money, but it would really be screwing the athletes over, in my opinion.

Why would womens swimming in a combined meet be “an afterthought?” Did it ever occur to anyone that some fans would attend just to see the women’s events? Why do a majority of posters on this site think women’s swimming is not important?

So this is probably a dead thread now, but anyway……what about practical considerations? Like……..NO warm up space, No deck space, fatigue for the athletes at having longer sessions/more days. The party angle is nice, but I can’t help but feel that performance will suffer from a combined meet. OH! And fatigue from cheering for your female teammates. Screaming your head off for all your teammates at just an invitational is draining (mentally if not physically) but imagine how much more so at NATIONALS, instead of something more mundane