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A&M pool length could affect records


12:45 AM CDT on Thursday, May 22, 2008
By KATE HAIROPOULOS / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]

In swimming, centimeters matter.

In this case, they could prevent some swimmers from records and Olympic and Olympic Trials dreams. And they're causing Texas A&M embarrassment.

The university hosted a Texas Senior Circuit meet at its Student Recreation Center Natatorium last Friday through Sunday, completing five of six sessions before meet organizers determined bulkheads in the pool were incorrectly placed and the course was three centimeters too short – measuring 49.97 meters instead of 50.

USA Swimming said Wednesday its Rule Committee will review whether times from the meet – including those fast enough to qualify swimmers for the Olympic Trials in June and July in Omaha, Neb. – will count.

A&M is hosting the men's and women's NCAA national championships in March 2009. It previously hosted national NCAA meets in 2001 and 2004 and the FINA World Cup in 1998.

"We feel awful," said A&M women's swim coach Steve Bultman. "We're embarrassed it happened at our pool. We have a world-class facility; we run a great meet."

Bultman said "a handful" of swimmers who qualified for the Trials for the first time were affected. Others improved their Trials times or qualified for elite junior events. Bultman said about 350 swimmers participated in the meet.

Aggies swimmer Christine Marshall swam an Olympic Trials cut in the 400-meter freestyle. At least she might have recourse.

Alia Akinson, an A&M swimmer and Jamaica native, would have qualified for her country's Olympics team in the 100-meter breaststroke. Alejandro Jacobo, a male A&M swimmer, swam a time in the 200-meter breaststroke that would have given him a good chance to qualify for the Mexican team.

The international swimmers may have no recourse through FINA, the sport's governing body, Bultman said.

The problem was discovered Saturday after a masters world record was broken. American and world records must be confirmed.

Bultman, with A&M since 1999, said this hasn't happened before. The A&M swimming program rents the pool from the rec department, which sets up for the meet.

While courses are confirmed before major meets – such as the NCAA championships – it's not always standard to measure first.

But that will change at A&M and it could be a wakeup call for other facilities, Bultman said.

Bulkheads, made of fiberglass, are moveable, but have designated spots to be anchored, allowing pools to set lanes to varying distances. Bultman said the guess is that the lane ropes were tightened and shifted the bulkheads.

Swimmers have remaining chances to set qualifying times, including the next Texas Senior Circuit meet June 5-8 in Austin.
 
centimeters?
wtf.gif
 
I've come to the conclusion that Agricultural is not good at building things. In ground or above.

They have built a very close minded cult with an astounding inferiority complex. So kudos.
 
guess you don't have a clue either about Army's opponents those years. that's right, just keep regurgitating what others say.
 
this post confuses me.

you claim that for 90 years you were the Citadel- worthless because you played easy competition, and got smoked by any reasonably good team.

You then BAG on the Army national titles during the war, and who they played. IGNORING the fact that there were a lot of good teams put together due to all the young men being concentrated in specific geographic (read military bases) area. Just because the teams TODAY are division III schools DOESNT mean they werent powerhouses in the early 1940's with the influx of service men.

Since the only national championship you backwards loosers claim was in 1939, and you are bagging on the competition the 1944 and 1945 teams played, you are, in effect, negating your only claim to fame- the 1939 championship.
 
I can't believe we did win that title back then. Our winning % during our military era is mediocre at best.

Are you gonna look at Army's schedule and honestly say it was just as hard as us?

In reply to:


 
Agfan, do you know anything about college football history? Army played a very tough schedule. The best teams in the country were in the NE until the '40s. The SWC was not nationally competitive until the late '20s.

There is a rason why the NE teams were so good. They recruited players from prep schools that were to football what the Andover Academy is to basketball today. Their players were older amd more mature physically than any SWC teams.

Bill Yeoman was an AA at Army. He played freshman ball at TAMU, and then Army recruited him away. That was typical back then.
 
a list of some of Army's opponents during their 4 title years....
Brown
Coast Guard
Cornell
Columbia
Stevens Tech
Colgate
Holy Cross
Maine
Springfield
Lebanon Valley
Washington & Lee
Trinity

according to some of you, they could all actually be powerhouses.
 
Yes, Agfan, they actually were tough teams. It was a different era then.

Ever hear of Chuck Bednarski? He played for Penn. The NE had the touhest teams in the early part of the century. Go back and look at what happened when SWC teas played northern teams. Until the late '20s, the northern teams always won, and by big margins.
 

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