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
As laineybug points out, maybe there should be more focus on the swimmer plodding through workouts alone. I am one of those people. I take part in the competitions, so being a USMS member is easy and justifiable. If I didn't take part in the meets, I wouldn't be a member. The SWIM magazine is nice, but I can get interesting swim info on the internet.
Now, what keeps me motivated to swim lap after lap between the last meet in the spring and the first in December? Besides to stay in basic shape and not loose it all...it's silly, but it's a log kept at the pool that we keep track of our distance. Our goals are to reach the 100 and 500 mile marks. I find myself doing one more set to add to my total. In the end we get our name in the pool schedule/brochure and we get a simple piece of clothing. For the effort put in it is silly/simple. Why do I mention this? If USMS could have some e-version of this where members could enter yardage, see their names posted in some categorical system I believe it could be a motivator.
What?...I'm ranked #142!!...today I shoot for #140!!. Obvious problem is honesty and integrity. This type of feature would be paid members only. What other internet based incentives could we provide? Just a thought...
I don't know how much aquatic facilities embrace or even are aware of USMS. But, it seems to be mutually beneficial that aquatic centers encourage/advertise participation in USMS. This gives their lap swimmers more motivation to stay a member of the facility and keep swimming.
If USMS wants to attract the pure fitness swimmer, more needs to be offered...something fun...something more than insurance.
As laineybug points out, maybe there should be more focus on the swimmer plodding through workouts alone. I am one of those people. I take part in the competitions, so being a USMS member is easy and justifiable. If I didn't take part in the meets, I wouldn't be a member. The SWIM magazine is nice, but I can get interesting swim info on the internet.
Now, what keeps me motivated to swim lap after lap between the last meet in the spring and the first in December? Besides to stay in basic shape and not loose it all...it's silly, but it's a log kept at the pool that we keep track of our distance. Our goals are to reach the 100 and 500 mile marks. I find myself doing one more set to add to my total. In the end we get our name in the pool schedule/brochure and we get a simple piece of clothing. For the effort put in it is silly/simple. Why do I mention this? If USMS could have some e-version of this where members could enter yardage, see their names posted in some categorical system I believe it could be a motivator.
What?...I'm ranked #142!!...today I shoot for #140!!. Obvious problem is honesty and integrity. This type of feature would be paid members only. What other internet based incentives could we provide? Just a thought...
I don't know how much aquatic facilities embrace or even are aware of USMS. But, it seems to be mutually beneficial that aquatic centers encourage/advertise participation in USMS. This gives their lap swimmers more motivation to stay a member of the facility and keep swimming.
If USMS wants to attract the pure fitness swimmer, more needs to be offered...something fun...something more than insurance.
