why masters swimming is so great!

Kirk, I was coached by an Unruh when I was an age-grouper, but I think that his first name was George. Do you know if there's any relation?

cant wait for San Antonio next year. I feel like I am going from age group swimming to big boy swimming next year since I age up and swim in the 45-49 age group. Talk about a seriously competitive age group!! well maybe in San Antonio i wont scare you out of the water at the 175 like what happened at The Woodlands. snicker snicker snicker yes i will remind you of that a few more times as well :D

Honestly, I have not found Masters so great, at least not where I live. Perhaps this is a discussion for another thread, but I'm not a competitive swimmer. In fact, I'm a newbie, pretty good swimmer, but I still am not comfortable swimming in deep lanes for a number of reasons (I'm working on it). I've contacted the Masters groups, but I either get mis-directed to a team that's swimming way above my expertise by the diving well, or I get an enthusiastic we'll call you and never hear from them again. For a group that says it welcomes new swimmers, the teams here make no accommodation for someone like me who's not confident enough to swim in the deep lanes, and I feel like I've had a lot of sunshine blown up my skirt trying to find a good fit. So I'm done with them.

Honestly, I have not found Masters so great, at least not where I live. Perhaps this is a discussion for another thread, but I'm not a competitive swimmer. In fact, I'm a newbie, pretty good swimmer, but I still am not comfortable swimming in deep lanes for a number of reasons (I'm working on it). I've contacted the Masters groups, but I either get mis-directed to a team that's swimming way above my expertise by the diving well, or I get an enthusiastic we'll call you and never hear from them again. For a group that says it welcomes new swimmers, the teams here make no accommodation for someone like me who's not confident enough to swim in the deep lanes, and I feel like I've had a lot of sunshine blown up my skirt trying to find a good fit. So I'm done with them. Hello, DeniseMW, I am the USMS Membership Director. I am going to put you in touch with your local LMSC registrar. He is familiar with the programs in your area and he may have some suggestions for you regarding groups that have workouts tailored to your ability level. His name is Jeff Roddin and his email address is: PVregistrar@usms.org I suggest you send him an email message. I will also send him a message to alert him to your post in this discussion thread. Anna Lea Matysek

For a group that says it welcomes new swimmers, the teams here make no accommodation for someone like me who's not confident enough to swim in the deep lanes. The thing is, most teams just don't have an "all-shallow" option for their workouts. Most older, smaller pools like the one my team uses have a shallow end and a deep end. Crosswise is not even an option. A team with access to an all-deep pool usually would grab that scarce opportunity and not let it go, because the huge majority of the team's members would prefer all-deep swimming. This pattern probably is true even for non-organized lap swimming: Part-shallow options are common, but all-shallow options are pretty unusual. Definitely you should contact your local registrar to explore the options. But I hate to see you faulting local teams for failing to accommodate you when it's not at all clear how they could accommodate your preference regarding pool depth even if they wanted very much to do so. And FYI, most teams are either all-volunteer operations, or organizations in which the only employee is a part-time coach. Don't rely on someone to call you. Contact someone by phone or email to confirm the practice time and to establish who you should speak to on deck when you show up for the first time, and then show up and ask for that person. I can't speak for teams in the DC area, but I know that if you followed that protocol and showed up at one of my team's workouts, the coach on deck would find a place for you and do whatever s/he could to help you enjoy the hour.

But I hate to see you faulting local teams for failing to accommodate you when it's not at all clear how they could accommodate your preference regarding pool depth even if they wanted very much to do so. I've got to agree. It would be very difficult for most programs to accommodate this. That doesn't mean there aren't some out there that could, though. It would depend on the facility.

not only do I miss all the great racing fun when I skip nationals but I miss all the good discussion too!! cant wait for San Antonio next year. I feel like I am going from age group swimming to big boy swimming next year since I age up and swim in the 45-49 age group. Talk about a seriously competitive age group!! Stewart, Well, the other thing you missed in Santa Clara was a petition that all of the 45-49 year old men signed stating that we would NOT allow you to age up next year. Kind of like being the perennial 29-year old, we've all agreed to leave you forever 44 :D

The thing is, most teams just don't have an "all-shallow" option for their workouts. Most older, smaller pools like the one my team uses have a shallow end and a deep end. Crosswise is not even an option. The one pool I swam in with this as an option was the pool at Northwestern (50Mx25yd pool). Even during long course season, once the school teams were out of the water, they flipped the pool around so as to accommodate as many swimmers as possible. There was a deep end (3m & 5m platforms, 1m & 3m springboard) www.fitrec.northwestern.edu/.../swimmingpool.jpg and a shallow end (about 4ft deep as I recall). The masters team often practiced in the deep end, but you could always move to shallower water (and practice was often moved more in the direction of the shallower end of the pool when the divers were practicing). I don't know if you can find a team in your area with such a setup, but it might be worth checking around.

pretty darn neat.

Well, the other thing you missed in Santa Clara was a petition that all of the 45-49 year old men signed stating that we would NOT allow you to age up next year. Kind of like being the perennial 29-year old, we've all agreed to leave you forever 44 :D Now wouldn't it be nice if we could pick an age and just stay there forever...alas it does not work that way. I can't wait to race against the big boys in the 45-49 age group. It should be fun!