Dear Vin:
Your quote on the front page was from an article where you whines about your athletes having to earn his way to nationals.
Really? You don't know the reasons to have qualifiers? Here are plenty!
1) Equal opportunity. Taking only the top 24 times limits the nationals field to people who get in the right race at the right time and run really fast, probably at Stanford for distance races. Some teams can't afford that or schedule it.
2) Peaking at the end of the year. This way you can't peak for a midseason time-trial, get burned out and useless by late May, and still slide into nationals. On the other hand, good athletes don't have to worry about being their very best early on. They can train through the early season, run good enough times to make regionals, then peak for the last 3 weeks of the year. The people who make the national meet are the ones in the best shape when it counts.
3) Earning your spot. Our sport is not mainly about times, it's about beating people to prove you're better. Times are a convenient way to broadly categorize but they shouuld never be the final call (else we'd just hand Chelanga the 10k medal right now). Everyone with a good enough time should have the chance to go head-to-head to prove who belongs at nats.
4) Earning your double. Lots of people can go time trial a fast 5k one week, then go time trial a fast 10k 3 weeks later. That doesn't mean they are capable of or deserve to double at nationals. To qualify in two events, you should have to prove you can double by qualifying in both events.
Otherwise, it'd be so easy for someone like Jeff See to declare in both the 1500 and the 5k, run the 15 hard, and then jog it in in the 5k. Now if you want to double you have to bring your A game.
Face it Lananna, you're lazy and want your athletes to get an easy pass in to filling up the fields. That goes against the spirit of the sport and of competition. Man up and earn your way in like everyone else. If you're really the best then you shouldn't be afraid to prove it.
DEAR VIN LANANNA: Here are the reasons to have regionals
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It should read "Deer Vin:"
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unexpected Q wrote:
Face it Lananna, you're lazy and want your athletes to get an easy pass in to filling up the fields. That goes against the spirit of the sport and of competition. Man up and earn your way in like everyone else. If you're really the best then you shouldn't be afraid to prove it.
Face it, you're an idiot who missed most of his point. -
what's so bad about having to earn your way in at a qualifying meet?
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I have to agree with the original post. Why is Vin complaining when he doubled and tripled many of his best atletes at the Pac10s when he was clearly in the driver's seat to win on both sides? I think he just doesn't like his athletes to compete outside of Hayward and/or Eugene. Austin gets a little sticky this time of year for us west coasters...
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I'd be glad to hear his arguments.
Also, the article erroneously referred to the meets as the NCAA East Regional and West Regional. (I called them regionals too, but that was for convenience). They're really the first round of Nationals. The point is to make Nationals a 2-weekend meet where many athletes have a chance to earn their way in.
This year's system is like the 64-team NCAA basketball bracket. Vin is acting like a #1 seed who wants a bye into the Elite 8. -
I got the impression that he was just upset with the location...since Texas is so hot that it just takes an extra beating on the athletes.
but I guess I was mistaken. -
Mrr82 wrote:
unexpected Q wrote:
Face it Lananna, you're lazy and want your athletes to get an easy pass in to filling up the fields. That goes against the spirit of the sport and of competition. Man up and earn your way in like everyone else. If you're really the best then you shouldn't be afraid to prove it.
Face it, you're an idiot who missed most of his point.
Actually mrr82, he didn't miss it. you are the idiot. You're what we call a "michigan moron". -
Requiring Regional 10,000s is surely ridiculous, especially considering how many people do doubles at conference meets now.
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Lananna wasn't complaining so much as asking WHY? I haven't seen anyone yet post good reasons why these Regionals are being held. Most of the coaches voted to cancel the Regionals, but the NCAA didn't want to give up a cash cow so they scaled back to just two regionals this year. It still doesn't make sense.
For the poster who says Vin doesn't want to leave Hayward Field, did you realize that his teams travelled to Penn Relays, Texas Relays and the Stanford meet this year? Travel is expensive, but he did it to get the best competition for his athletes.
I'm with Lananna, what's wrong with taking the top 24 seeded athletes based on 2-3 months of competition? Why force the obvious top athletes run ONE MORE RACE, and risk either a bad day (the flu, cold, wrong time of month) or worse yet an injury. -
Picayune wrote:
Requiring Regional 10,000s is surely ridiculous, especially considering how many people do doubles at conference meets now.
If the athlete wants to double at nationals, let him earn the right by doing a double at regionals. If he can't handle it at regionals, why should he be permitted to try it at the national championship?
Some coaches are looking for an edge, not fair competition. They want their athletes to earn byes into the finals based marks achieved in other competitions. Sorry. Those days are over. If you want to run in the finals, you have to run the trials, fair and square. -
Regionals is no cash cow. It costs money, it doesn't make money.
The reason for the regional meet is to provide an even ground for competition in order to make the NCAA championships. It's as simple as that. Comparing marks made during the season isn't fair because some schools/athletes have the benefit of favorable conditions on multiple occasions and others compete in adverse conditions. By putting everybody on the line in the same conditions in order to progress makes it fairer.
Of course, I know those who enjoy the advantage of better weather and conditions (Oregon et. al) don't want to hear that. If they can avoid being tested head to head they'll jump at the chance. -
ok... wrote:
I got the impression that he was just upset with the location...since Texas is so hot that it just takes an extra beating on the athletes.
When did the mascot become the Oregon Entitled Ducks?
I don't get what the problem with the regionals is? These are nothing but qualifying rounds. The goal here is just to finish in the top 12. There is no scoring. Winning means nothing at regionals. What an ideal situation.
I wonder how muc whining we'd hear from Vinny if he had to coach in the day when there was no racing at night under the lights and nationals were run in the afternoon under the sun?
Waaaaaaaaah! -
Sending only the top 24 times is very, very biased toward programs which can afford to send their athletes to Mt. SAC and Stanford. Of course this is nothing compared to the truly ridiculous advantage of being able to host your own meets in ideal conditions with world class facilities and PROFESSIONAL RABBITS. Face it, Lananna doesn't like competition; it means his some of his unreal advantages go away.
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the first 4 posters are the same person...
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Get Real Real wrote:
the first 4 posters are the same person...
They are? -
No
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Then why did you say they were the same person?
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Lananna is punk. Im sure even if his athletes dont qualify he will use the Oregon name to some how get them in. Just like when A Gay Acosta fell in the prelims at NCAAs and than again at the Olympic Trials and of course big bad Lananna appeals and since its Oregon. They advance him.
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coldwater you are off the mark.
At the last coaches convention which matter over 70% of the coaches voted to KEEP regionals. Unfortunately, the power schools (Like Oregon) torpedoed the process and got our coaches association leaders to go behind the backs of the coaches. The NCAA has never paid for regionals, the schools have to pay for it themselves.
Head to head competition to advance is never a bad thing. The new system next year will do just what the indoor system does.....reward those schools with big budgets or connections to get into the right races.
