universalsports

Come watch the second part of the FINA World Cup taking place in Durban South Africa. The FREE and LIVE coverage starts tomorrow, Friday and goes till Saturday, (Oct. 17-1. Keep track of whose gaining the most points. Go to Universal Sports dot com for the broadcast.

Coming out of the first leg in Belo Horizante, Brazil for the Men Christian Sprenger of Australia is in 1st with 25 points, Stanislov Donets of Russia is in 2nd with 20 points, and Cesar Cielo Filho of Brazil is in 3rd. The top performer for the USA for the Men’s side is Randal Bal the reigning overall champ who is in 7th with 7 points. On the women’s side Marieke Guehrer of Australia is in 1st with 25 points, Josefin Lillhage of Sweden is in 2nd with 20points, and Therese Alshammar of Sweden is in 3rd. The top women’s performer of the US so far is Brooke Bishop who is in 9th place with 2 points.

Typhoons Coach

It should be interesting to see the end results of these; I was a little let down in Belo, though!

aquaswim

These are some of the first meets I've watched on television, outside of the Olympic Games. Because of that I'm not used to this short course format, and I find it a bit frustrating! I hate to say it, but almost boring! Nevertheless, I'm glad to see swimming on television at all! I'm looking forward to the FINA World Championships in Rome, which NBC (who owns half of Universal Sports) will be broadcasting for the first time. Apparently they will be airing the last two weekends of the meet on their main network and the weekday coverage on one of their other networks but I'm not sure exactly which one. I hope they cover the first week of the championships too, because I'm interested in seeing the other aquatic disciplines as well, like the Diving and Water Polo.

aquaswim

P.S. Shouldn't this topic be moved down into the World Cup Meets forum?

Captain Pugwash

Contact Heather.She placed it in correct forum.http://www.swimmingforums.com/index....ic,1585.0.html
Can't blame a girl for trying.
2 posts aquaswim both of them MO-NING bout tother posts.
Goo on be constructive.

aquaswim

Two posts moaning about other posts?

Typhoons Coach

It is a different swimming crowd than the long course format (not as many "big name" swimmers like Phelps, etc). However, it is still a great thing to have out there as it gives swimmers the chance to see a high-level of swimming in a short course setting.

I have a contention, and maybe we can shift the focus, but what would make this more interesting for people who find this boring?

aquaswim

Switch to a 50m pool? I'm only half joking.

For me, not much can be done, I think. It's something I'd just have to get used to. What frustrates me is the swimmers dive in and half the first lap is swimming underwater, then they're making the turn already! Then a good portion of that lap is underwater. Like I said, I'm just not used to seeing it in competition, and it feels weird when I watch it. Even when I was in high school, we had a 50m pool., my university had a 50m pool and when I swam for fitness (I've been out of the water for a long time), I did it in a 50m pool. As for big names, I was watching reruns of the Short Course Championships from Manchester, England, on Universal Sports, and Ryan Lochte swam in it, and a couple of the American women, IIRC, and it didn't make a difference. The other thing about that meet was how cheesy it was, in a darkened arena, with spotlights and the swimmers coming out of a sliding door under the stands, in a spot light, in robes or something, you would have thought you were watching a prize-fight in Las Vegas! I didn't like it at all, truthfully. I just want the purity of the racing, no need for special effects. Even the Olympic Trials in Omaha this year had gas flames shooting out of the pool deck and the World Championships in Melbourne last year had the same, and I just didn't care for that.

Typhoons Coach

I think the bottom line is that everyone is trying to hype and promote teh world of competitive swimming any and every way that they can. If that means pryotechnics, fireworks, flame throwers, and a circus act then I think we will most likely see it (unfortunately). With regard to the normalcy, I am used to a 25 yard/meter pool and used to the short course setting (where the race is won a majority of the time with the starts, turns, and underwater work). When I coach long course it is always a different feel/approach because the swimmers need to adjust accordingly in a short amount of time for only a 4 month stint in a 50 m pool...

Personally, I like both the long course and the short course; I like the long course because you get to see the stroke to its fullest while the short course doesn't always allow for that.

aquaswim

What was it that left you underwhelmed about Belo Horizonte, Andy?