Fitness swimming

Connie (& all), I don't want to stray too far off the "original" topic ("Fitness swimming"), but I do want to reply to your questions about people who do triathlons. First, I want to emphasize what Coach Emmett Hines is saying...in short, it's all comes down to insurance. USMS has limited itself is what it supports, provides and allows to that which the association is protected by insurance. If USMS wants to stabilize its membership, it either needs (1) to continue to push the insurance envelope and provide more "stuff" (services, activities, etc...) that's covered under existing insurance coverage, and/or (2) it needs to get more comprehensive coverage. Now... I hear that the general concensus is that swimming is the weakest discipline of the three for triathletes? Would you say that is your experience as well? Do most triathletes feel somewhat at loss as to where to turn to to get good swimming advice and or coaching? I would venture a guess that this is true, or Terry Laughlin's Total Immersion wouldn't be as popular as it is. I wonder if USMS couldn't do a thing or two to address this groups needs and concerns. I don't believe there is any such concensus about swimming being the weakest link to a triathlete. That's a myth. Yes, some people will say that swimming is their toughest discipline of the three, but that is not concensus. What might be more generally true, and this was for me, was that swimming was the last discipline that I learned. Buy some sneakers and you're a runner. Buy a bike and you're a cyclist. But, not everybody lives near a pool or a beach. Athletes in any sport are hungry for knowledge and triathlon is no exception. With the Internet, published books, and word of mouth, one can learn much about swimming, or triathlon, or any sport. I have never attended a TI session, though I know many of the coaches who lead the sessions, many of whom are familiar names within USMS. I think that TI has enjoyed some success because they package their "product" in a manner that is attractive to the novice-intermediate level swimmer...information plus feedback in a condensed period of time. Certainly, USMS could do something similar...it's the same coaches leading your workout that are also teaching TI camps and leading clinics. It's just that all of those things are packaged and oriented differently and to different audiences. Then there is the dreaded discussion about the wetsuits... I know, I know, purist swimmer doesn't do wetsuits, but what's to prevent us from having a separate 'wetsuit' category (other than more administrative work for USMS.) Nothing. There are a couple of good USMS-sanctioned open water events in Washington state that couldn't exist without wetsuits. If you don't mind me throwing out a generality at you...I sense a perception within USMS that they discourage wetsuit use in part because it would attract more inexperienced swimmers and thus increase the risk of an accident. I see many 'new' people trying the triathlons, run/walking the run, putting along on a department store bike and slowly swimming their way across 800 meter swim just to get the sense of accomplishment of finishing a triathlon, but on the other hand you can ask some of the same people to enter a swim meet and do a 200m and a 100m relay, just so you'd have a relay, and they go, oh, no, that's too competitive for me! I swam Masters for two years before I could beat anybody in my age group at a meet. I suppose that I'd have a better sense of accomplishment simply finishing a 30-minute triathlon instead of being pummeled by peers in a 1-minute swim race. Lindsay Patten had a good reply to this. Tell you what, having been to swim meets, they're a piece of cake compared to triathlons! I think here I see a failure to popularize swim meets. They're still seen as competetive events, and not social events at all (when compared to the way triathlons are viewed). So, what's your take on this? I agree with your first statement...swim meets are a piece of cake compared to triathlons...as either a competitor, organizer or volunteer. I don't think that swimmers mind that. There is a virtue in the simplicity of a swim meet that I think many participants appreciate. All you need is a pool, a timing system, and some helpful people. Most people who go to USMS meets are foremost concerned about those things. That's why USMS exists...to provide uniform standards for competitions. They're concerned about the social aspects, too...but it's not at all Issue #1. 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' I agree. I already tried that, but the 'old blood' withdrew their appreciation of my efforts.

Connie (& all), I don't want to stray too far off the "original" topic ("Fitness swimming"), but I do want to reply to your questions about people who do triathlons. First, I want to emphasize what Coach Emmett Hines is saying...in short, it's all comes down to insurance. USMS has limited itself is what it supports, provides and allows to that which the association is protected by insurance. If USMS wants to stabilize its membership, it either needs (1) to continue to push the insurance envelope and provide more "stuff" (services, activities, etc...) that's covered under existing insurance coverage, and/or (2) it needs to get more comprehensive coverage. Now... I hear that the general concensus is that swimming is the weakest discipline of the three for triathletes? Would you say that is your experience as well? Do most triathletes feel somewhat at loss as to where to turn to to get good swimming advice and or coaching? I would venture a guess that this is true, or Terry Laughlin's Total Immersion wouldn't be as popular as it is. I wonder if USMS couldn't do a thing or two to address this groups needs and concerns. I don't believe there is any such concensus about swimming being the weakest link to a triathlete. That's a myth. Yes, some people will say that swimming is their toughest discipline of the three, but that is not concensus. What might be more generally true, and this was for me, was that swimming was the last discipline that I learned. Buy some sneakers and you're a runner. Buy a bike and you're a cyclist. But, not everybody lives near a pool or a beach. Athletes in any sport are hungry for knowledge and triathlon is no exception. With the Internet, published books, and word of mouth, one can learn much about swimming, or triathlon, or any sport. I have never attended a TI session, though I know many of the coaches who lead the sessions, many of whom are familiar names within USMS. I think that TI has enjoyed some success because they package their "product" in a manner that is attractive to the novice-intermediate level swimmer...information plus feedback in a condensed period of time. Certainly, USMS could do something similar...it's the same coaches leading your workout that are also teaching TI camps and leading clinics. It's just that all of those things are packaged and oriented differently and to different audiences. Then there is the dreaded discussion about the wetsuits... I know, I know, purist swimmer doesn't do wetsuits, but what's to prevent us from having a separate 'wetsuit' category (other than more administrative work for USMS.) Nothing. There are a couple of good USMS-sanctioned open water events in Washington state that couldn't exist without wetsuits. If you don't mind me throwing out a generality at you...I sense a perception within USMS that they discourage wetsuit use in part because it would attract more inexperienced swimmers and thus increase the risk of an accident. I see many 'new' people trying the triathlons, run/walking the run, putting along on a department store bike and slowly swimming their way across 800 meter swim just to get the sense of accomplishment of finishing a triathlon, but on the other hand you can ask some of the same people to enter a swim meet and do a 200m and a 100m relay, just so you'd have a relay, and they go, oh, no, that's too competitive for me! I swam Masters for two years before I could beat anybody in my age group at a meet. I suppose that I'd have a better sense of accomplishment simply finishing a 30-minute triathlon instead of being pummeled by peers in a 1-minute swim race. Lindsay Patten had a good reply to this. Tell you what, having been to swim meets, they're a piece of cake compared to triathlons! I think here I see a failure to popularize swim meets. They're still seen as competetive events, and not social events at all (when compared to the way triathlons are viewed). So, what's your take on this? I agree with your first statement...swim meets are a piece of cake compared to triathlons...as either a competitor, organizer or volunteer. I don't think that swimmers mind that. There is a virtue in the simplicity of a swim meet that I think many participants appreciate. All you need is a pool, a timing system, and some helpful people. Most people who go to USMS meets are foremost concerned about those things. That's why USMS exists...to provide uniform standards for competitions. They're concerned about the social aspects, too...but it's not at all Issue #1. 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' I agree. I already tried that, but the 'old blood' withdrew their appreciation of my efforts.