At the convention I kept hearing...
"Swimming is the number one choice of exercise in adults" and
"Ask anyone and they'll be able to tell you gow beneficial swimming is" and similar phrases...
Well, I can't dipute the facty that swimming is good for you, one of the best forms of exercise there is.
Now, having said that, I can't help it notice that even in this 'day and age' where so many people are close to obsessed with fitness and exercise - especially in California - the USMS membership of some 40,000 is only 0.15% of the population of the US.
This leads me to think that we (the USMS) has missed the boat somewhere!!!
Coming back from my fiorst convention, I see that thewre is a lot of focus on competetive swimming, and most of the delegates and BOD nad EC are either current or former competetive swimmers, and naturally the focus would be on competing.
That alone is wonderful... BUT...
It is my understanding that close to 80% of the USMS membership consists of fitness swimmers.
Also, I hear that :
- in the last 2-3 years the USMS membership has been stagnating.
- USMS does want to grow in membership.
And...
at the convention, I see 'fitness' as being an auxiliary, almost a stepchild focus to the competetive side.
Don't get me wrong, I love to compete myself, BUT...
Competetive adult swimmers are a very narrow demographic and if USMS wants to grow, they (we) need to find more attractive ways to "build-educate-service" our potential fitness swimmers.
I find it puzzling that many 'fitness swimmers' will readily enter open water swims, but when they hear of a swim meet, they don't think they're good enough for it... I've done both, and let me tewll you, swim meets are much easier, especially for a first timer, then an open water mile swim in an ocean or a lake.
I also see coaches right here in this forum that are having a hard time explaining to their fitness swimmers why (other then insurance that some clubs require) they should be members of USMS.
I think USMS is failing in it's core objectives when it comes to attracting membership, servicing them and educatiing them, which I strongly believe will mostly come from the fitness side.
Well, this is all that comes to mind at the moment. I'm hoping to eventually refine the thoughts.
Comments, thoughts anyone? I'd love to have some dialogue about this and hear what other people think.
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by Frosty
Good post, Connie.
What would you say (about USMS) to a person who regularly swims by themselves (or maybe a couple others) during an open lap swim at a local pool or their health club? Maybe he/she "coaches" themselves or get advice/support from others seen at the pool. He/she might be interested in joining a group of swimmers for a workout, if the facility offered one or if it was offered at a convenient time not to conflict with work, commuting, family responsibilities, etc...He/she might also be interested, as you suggest, in an open water swim or a meet if there (a) is readily-available information about events and (b) that information suggests that the benefits outweigh the costs .
Now that you've been to the convention, what would you say to such a person? (On the side, how do you expect the convention experience to benefit the USMS members that you represented?)
- Dan
Well, I for one swam laps for abut a year or two before joining a team, and I can tell you, I wish I had joined the team 2 years sooner. The difference is huge between swimming laps and swimming with a coach.
Annual membership fee for the USMS is CHEAP! it's slightly different for some LMSC's but on average it's about $35 a yaer. So come on people, lot of us spend more than that a year on chewing gum!!!!!! Coffee, other little things that we indulge in.
I'm sorry, but I find it impossible to believe this is expensive (but, that could be just me)
Not to answer a question with another question...but, I see a ton of triathletes finding time to run and bike and attend events, and by the same token, they find very little time to swim (in very general terma). Makes me wonder why especially with knowing that swimming requires more skill than the other two put together??? I can't say I really know. I may need to get inside the head of a few of them and see why.
WORKOUTS ON LINE
Well... I'd venture a guess that there are two kinds of people looking at the USMS workouts. Current coaches that need ideas and people who swim by themselves.
Do you think it would be a pretty fair assesment that most of the people swimming by themselves are not most experienced or most competetive swimmers out there?
Would you agree that a lower level workout would be welcome news for them?
I know, I know, I can hear just abur every coach out there saying, well, the workouts can be shortened, time base changed etc... very true, but, do you expect a someone with little experience to be able to sucessfully do that for themselves? Well, if you want to make them feel welcome, I think that's expecting too much of a new member. I mean, if they are inthe pool in front of you, you wouldn't expect them to do it themselves, a coach would adjust the workout to the swimmer.
There are a lot of little things like that that seem perhaps trivial oin the surface, but for someone looking from the outside could make this place (USMS) appear very friendly and welcoming, or very un-approachable. If we want to have new members, we need to make it a friendly place for them...
I know, lot of it gets done by coaches and at the club, then at the LMSC and the Zone levels then at the USMS.. But also I think a lot of the zones, LMSC's and Coaches look at USMS to set the direction.
