Swim info has this article:
swiminfo.com/.../3387.asp
Which discusses a new organization for competitive swimming called Adult Swimming Association. Apparantly the initiator is unhappy with the various things that USMS does that are not directly related to competitive swimming, such as the promotion of fitness. Also, he is unhappy with the structure of the national meets. He proposes several variations of the age group structure.
Any thoughts or insights?
Parents
Former Member
After reading Ken's, Phil's and Bert's posts, I went to the article in toto as referenced in the SwimInfo website. Keith Bell states his vision for his group and seems to air his alleged gripes with USMS, but I would like these questions answered, to echo Phil, Bert's and Ken's concerns.
How has USMS abandoned its mission when its mission supports fitness?
How much more can you increase excitement and appeal for adult swimming?
How have the Nationals been too long? (It seems that those who attended got something out of them or they wouldn't have bothered to attend in the first place.)
How are competitive conditions at Nationals poor? Who wouldn't want to go to the Nationals in Hawaii in May? Maybe the weather there is too good for some.
How many more opportunities need there be? Seems that there are plenty of organizations to which a swimmer can belong.
Are you going to sacrifice competition standards by being less restrictive?
Have you aired your complaints to USMS?
I went to the ASA site http://www.adultswimming.com for a look. To quote them, ASA is "the leader in adult swimming." By whose standards? Having two teams as members is laudable. But does that make ASA a "leader?"
Finally, when you visit their site, note that their web address (URL) is a "dot com" and not a "dot org." Is ASA not a non-profit organization? Just wondering here.
ASA certainly has a right to try. But, it would be nice to have more information. Maybe I am just asking dumb questions here.
After reading Ken's, Phil's and Bert's posts, I went to the article in toto as referenced in the SwimInfo website. Keith Bell states his vision for his group and seems to air his alleged gripes with USMS, but I would like these questions answered, to echo Phil, Bert's and Ken's concerns.
How has USMS abandoned its mission when its mission supports fitness?
How much more can you increase excitement and appeal for adult swimming?
How have the Nationals been too long? (It seems that those who attended got something out of them or they wouldn't have bothered to attend in the first place.)
How are competitive conditions at Nationals poor? Who wouldn't want to go to the Nationals in Hawaii in May? Maybe the weather there is too good for some.
How many more opportunities need there be? Seems that there are plenty of organizations to which a swimmer can belong.
Are you going to sacrifice competition standards by being less restrictive?
Have you aired your complaints to USMS?
I went to the ASA site http://www.adultswimming.com for a look. To quote them, ASA is "the leader in adult swimming." By whose standards? Having two teams as members is laudable. But does that make ASA a "leader?"
Finally, when you visit their site, note that their web address (URL) is a "dot com" and not a "dot org." Is ASA not a non-profit organization? Just wondering here.
ASA certainly has a right to try. But, it would be nice to have more information. Maybe I am just asking dumb questions here.
