SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers what they would do if they could make one change to the College Swimming League meet lineup:
Question: If you could make one change to the CSL match schedule, what would it be?
RESULTS
- Lower point value of skins – 34.7%
- Make the skins 3 rounds – 24.2%
- Only have one skins per meet – 17.8%
- Other – 9.2%
- Remove the stroke 200s – 7.0%
- No changes – 7.0%
The College Swimming League (CSL) has been a big success through the early stages of its inaugural season, but of course, there is always going to be debate about what can be changed to make the competition even better.
We took it to the SwimSwam poll to see what tweaks fans would like to see to the match format, and the top three responses all had to do with the skins.
The skins are a very prominent part of each CSL match, with individual women’s and men’s 50-yard events during the session before the 200 medley relay “super skins” conclude it. Each skins event has four rounds (8-6-4-2), meaning a lot of points can be earned there.
For example, in the opening match on Sept. 24, Alex Shackell scored 39 points in the women’s butterfly skins, while Nikita Sheremet put up 46 points in the men’s freestyle skins.
As a result, they were the top two scoring swimmers for the match by a massive margin, with Shackell leading with 88 (57 coming from skins or relay skins, or 64.8%) and Sheremet following at 77.5 (64.5 coming from skins or relay skins, or 82.6%). The next-highest was Colin Geer at 50.5, while Miranda Grana was the top scorer (49.5) among someone who didn’t race individual skins, and Liberty Clark was the only swimmer among the top 17 scorers who didn’t compete in the relay Super Skins
In addition to the individual skins, the Super Skins are worth a ton of points as well—the Indiana women and Louisville men both earned 72 points for their ‘A’ relays in Match 1, and then added a bit more (28 for IU women, 12 for Louisville men) with their ‘B’ relays.
Due to the heavy reliance on skins, the sprinters who compete in the individual skins and Super Skin relays heavily dictate the outcome of the match. Indiana won Match 1 going away, while Louisville was the runner-up.
In the poll, 34.7% of readers said they want to see the point values of the skins events lower so the meet result is less reliant on what the sprinters do.
Picking up nearly a quarter of the votes at 24.2% was lowering the skins from four rounds to three, which is what we used to see in the International Swimming League (ISL). The skins would go from eight swimmers down to four in the first round, before the final four would be whittled down to two for the third and final round.
With the extra round in both the individual and relay skins, it adds some extra fatigue to the swimmers that some believe isn’t necessary.
The other option earning over 10% of votes was restricting the number of skins events in each meet. Having the individual and relay skins together in the same match can mean a daunting eight heats of swimming if someone does both, which is a lot in a meet where they also have individual races to tackle (and it’s a lot of points to dole out). If it was individual skins in one match, and then relay skins in the next, and it alternated, that would make it less taxing on the sprinters.
Seven percent want to see the stroke 200s removed, seven more don’t want to see any changes, while just over nine percent have another change in mind for the CSL. If you voted other, let us know in the comments below.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: What intrigues you the most about the upcoming SC World Championships:
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ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE
A3 Performance is an independently-owned, performance swimwear company built on a passion for swimming, athletes, and athletic performance. We encourage swimmers to swim better and faster at all ages and levels, from beginners to Olympians. Driven by a genuine leader and devoted staff that are passionate about swimming and service, A3 Performance strives to inspire and enrich the sport of swimming with innovative and impactful products that motivate swimmers to be their very best – an A3 Performer.
The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
