2013 Championships

[Vic]

Division III Nationals are headed back to Texas. Looks like a tremendous facility.

[lapdog]

Outstanding facility for a high school pool and probably the third best aquatics facility in Texas, but not on the level of the U Minn, U Tenn or IU pools - IMHO.

[JHU84]

At least some of the pool records can be broken from HS regionals

[plutus]

they couldn't find a pool in dallas? Houston is miserable, let alone suburban Houston.

[lapdog]

There is nothing in Dallas as good as the Conroe pool. Better choice of facilities would have been UT Austin or Texas A & M. Advantages of Conroe: proximity to airport, sufficient lodging and dining options, an abundance of parking next to the facility, easy access off of I-45. Disadvantages: I-45 traffic, heat & humidity of Houston, bench seating limited to 1100.

[DonCheadle]

There is nothing in Dallas as good as the Conroe pool. Better choice of facilities would have been UT Austin or Texas A & M. Advantages of Conroe: proximity to airport, sufficient lodging and dining options, an abundance of parking next to the facility, easy access off of I-45. Disadvantages: I-45 traffic, heat & humidity of Houston, bench seating limited to 1100.

I have lived in Houston for 29 of my 34 years. Objectively as possible, Houston weather sucks from May till mid September. But in March Houston has some of the best weather in the country. Highs in the 70's lows in the 60's. Humidity is moderate too. The best thing about Houston compared to other metropolitan areas is the restuaurants. We have the best casual dining in the country.

I have swam in the pool a couple of times. The best comparison I would make is to Emory. There is a really cool wood ceiling that is probably 40 feet up. It is pretty neat and adds to the overall feel. The pool is fast.

[DonCheadle]

One other thing I will add:

Texas has the 2nd best age group swimming in the country and the hot bed of swimming is North West Houston. I don't want to start a pissing match on this. It has alot to do with the population of the state. For some reason there have been very few D3 super star swimmers. Aaron Cole is about it. Your typical 1:54 IMer either wants to swim D1 or not at all. D3 is not really considered.

I think it would be wise if a bunch of college got together and hosted a dinner for the local US and high school coaches. Every year there are probably 100 D3 type swimmers who graduate high school in the area (I define that as say 47.0-50.5 in the 100 free or equivalent event). OF those 100 kids MAYBE 2 or 3 go on to swim. That is a shame.

[Mac of the MIAC]

One other thing I will add:

Texas has the 2nd best age group swimming in the country and the hot bed of swimming is North West Houston. I don't want to start a pissing match on this. It has alot to do with the population of the state. For some reason there have been very few D3 super star swimmers. Aaron Cole is about it. Your typical 1:54 IMer either wants to swim D1 or not at all. D3 is not really considered.

I think it would be wise if a bunch of college got together and hosted a dinner for the local US and high school coaches. Every year there are probably 100 D3 type swimmers who graduate high school in the area (I define that as say 47.0-50.5 in the 100 free or equivalent event). OF those 100 kids MAYBE 2 or 3 go on to swim. That is a shame.

TX doesn't have any decent d3 schools. Southwestern is in a cool town (Georgetown), but other than that, pretty blah. And I completely disagree that it's a shame when 50.5 100 freestylers don't swim in college.

[JHU84]

just curious what diii school(s) are hosting this event. Do they have a date set up yet?

[DonCheadle]

TX doesn't have any decent d3 schools. Southwestern is in a cool town (Georgetown), but other than that, pretty blah. And I completely disagree that it's a shame when 50.5 100 freestylers don't swim in college.

MOST of the top D3 swimming schools recruit through out the country. I think this is why the MIAC and MIAA schools are never consistently top 10 (Kzoo USED to recruit out of state. And they also used to be consistently top 10).

Your feelings on 50.5 swimmers is short sited. As are your feelings about Masters swimming. Instead of me telling you why, why don't you figure it out and tell me. Here is a clue to point you in the right direction: Community pools are being closed left and right due to the economy. Ehh, that is too much of a clue.

[RhymeAndReason]

If you support competitive swimming, it is pretty stupid to advocate that people quit competitive swimming.

I think the problem in Texas is there are no DIII swimming programs in the state. Or there are, but not in Houston (Trinity, right?). See, I'm from there, and I don't even know. Three guys I knew from Houston went to Emory to swim, and a four or five went DII (Henderson St, Ouachita in AR)

[DonCheadle]

I think the problem in Texas is there are no DIII swimming programs in the state. Or there are, but not in Houston (Trinity, right?).

in Texas: Trinity (in San Antonio), Southwestern and Austin College (which is north of Dallas, not Austin). It makes no sense that these programs basically suck. Mac is right, too many coaches get a free pass. Emory has pulled a few guys from Houston. D Hiller, P O'Brien (who I saw at a triathlon this weekend) come to mind.

[JHU84]

...and to give you an idea:the Austin college coach left to be a high school coach and the swimmers on the HS team were so much better he had trouble giving them hard enough workouts

[skutbe01]

Mac is right, too many coaches get a free pass.

This kind of ties into the NCAA thinking of making a split in Division III. Anyone know if this is still an idea, the last I heard of it was in 2008 at a SAAC meeting.

[Just Ducky]

It is odd that three hotbeds of swimming - Florida, Texas, and California - have very little to offer in the way of DIII swimming. Name five DIII schools south of the Mason-Dixon Line that have a tradition of DIII swimming excellence. I would have thought a good DIII school in any one of those locations could build a powerhouse.