Registration has opened for the 2014 membership year. This year there are two new membership options.
Recognized Masters Coach Add-on (Optional; $30.00)
Regardless of whether or not you choose to become a certified Masters coach, you can become a recognized Masters coach by choosing this option during registration or updating membership at any time during the registration year. The fee is $30 and includes these benefits:
Credibility and identity as a Masters coach
Special sponsor discounts
Discounts on continuing education, including $10 off each level of certification
Acknowledgement on usms.org (View a list of current recognized coaches)
STREAMLINES for Coaches monthly e-newsletter
Eligibility for hospitality at Spring and Summer Nationals, select volunteer opportunities, and special coaching assignments at the FINA World Championship
Teaching opportunities in the Masters track at the ASCA World clinic
For questions about all Masters coach educational programs and certification, contact Bill Brenner, Club and Coach Services Director.
Vanity Permanent ID (Optional; $50.00)
Your permanent ID is a 5-character string that uniquely identifies you as a USMS member. It's included as the last 5 characters of your annual registration number, such as 1234-9X4C3.
For a one-time fee of $50, you can choose your own permanent ID. (Think of it like a personalized license plate.) Choose an ID that reflects your association with your swim team, a major sports team, your school, your name, your hobby or pets, your favorite swimming event, or use your creative skills to come up with something else fun, personal, or whimsical. From then on, you will always be identified on your membership card via your chosen ID.
The rules are simple. Choose any 5-character string that includes only letters or numbers and does not include the letters I, L, O or Q (you may use the numerals 1 or 0 instead).
Example Vanity IDs
A regular auto-assigned registration number:
1234-12345
A custom ID for a Nebraska Cornhuskers fan:
1234-HUSKR
A vanity ID for breaststroke:
1234-200BR
A vanity ID honoring your favorite dog breed:
1234-B0XER (note -uses numeral 0 instead of letter O)
Since the "L" isn't an option, FLYER was my #1 pick, and I didn't want to do "F1YER" 'cause it doesn't look right, so I did:
Permanent ID: JAMES
I know, very original. I could've done my last name as well since it's also 5 letters
Done. I had thought of that recently, but just hadn't gotten to it yet. You reminded me - thanks!
No doubt, but as I said this is nothing new. There have been thousands of merges done already in the absence of this new vanity ID option.
I guess I don't understand the concept of "permanent" id then. What other causes have there been in the past for these merges of which you speak? I've been a USMS member for nine or ten years. I don't think my permanent id has ever changed, has it?
Will there be a list kept and/or published for old and new permanent ID numbers for people who have changed their ID numbers? For example, anyone who is maintaining any sort of top times or records outside of the USMS national office will be tracking two different people who are named Tracy Grilli, with the same birthdate, but are different people in USMS because they have different ID numbers.
-Rick
BEARD
Already crossed my mind, along with ORTIZ :bow: or PEDEY. Too bad KOJI isn't long enough.
(Someone may be going through severe baseball withdrawal...)
It seems like they removed the 4 letters that could most easily be mistaken for numbers, especially on hand written entry forms.BINGO or should that be B1NG0
The other easily mistaken one is 5 and S. Maybe I’ll go for 5S55S.
