Chabliss Competitive Swimming

Answering for Q#1.

Almost for more than a year, Chambliss attended a series of national and international–class swimming meets to research about the phenomenon of excellence and what fundamental factors make difference within competitive swimming in particular, among the levels of sport. As a method of research(Ethnography:gathering data by personal interaction), he lived with coaches and athletes (Case-study analysis), observed the team and interviewed. (Survey and Record-based analysis)

He analyzed distinctions between swimmers, showing how qualitative differentiation results in “excellence: consistent superiority of performance.”

Chambliss logically explained that quantitative changes affect lesser than Qualitative changes in terms of excellence. For example, Quantitative change such as increased training time of swimming can achieve a slight advantages over peers, but it does not lead swimmers to moving up a level in the sport. On the other hand, As Chambliss conducted a research, he found high performers in competitive swimming focused on Qualitative changes: 1) Technique, 2) Discipline, and 3) Attitude which significant changes in level of achievement. (Small-N analysis: seeking similarities and contrasts in a small number of cases. However, this put me in another question “how many number would be considered as small or big? What’s the standard?”)

He emphasized factors other than talent. By using quotation of Kalinowski’s research, Chambliss suggested talent is not the causality of the success because it is often discovered only later in one’s career, not from the moment one started. In other words, talent has no clue other than the success