World University Games Team

[Woodward]

Thailand, Aug. 8-18

The UK team (http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/14989.asp)

Darren Mew (University of Bath)
Euan Dale (Loughborough University)
Andrew Hunter (Stirling)
Joe Roebuck (Loughborough University)
Michael Unsworth (Loughborough University)
Scott Houston (Stirling)
Michael Rock (Manchester)
Matthew Bowe (Loughborough University)
Matthew Tutty (University of Bath)
Charles Turner (Loughborough University)
Matt Clay (University of Bath)
Terri Dunning (Wolverhampton)
Katherine Wyld (Nottingham)
Louise Pate (Edinburgh)
Sophie Caul (Coventry)
Karen Lee (University of Bath)
Debbie Hall (Sheffield Hallam)
Louise Henley (UW Swansea)
Stephanie Proud (Loughborough University)

Are there enough women on the squad for three relays? A medley team is there. Not sure about the free relays. Even though they indicate Loughborough it looks like Proud has enrolled at Florida to join Spofforth. I wonder why Gemma wasn't added to the team.

[hailstone]

Matt Clay has been at Swansea for at least 2 years how can he be picked as Bath uni ? I am sure he did not do Busa for Bath

[lane4]

Are there enough women on the squad for three relays? A medley team is there. Not sure about the free relays. Even though they indicate Loughborough it looks like Proud has enrolled at Florida to join Spofforth. I wonder why Gemma wasn't added to the team.

They could enter the relays but it doesn't look to me like they will be able to make up a competitive 4x1 or 4x2 free team for women. I'm sure Katie will put us right? And indeed, Proud should be listed as UF not Lufbra. I'm guessing that despite being NCAA champion, Spofforth may not have had the requisite long course times at the requisite meets to earn selection?

[Katie]

It's really annoying but I'm fairly sure there won't be a 4 x 100 or 4 x 200 free team - and there could be if they took just one more person! But hopefully we'll have a medley team. Lane4 is right, although Gemma has don't some incredible yards swimming, she didn't get the long course consideration times within the qualifying period. On another note, I thought it was a bit cheeky BUSA didn't inform those selected until the actual selection letter that we'd have to pay £550 each. Maybe some universities are keener/more able to help out with this than others!

[Pink Paraffin]

On another note, I thought it was a bit cheeky BUSA didn't inform those selected until the actual selection letter that we'd have to pay £550 each. Maybe some universities are keener/more able to help out with this than others!

So the £550 per head was not mentioned on the availability form?

[Katie]

Not unless I am very bad at reading things! Which is quite possible, I have been known to spend hours looking for something which is right in front of me. But I don't think it was mentioned.

[H2o]

So what is the £550 for?

The swimmers all fly economy and stay cheaply (BS and some of his cronies of course- do not).
You can get a good package deal for 14 nights for less than that...... if you know where to look.

[H2o]

Who foots the rest of the bill?
British Swimming/Uni...?

I only ask as I dealy with 5 different uni's and know exactly what their travel budgets are like and what and where the money is spent.

[selkie]

Okay, so unless I'm missing something here, British swimming is making their athletes pay a good chunk of their own way to the WUG. I could understand it if the governing body could legitimately claim poverty, but when same organization is talking about dropping 200K per year on a single coaching salary.

As someone on the outside, this sounds pretty whack. It's the year before the Olympics. At this stage of the game, shouldn't you be wanting to get as many possible Beijing athletes as possible some good international polish, especially when you're talking about a meet that's roughly the same climate and time zone as Beijing?

Over here, they're apparently sending a National D team to the Japan Open with the idea to make sure the rising stars and people who didn't swim well at the 2006 selection meets for Worlds, Pan Pacs, or WUGs still get a shot to get used to that kind of big meet routine before 2008.

[Katie]

This competition has nothing to do with British Swimming. It's BUSA that requires the £550 and calls it a "contribution" towards sending a team. :)

[lane4]

This competition has nothing to do with British Swimming. It's BUSA that requires the £550 and calls it a "contribution" towards sending a team. :)
You are of course right in the sense that it is a BUSA team and not a British Swimming team. However, British Swimming do have quite a large influence over the team and how it gets funded.

[selkie]

Apologies for the confusion on my part. Over here, the only international meets the NCAA has anything to do with are the occasional small meets between American and Canadian teams. Pretty much everything else international goes through USA Swimming.

Still, if it's a chance for some British swimmers to get some good big meet experience, seems like British Swimming should kick in some funding help to the universities in this case if it's allowed.

[Katie]

My main issue was how late we were told. If we'd been told earlier, we could have asked our unis earlier on in the academic year - now we're towards the end, many of the athletic unions won't have much left in their budget, so it's hard for them to help out.

[ringer]

The highlight of the first two days is probably Michael Rock's close to podium 4th in 200 fly final maintaining his Sheffield 1.57. form.
Mew and Clay easily make finals in 100 breast and 50 back on day 3

http://info.bangkok2007.com/

is a link to results
It isn't the easiest to navigate at first but once you've mastered the format the information is top notch.

[ringer]

The 50 back final medallists were separated by only 2x100s of a second....Matt Clay had to settle for bronze.

Darren Mew was forced back into 7th in his final.

[The ROCK]

So what is the £550 for?

The swimmers all fly economy and stay cheaply (BS and some of his cronies of course- do not).
You can get a good package deal for 14 nights for less than that...... if you know where to look.



The Uni's is a multi sport games. The delegations stay in a games village and will pay a fee per head as set by the organising committee so shopping around wouldn't really be an option on this one. There are over 200 members of the British team in total.

[ringer]

Congratulations to Andrew Hunter on his silver today in 200 free in a splendid PB time 1.48.17.
(Euan Dale who on top form could well have medalled was DQd in the same event)

[lane4]

I was very impressed by Hunter's 200 free and Dale's 200 breast swims - well done to those two chaps. We had some other positive results too but on the whole I guess we may have been hoping for better overall outcomes in what was a pretty high standard meet?

I haven't had chance to check out the details yet but how come Dale was DQ'd in the 200 free, and it looks like we had someone do a flyer in the men's medley relay? Also, where were our men's freestyle relays?

Can you help Rocky?

[Katie]

Euan got DQd at the start in the 200 free, although he didn't twitch as such, it was just his normal start: he doesn't go down into the starting position until they say take your marks, so when he moved down into the start position they saw this a moving before the start. Bit illogical I'd say, plenty of people do this. The men's relay was DQd on the back to breast takeover. I know it doesn't count but Darren Mew did an absolute blinder of a leg, I think he split 59.9!
I think based on previous years, no one was expecting the standard to be quite that high! The team probably would have liked to come away with a few more medals overall but it was a fairly good result. :)