By Jason Marsteller
PHOENIX, Arizona, May 1. THE sport of swimming as it is known in the United States is at a crossroads, much like the rest of the country due to the new economic climate. Just like the automotive industry in the U.S. is facing an interesting dichotomy between future potential and current difficulties, I believe the sport of swimming faces a similar situation right now.
I was all set to write a wonderfully positive column about how I had the chance to take my first vacation since joining Swimming World Magazine, but could not get away from the sport even with a ban on computer use by my wife, Erin.
This column won't be full of daisies though, as the University of Washington cuts have seriously dampened my mood. I'm also not going to touch on the speedsuit controversy, but am not ignorant of the fact that the suits have an impact throughout the various points of this column. Our senior writer John Lohn has already confronted the speedsuit issue earlier this week.
Just a few years ago, I would hazard to guess that someone could choose not to be around the sport of swimming for a few days, and would be able to achieve that goal. But, this past year and the elevation of Michael Phelps into the American pop culture scene has changed all that.
Just to set the stage. My mother, Cindi, absolutely loves the television show the Amazing Race, and when I am in town, I tend to watch the shows that she watches. It gives me a chance to catch up with her, and get away from my standard routine. So, I'm on a personal vacation, trying to keep my mind off the sport for a bit – what harm can watching some Reality TV do me?
There they are, various teams head to the Water Cube in Beijing where they have the choice of either landing simultaneously off the three-meter springboard, or swimming a two-person 400-meter freestyle relay in the Speedo LZR Racer. When I say freestyle, it's truly freestyle. One team even wound up putting on life preservers and pulling themselves along the lane lines in the Olympic warm down pool. It was interesting watching two people take 12-15 minutes to complete the course in comparison to the four-minute times put up by Michael Phelps.
The intrusion into my vacation was actually welcomed, as opposed to the last time I tried to take some personal time and the 108th world record of 2008 set me off (Here's my rant on that issue.)
I was able to extract a kernel of insight from this vacation interruption – swimming has finally elevated to the next level in the American sports landscape. It is on a similar trajectory that golf experienced with the Tiger Woods phenomenon. When Tiger first came onto the scene, golf was in a similar spot as swimming. You had to go looking for it, and the Masters was like the Olympics, as it was the only time you really had no choice to hear about the sport. Once Tiger started making waves, everything changed.
I firmly believe that the sport of swimming in America is in a similar place as golf when Tiger first became a superstar.
However, here is the dichotomy that I see in the sport. While USA Swimming is thriving in the post-Beijing honeymoon, and U.S. Masters Swimming is coming into its own under new leadership, the sport is dying at the collegiate level.
Let's face it, the concept of college athletics being anything but a quasi-professional endeavor at least at the Division I level is over. A similar setup for being paid to play is part of the U.S. government through AmeriCorps. You do volunteer labor, you get your school paid for. That's pretty much what college student-athletes sign on for in the U.S. It is as professional as you can get without agents and contracts involved.
With the current economic climate, athletic departments are doing whatever they can to remain financially solvent as business units within the academic structure.
The sport is truly at a crossroads. Never has it been more popular when measured against its injection into the American pop culture. Even American Idol judge Paula Abdul compared the likely winner (Adam Lambert) of this year's edition of the extremely popular show to Michael Phelps.
"It's like watching the Olympics and you're our Michael Phelps."
That comment was heard by millions of people, and has even pushed the Michael Phelps brand into countless articles mentioning that Abdul compared the two. Before 2008, that reference would likely have been: "It's like watching the Masters and you're our Tiger Woods."
The question is, can the sport capitalize fully on this new level of awareness? Where does the sport on the collegiate scene fit into all of this? Or, is the sport reaching a point where there is enough of a professional career path, similar to basketball, where college is no longer needed en route to becoming a professional swimmer?
Also, what can be done to save college swimming? Are we finally at the point where a national endowment might be a way to take control of the issue? Could pooling our resources to fight the loss of college programs be smarter than letting each individual program fight its own battle?
Or, is the concept that some college coaches believe that a national endowment would give an athletics department more of an excuse to cut a program since it can be funded elsewhere well founded?
Just curious to where our users think the sport of swimming is going.
Search For More News About: Michael Phelps
Reaction Time Comments
Reaction Time responses do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions
of Swimming World Magazine or SwimmingWorldMagazine.com.
Reaction Time is provided as a service to our readers.
May 1, 2009 I agree that swimming has come to a fork in the road, and we need to carefully consider the consequences of our choices. The road of speedsuits and cascading records takes us closer to Reality TV and Extreme sports. While this increases swimming's appeal within popular culture, it compromises the athleticism and integrity of the sport and will do nothing to save collegiate swimming programs. We need to look at the other road and find longer term solutions to sustain popularity and funding without denigrating the sport. Submitted by: fiat1lux
May 2, 2009 I am also so unhappy about the state of college swimming.
I didn't even swim in college outside 1 year of junior college competition in 1976 but I appreciate what our college swim programs have offered to so many athletes in this country - and even internationally.
Considering the recent program cuts, every head coach should have a plan that includes a steady involvement and be ready for a full rally of all team alumni.
If you don't know your alumni or where they are, you had better find out. You will need them. Its better to already have them in full support of your program rather than going begging when the deed is done.
I realize this IS about the $$. Nothing else. The athletic budgets are way out of whack and balance.
A few coaches are paid ALOT more than others and their budgets are much larger. The only way to resolve it is to even up the $$. The big budget teams really have to tighten up and perhaps cut expenses to support their school's other sport teams.
This needs to become a mission for the athletic and program directors - and a matter of school pride.
Pretty sure that these higher paid coaches from other sports and high budgeted teams in the colleges need to remember that they are sportsmen and athletes and extend appropriate conduct beyond their immediate playing field.
In college, all the sports are important and they should equally support eachother.
The greed in sports - among athletes and coaches is the reason we are loosing programs in the schools.
The economy is making things worse, yes. But this action was going on well before. Submitted by: ahelee
May 2, 2009 ALUMNI!
UW (and all college programs) must have hundreds of them.
Get in touch with all or as many as of them as humanly possible.
They have experience, resources and contacts.
They also have the connection and the love for your cause.
They're the ones to help you the most. Submitted by: ahelee
Reaction Time responses do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions
of Swimming World Magazine or SwimmingWorldMagazine.com.
Reaction Time is provided as a service to our readers.
|
Subscribe Now!
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
