Lezak: ISL Athletes “have never been treated like professionals” (Video)

2019 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE: GROUP A, MATCH 1

Reported by Anne Lepesant.

FINAL TEAM SCORES – GROUP A MATCH 1

  1. Energy Standard – 539 points
  2. Cali Condors – 457 points
  3. DC Trident – 330.5 points
  4. Aqua Centurions – 300.5 point

The 96 points secured by Energy Standard in the skins races is exactly the margin of victory over the runners-up Cali Condors. Now that the competition has concluded, team standings show two clear leaders in Energy Standard with 521 points and the Cali Condors, who finished with 425 points. DC Trident places 3rd with 316.5 points while the Aqua Centurions finish 4th with 290.5 points.

Though we did not bother predicting possible point totals for the meet, we did accurately predict the final team standings in an article published Wednesday which analyzed possible team outcomes based on the rosters we had received from 3 of the 4 teams that swam in Indy. It is also worth noting that, while the 96 points netted by Energy Standard is exactly the margin of victory over the Cali Condors, the Condors brought in 22 points in the women’s skins race and 7 points in the men’s skins race. This accounting shows us that Energy Standard was still the dominant club up to that point in the meet, and that the skins races did not secure Energy Standard’s victory but only increased the margin of it over the other teams.

We should also note that the Cali Condors had to content without their best male sprinter, American Caeleb Dressel. Dressel would have likely had a major impact on the final results of the men’s skins race, and could have also swayed the final standings of the 50 and 100 fly, events Energy Standard dominated, as well as the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and relays such as the me

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marley09
4 years ago

Swimmers finishing 5-8 who don’t win individual prize money still have a pretty good deal especially if they’re receiving something for signing with their teams. Free flights, food, hotel for three of four meets competing against top notch competition. With a $10,000 payout per swimmer of winning team in Vegas it will likely mean that top swimmers on weaker ISL teams will put more thought next year into which team they sign with.

Admin
Reply to  marley09
4 years ago

I actually think that this is a pretty significant challenge to league parity, which in the long term will be necessary for the league to grow. Right now, the salaries for the vast majority of athletes are the least significant amount of money they can earn, so there is too much motivation to create ‘super teams.’ The league is going to have to figure out how to balance that in future seasons.

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Braden Keith
4 years ago

Just wait til Dressel takes his talents to South Beach.

Yozhik
4 years ago

ISL ATHLETES “HAVE NEVER BEEN TREATED LIKE PROFESSIONALS
That is true. But the main idea or to be more accurate the main expectations about ISL was the following:
1. It would be the system where swimmers will get a fair share.
2. It would be the system where not only super stars but also other good performing swimmers can make living by swimming.
That is what important. Recognizing or not recognizing particular achievement to keep it in some books is very secondary.
Does ISL move in right direction to accomplish main goal? So far money distribution may indicate the possibility of problem that can surface pretty soon. For many members of ISL the participation in… Read more »

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Yozhik
4 years ago

Don’t see FINA World Cup meets rolling out merchandise. FINA will never again be a hot item. ISL has a shot at merchandising revenue, TV deals, other marketing. The team atmosphere is also going to keep a lot of swimmers in the game during the doldrums of the fall/winter. I was ready for it to flop, but gotta say, I really enjoyed watching the meet. Kind of a cross between an NCAA meet and stacked fields of superstars you rarely get to see together.

ERVINFORTHEWIN
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
4 years ago

agreed on all of the points u made ….

DrSwimPhil
Reply to  Yozhik
4 years ago

This is one thing that’s being glossed over. I brought it up when we started seeing some swimmers drop ISL. They’re maxing out at $25k apparently. By logic, that means only the top end are getting that. What’s the rest (or bottom end) getting? It may not be worth it right now for a majority of the swimmers. And even the top end can make more elsewhere. It’s a start in the right direction if done properly, but there’s a long ways to still go.

ERVINFORTHEWIN
Reply to  DrSwimPhil
4 years ago

great points

FlyNDie
4 years ago

“These are the best in the world and they need to be treated that way.”
When I heard this I thought about Katie Ledecky and her almost world record. If she does end up breaking the record and FINA follows through with their decision to not ratify the record even if the ISL follows all procedures, then I think it’s safe to say they’re disrespecting her and her achievement. We as viewers aren’t stupid like they believe us to be and like Jason mentioned about unionization, it might come sooner rather than later.

Admin
Reply to  FlyNDie
4 years ago

FINA has never made the decision to not allow world records if all of their procedures are followed. They said that they would not ratify world records unless fina rules and procedures are followed.

About Coleman Hodges

Coleman Hodges

Coleman started his journey in the water at age 1, and although he actually has no memory of that, something must have stuck. A Missouri native, he joined the Columbia Swim Club at age 9, where he is still remembered for his stylish dragon swim trunks. After giving up on …

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