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
This entire discussion is tremendously important. I generally swim alone. I'm far more than a fitness swimmer. When I bring USMS up to peole, they do not see any benfit to them as swimmers. I think that most people who get workouts off of the internet are more than fitness swimmers. Most I know are good, lifelong swimmers who live where there are no coaches. I livein a town of about 33,000 people in west central Illinois. Most pure fitness swimmers don't really care if they have a written workout or not. They tend to do the same thing every day. I rarely use the workouts from USMS. I like Swim 2000 better. They are easier to read & remember as I'm doing the set.
I've worked in nonporfit organizations all ofmy life-from the Smithsonian to a small children's museum to a large, international fraternal organization. Itis almost impoosible ot get new members with out a true membership brochure of some kind. I've never seen one for USMS. Oddly,many memberships are growing throughutthe country. The new magazaine could be a great tool to build interstfor the fitnes swimmer.
If I understand the Australian system correctly, one coach builds an entire range of age swimmers around his reputation. to a certain extent this is what Curle-Burke has done. If a region could incorporate all swimmers into the same superclub, a full-time coach could make a living probablyin large metropolitanliving. A huge problem with the USA is our dependence on University swim tems to coach swimmers. the fce of swimming has changed drastically.
This entire discussion is tremendously important. I generally swim alone. I'm far more than a fitness swimmer. When I bring USMS up to peole, they do not see any benfit to them as swimmers. I think that most people who get workouts off of the internet are more than fitness swimmers. Most I know are good, lifelong swimmers who live where there are no coaches. I livein a town of about 33,000 people in west central Illinois. Most pure fitness swimmers don't really care if they have a written workout or not. They tend to do the same thing every day. I rarely use the workouts from USMS. I like Swim 2000 better. They are easier to read & remember as I'm doing the set.
I've worked in nonporfit organizations all ofmy life-from the Smithsonian to a small children's museum to a large, international fraternal organization. Itis almost impoosible ot get new members with out a true membership brochure of some kind. I've never seen one for USMS. Oddly,many memberships are growing throughutthe country. The new magazaine could be a great tool to build interstfor the fitnes swimmer.
If I understand the Australian system correctly, one coach builds an entire range of age swimmers around his reputation. to a certain extent this is what Curle-Burke has done. If a region could incorporate all swimmers into the same superclub, a full-time coach could make a living probablyin large metropolitanliving. A huge problem with the USA is our dependence on University swim tems to coach swimmers. the fce of swimming has changed drastically.