As for USMS and it's membership numbers, I think they are a direct reflection of the image that USMS projects to public at large... and I can tell you, being a member of that public at large just a year ago, USMS looks very intiomidating from the outside. If my club doesn;t require the membership, it is likely that I still wouldn't be a member.
It is thanks to my coach and several very personable members of my LMSC (Southern Pacific)... including the Chairman and the Vice Chairman that I became involved.
Having been to the convention... I'm very glad I went. There is a lot that can be done. Every delegate (and a non delegate too) gets a chance to join a committee that works on various issues and influences things at the level where things actually get done (which is not this bulletin board). USMS badly needs fitness and non competetive swimmers to come to the convention, if they want better representation. It seems that by default it's mainly the top competitors and the coaches that are involved.
Yes, there is a fitness comittee too. My impression is that it's somewhat missing the mark. It needs better demographic representation of USMS fitness swimmers.
In general, there are a lot of areas in which USMS needs 'new blood', and every single member of this organization has an opprtunity to be that 'new blood'
Originally posted by Frosty
Good post, Connie.
What would you say (about USMS) to a person who regularly swims by themselves (or maybe a couple others) during an open lap swim at a local pool or their health club? Maybe he/she "coaches" themselves or get advice/support from others seen at the pool. He/she might be interested in joining a group of swimmers for a workout, if the facility offered one or if it was offered at a convenient time not to conflict with work, commuting, family responsibilities, etc...He/she might also be interested, as you suggest, in an open water swim or a meet if there (a) is readily-available information about events and (b) that information suggests that the benefits outweigh the costs .
Now that you've been to the convention, what would you say to such a person? (On the side, how do you expect the convention experience to benefit the USMS members that you represented?)
- Dan
Well, I for one swam laps for abut a year or two before joining a team, and I can tell you, I wish I had joined the team 2 years sooner. The difference is huge between swimming laps and swimming with a coach.
Annual membership fee for the USMS is CHEAP! it's slightly different for some LMSC's but on average it's about $35 a yaer. So come on people, lot of us spend more than that a year on chewing gum!!!!!! Coffee, other little things that we indulge in.
I'm sorry, but I find it impossible to believe this is expensive (but, that could be just me)
Not to answer a question with another question...but, I see a ton of triathletes finding time to run and bike and attend events, and by the same token, they find very little time to swim (in very general terma). Makes me wonder why especially with knowing that swimming requires more skill than the other two put together??? I can't say I really know. I may need to get inside the head of a few of them and see why.
WORKOUTS ON LINE
Well... I'd venture a guess that there are two kinds of people looking at the USMS workouts. Current coaches that need ideas and people who swim by themselves.
Do you think it would be a pretty fair assesment that most of the people swimming by themselves are not most experienced or most competetive swimmers out there?
Would you agree that a lower level workout would be welcome news for them?
I know, I know, I can hear just abur every coach out there saying, well, the workouts can be shortened, time base changed etc... very true, but, do you expect a someone with little experience to be able to sucessfully do that for themselves? Well, if you want to make them feel welcome, I think that's expecting too much of a new member. I mean, if they are inthe pool in front of you, you wouldn't expect them to do it themselves, a coach would adjust the workout to the swimmer.
There are a lot of little things like that that seem perhaps trivial oin the surface, but for someone looking from the outside could make this place (USMS) appear very friendly and welcoming, or very un-approachable. If we want to have new members, we need to make it a friendly place for them...
I know, lot of it gets done by coaches and at the club, then at the LMSC and the Zone levels then at the USMS.. But also I think a lot of the zones, LMSC's and Coaches look at USMS to set the direction.
As for USMS and it's membership numbers, I think they are a direct reflection of the image that USMS projects to public at large... and I can tell you, being a member of that public at large just a year ago, USMS looks very intiomidating from the outside. If my club doesn;t require the membership, it is likely that I still wouldn't be a member.
It is thanks to my coach and several very personable members of my LMSC (Southern Pacific)... including the Chairman and the Vice Chairman that I became involved.
Having been to the convention... I'm very glad I went. There is a lot that can be done. Every delegate (and a non delegate too) gets a chance to join a committee that works on various issues and influences things at the level where things actually get done (which is not this bulletin board). USMS badly needs fitness and non competetive swimmers to come to the convention, if they want better representation. It seems that by default it's mainly the top competitors and the coaches that are involved.
Yes, there is a fitness comittee too. My impression is that it's somewhat missing the mark. It needs better demographic representation of USMS fitness swimmers.
In general, there are a lot of areas in which USMS needs 'new blood', and every single member of this organization has an opprtunity to be that 'new blood'
