Over the years, I’ve done a couple of posts regarding International parity in the world of swimming. With the Tokyo Olympics over, I’ve analyzed the competition and compared it to Rio 2016 and a random selection of World Championships between 1973 and 2019. So the big question here: Are just a few countries dominating swimming?… Continue reading Swimming has a Serious Parity Problem
Tag: USA Swimming
We Need COVID-19 Reporting by Sport
We’ve seen an unending stream of statistics regarding COVID-19 cases, deaths, recoveries, etc., all sorted by geographical area. This data can be incredibly useful when used by authorities for making larger social decisions. Low community rates may indicate it’s safe to open up, while spiking community rates may point to increased restrictions. However, we generally… Continue reading We Need COVID-19 Reporting by Sport
7 Rules (and a Vision) For Becoming a Better Swim Parent – (2019 Version)
This is my (almost) annual post regarding the role of swim parents. The beginning of every swim season is an exciting time for both swimmers and parents. And every year, I try to make sure that parents know how they can best help their swimmers achieve their goals. And the short answer is fairly easy.… Continue reading 7 Rules (and a Vision) For Becoming a Better Swim Parent – (2019 Version)
Analysis of 2019 World Swimming Championships: Less International Parity and Less USA
In watching the 2019 World Swimming Championships, I was struck by the apparent wide range of countries that were making finals and even medaling. And, of course, I was extremely surprised at the complete absence of US swimmers in either of the 200 FR finals. Some of this was no doubt due to the… Continue reading Analysis of 2019 World Swimming Championships: Less International Parity and Less USA
Abuse Policy Conversation with John Vadeika, Executive Director of Swim Ontario
Over the last few months, there have been some explosive revelations of sexual abuse of athletes and organizational coverups coming out of USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming, USA Volleyball, and other sports. Even a cursory review of those situations provides lessons on how we can improve our oversight and remove conflicts of interest. (If you want… Continue reading Abuse Policy Conversation with John Vadeika, Executive Director of Swim Ontario
USA Swimming’s Biggest Problem
It seems clear now that USA Swimming has some serious problems. Long term pressure from investigative journalists from Concussion Inc. and recent work by the Orange County Register have pointed out how little USA-S did to protect the victims, and how much they did to protect the abusers. All this attention has led some to… Continue reading USA Swimming’s Biggest Problem
Steps We Can Take to Prevent Youth Abuse in Sports
There's been a massive amount of long-overdue publicity lately about the issue of sexual abuse by coaches in youth sports, especially with the highly publicized and horrific case of USA Gymnastics and Larry Nassar. Swimming has recently had its own high profile case with Ariana Kukors coming out and accusing her long-time coach Sean… Continue reading Steps We Can Take to Prevent Youth Abuse in Sports
6 Rules (and a Vision) For Becoming a Better Swim Parent
Every year brings fresh swimming faces, fresh parents, and sometimes dreams of athletic stardom. And every year, I post a blog like this to dial things down, and make sure that parents are a helpful partner in this wonderful process of sports. (If you follow my blog you'll have seen a version of this post… Continue reading 6 Rules (and a Vision) For Becoming a Better Swim Parent
My Take On Why American Men Dominate Backstroke
I was watching the US World Championship Trials on TV, and was struck by a comment during one of the men's backstroke events. The commentator noted the long history of US men dominating backstroke events, and this is certainly true. The last time the US men lost an Olympic backstroke event was back in 1992. … Continue reading My Take On Why American Men Dominate Backstroke
A Curious Look at 2017 Short Course – Long Course Conversion Rates, And How The US Is So Different From Everyone Else
In 2014 I started getting upset with the standard 2% Short Course to Long Course conversion rates mandated by Swim Ontario. As most coaches already knew, 2% was convenient but horribly inaccurate conversion rate. And it created problems for kids swimming in LC meets when they couldn't meet their 2% converted SC time, even if… Continue reading A Curious Look at 2017 Short Course – Long Course Conversion Rates, And How The US Is So Different From Everyone Else
Coach Rick - Mighty Tritons Swimming 