3 Reasons Why 100 IM Should Not Be Swum At NCAA Championships

Commentary by Jeff Commings

I love the 100 IM. It’s the primary reason why I signed up for Masters swimming 16 years ago. It’s the perfect marriage of all-out sprinting ability and stroke versatility. The best underwater kickers might be able to handle the event, but there is that breaststroke leg that gives the kicking-challenged a bit of an opportunity.

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved Thursday to add the 100 IM to the collegiate conference championships as an optional event. Note that the panel stopped short of putting it into the NCAA championships, which would have been a disastrous addition to one of the biggest meets on the swimming calendar. Yes, it would be fun to watch the best college swimmers fight to call themselves 100 IM champions, but putting the 100 IM into the meet would hurt more than it would help.

We are in a period when college swimming is in flux. Athletic departments are putting swimming at the top of their lists of programs to cut as budgets shrink. Perhaps putting a 100 IM in a Division II conference championship would bring a new level of excitement to the meet, but would college coaches start scouting the best 100 IM swimmers in the land to help them score the 20 points for the event win and possibly the team title? Would more fans flock to the meet if they knew the 100 IM was now on the program? That’s doubtful.

Again, I am a big fan of the 100 IM. Let it be swum at the conference championships, and even some dual meets, if the time allows. But keeping it away from the NCAA championships would be the best decision. Below are three reasons why the race should not be a part of any collegiate national championship.

1. It is not an official event in USA Swimming.

The 100-yard IM is only swum by athletes 12 years and younger in the United States, and by Masters swimmers aged 18 and above. USA Swimming does not have an official American record for the 100-yard IM, though a short course meters American record exists since FINA conducts the event at the World Cup and short course world championships. The NCAA rarely takes the lead in any of its swimming-related votes, so the 100 IM will not be swum at the NCAA championships unless USA Swimming decides to make it a part of its national championships. And with the federation already fighting against the rising popularity of the 50s of butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke, the 100 IM would be low on the priority list.

2. It is not an Olympic event.

As mentioned above, the 50s of the strokes are slowly creeping into event programs in the United States. We saw them contested in a couple of the Arena Pro Swim Series meets this year, and they are swum at nationals when a world championship team is selected. The three events might be added to the Olympic schedule in the next 10 years, but for now, it’s just a hot topic. There is no way the 100 IM will be an Olympic event, because a couple of the stroke changes would need to happen in mid-pool. That weakens the chances of the 100 IM ever becoming a more popular event worldwide than the 50s, and that will trickle down to the NCAA level, where the top athletes all train for spots on Olympic teams. Yes, most of the athletes who could win the 100 IM don’t need to train exclusively for the event, and it could be viewed as a bonus, but coaches might not like the idea of having to devote any training time to an event that will not have any long course significance.

3. It would continue to skew the NCAA event program toward sprinting.

If the 100 IM were to be added to the NCAA championship program, many coaches would rise up in protest. Some of the top coaches don’t like that the meet puts so much of a focus on sprinting, thanks in large part to the 200-yard relays. The 100 IM would need to be balanced by the addition of the 1000 freestyle to the Division I schedule, which brings up the issue of putting more events into an already crowded meet. Athletes talk of racing more than a dozen times in a three-day period, and are pushed to their limit in every race. The solution might be – at least at the Division I level – to make the championships a four-day meet. The 1000 freestyle could then be added. But would any Division I coach lobby for a four-day meet? The format appears to be working well for the Division II and III athletes, but the four-day meet mostly is in place because those championships are mixed-gender competitions.

The NCAA championship schedule is perfect as it is. Any changes would affect athletes negatively, and would not change how the public views the competition. It’s one of the most thrilling meets in the world, and adding the 100 IM would be the equivalent of stunt casting on a TV show to boost ratings.

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D83

8 years ago

I could write article countering every one of your points. 1. If it is not an official event in USA Swimming? Why do 12 & under swim it and there are age group national records for the 100 Individual Medley. Correction: It is not an official event in USA Swimming for ages 13 & up in USA Swimming sanction meets. 2. It is not an Olympic Event? Neither is the women’s 1500 and there is a women’s world record in the 1500. IOC puts a cap on swimming events due to the equity to other Olympic sports. I am happy that FINA doesn’t put a cap on swimming events. That is why you see 50’s of strokes, 100 Individual Medley, and mixed relays being competed in long course and short course world championship formats. 3. Sprinting too much? 50’s make up 4 out of 18 NCAA Championship events. The 100 Individual Medley is not a pure sprint but a “transitional sprint”. The best sprinters, IMers, and butterfiers/backstrokers would compete against each other. It would make for a competitive event. Lastly, NCAA Division 1 Championships is not perfect because very few Collegiate Conferences follow the NCAA Division 1 Championship event format model. We have seen Division 2 & Division 3 change the format of their NCAA Championships due to coaches’ dislike for a 3 day format.

Sandy Thatcher

8 years ago

Reply to D83

I agree with everything you say. Also, perhaps adding the 100 IM would bring in a little more diversity. After all, when the 200 medley relay was added in 1990, the team that won it the first two years was an Ivy school, Princeton!