The first answer to this question seems to often be the kids thing. As someone in that age bracket, I don't find this to be the case at all. In my experience, there are a variety of factors that vary by region, but the underlying thing is that as an organization, I don't believe USMS offers much for this age bracket.
To start off, JPEnge hit the nail on the head. For many high school and college swimmers, they can't wait for swimming to be over. Its tough on the body and demanding coaches and rigorous schedules are also tough on the mind, and they just want a break. If 18-40 y/o are participating in athletic events, its typically triathlon and/or some sort of road race, and they don't need to swim with a USMS group to do that.
For those former swimmers getting back in the water, many will continue to stay away from competitive events for years due years of bad experiences and/or fear of not being as fast as they were. This seems illogical to many of us, but there are plenty of swimmers who want NOTHING to do with a meet. Completely uninterested. So again, if all you are doing is working out in the water, you don't need USMS to do that.
Finally, as folks this age are getting on their feet financially, there is a financial piece to this discussion. Parents are not supporting this habit any longer. There are costs to join a club/pool, join usms and pay for workouts. Throw in an event or two, new suit, goggles, equipment, and you can easily surpass $1000/yr (at least where I am located), not to mention transit/parking costs. Think of a kid who graduated yesterday with $100k in student loan debt. Even with a decent job, I'm pretty sure that finding a roof over their head and eating (probably a lot of ramen) will usurp swimming for 9 out of 10 former swimmers who will have to put swimming at the bottom of financial priorities. Plus lets not forget there are plenty of other new, fun non-swimming activities for kids fresh out of college (happy hour!).
The first answer to this question seems to often be the kids thing. As someone in that age bracket, I don't find this to be the case at all. In my experience, there are a variety of factors that vary by region, but the underlying thing is that as an organization, I don't believe USMS offers much for this age bracket.
To start off, JPEnge hit the nail on the head. For many high school and college swimmers, they can't wait for swimming to be over. Its tough on the body and demanding coaches and rigorous schedules are also tough on the mind, and they just want a break. If 18-40 y/o are participating in athletic events, its typically triathlon and/or some sort of road race, and they don't need to swim with a USMS group to do that.
For those former swimmers getting back in the water, many will continue to stay away from competitive events for years due years of bad experiences and/or fear of not being as fast as they were. This seems illogical to many of us, but there are plenty of swimmers who want NOTHING to do with a meet. Completely uninterested. So again, if all you are doing is working out in the water, you don't need USMS to do that.
Finally, as folks this age are getting on their feet financially, there is a financial piece to this discussion. Parents are not supporting this habit any longer. There are costs to join a club/pool, join usms and pay for workouts. Throw in an event or two, new suit, goggles, equipment, and you can easily surpass $1000/yr (at least where I am located), not to mention transit/parking costs. Think of a kid who graduated yesterday with $100k in student loan debt. Even with a decent job, I'm pretty sure that finding a roof over their head and eating (probably a lot of ramen) will usurp swimming for 9 out of 10 former swimmers who will have to put swimming at the bottom of financial priorities. Plus lets not forget there are plenty of other new, fun non-swimming activities for kids fresh out of college (happy hour!).
