State swimming moves to two classes
June 30, 2009 @ 1:30 p.m. by Joannaby joanna
Starting with boys swimming next February, there will two classes — Class 6A, Class 5-1A.
In boys swimming, there were two meets in 1973 — Class 5A and Class 4-1A. In girls, there has only been one state meet.
I have no problem with this. There’s no doubt that the big schools dominate this sport, especially those in the Kansas City-area. Yes, Wichita Trinity won several titles in this decade, but the Knights were only able to do it because of such Olympic-caliber swimmers, like Caroline Bruce. That Bruce family was a part of all four Trinity titles.
So what are your thoughts? Another watering down of state titles? Or good for the smaller schools?
Swim Mom says:
June 30th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
As a parent of a son in a 5A school, I think this is a good change. I am hoping it will increase participation.
Is this change only for the guys, not for the girls?
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Joanna says:
June 30th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
It will be girls, too. Sorry that wasn’t more clear.
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Swim Dad says:
July 1st, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I had heard this was coming, and I have mixed feelings. The state swim meet isn’t really a big meet, and this is going to dilute the competition. However, I think it’s good to have a second set of state champions. I’m all for the promotion of the sport, and this seems to be a vehicle to do just that.
I wonder how many 5A-1A schools have swimming, and how many of those are public schools?
High school swimming is dominated by club swimmers – especially at the state meet – and clubs tend to be in the bigger cities. My observation, Kansas has four dominant swim clubs: Wichita Swim Club, Lawrence Aquahawks, Topeka Swim Association and Kansas City Blazers. And most swimmers on those clubs are going to be attending 6A schools or much smaller private schools.
Kids from Wichita Trinity and Wichita Independent will benefit from a team perspective. They will almost always have fewer swimmers than the city league schools, so their opportunity to score points at the state meet (vs. schools of similar size) will be enhanced.
I think the beneficiaries of this decision are the club swimmers that attend private schools – not individually, but as a team. Will they have lower state qualifying standards? If so, does that really help the sport?
I’m waxing philosophic…
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