At the risk of sounding unaustralian I have to say I don't really get a lot out of competitive swimming. Be it the Olympics, the Pac games or the grand nationals I don't really give a stuff what happens. Let me tell you why...
Firstly, there are too many events. Buttefly, freestyle, breast stroke, back stroke. 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m. And if all this is not bad enough they throw in medley events
which comprise endless varieties of the distances and strokes. For gawds sake - it's a bloody race, why the hell use a stroke which is slower.
Swimming is not a team sport. I like team sports. To watch a champion team beat a team of champions is an amazing site. Team sports have whole dimension that endurance events can never match, the subtleties and intricate tactics and most importantly the camaraderie between players.
The amount of taxpayer money thrown at swimming is horrendous too. Where does this money mostly go, to the elite swimmers and the AIS. With the amount of money that has gone into the elite end of Australian swimming we should be winning races and gold medals. Do the swimmers at the AIS ever pay HECS? I mean a lot of money was invested in their development. Why not channel more money into grassroots sports instead, junior team sports like footy, cricket, soccer and rugby? I would argue that this would provide more benefit to Australian Society in the long run.
I don't buy propping up champion swimmers as role models either. Sure they may be able to travel across water really quick, but does following a blackline for a large amount of your young life make you a great role model? At least a footballer has developed interpersonal/leadership skills by being involved in a team sport.
It's not that I hate swimming, it's just that I watch all the accolades and fanfare surrounding swimming meets and I don't buy it.
Am I the only person who feels this way? What do the sports mad posters of BigFooty think of swimming?
Firstly, there are too many events. Buttefly, freestyle, breast stroke, back stroke. 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m. And if all this is not bad enough they throw in medley events
which comprise endless varieties of the distances and strokes. For gawds sake - it's a bloody race, why the hell use a stroke which is slower.
Swimming is not a team sport. I like team sports. To watch a champion team beat a team of champions is an amazing site. Team sports have whole dimension that endurance events can never match, the subtleties and intricate tactics and most importantly the camaraderie between players.
The amount of taxpayer money thrown at swimming is horrendous too. Where does this money mostly go, to the elite swimmers and the AIS. With the amount of money that has gone into the elite end of Australian swimming we should be winning races and gold medals. Do the swimmers at the AIS ever pay HECS? I mean a lot of money was invested in their development. Why not channel more money into grassroots sports instead, junior team sports like footy, cricket, soccer and rugby? I would argue that this would provide more benefit to Australian Society in the long run.
I don't buy propping up champion swimmers as role models either. Sure they may be able to travel across water really quick, but does following a blackline for a large amount of your young life make you a great role model? At least a footballer has developed interpersonal/leadership skills by being involved in a team sport.
It's not that I hate swimming, it's just that I watch all the accolades and fanfare surrounding swimming meets and I don't buy it.
Am I the only person who feels this way? What do the sports mad posters of BigFooty think of swimming?
