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.
Former Member
Originally posted by emmett
When I open the home page the Fitness link is item #10 of 16 items.
If you surf with netscape then all of the submenus on the left side show up as open, showing each sub item, one after the other, and makes it into one extremly long menu... Probably pretty close to 80 entries.
Originally posted by Fitswimmer04
The "newbie" area is a great idea, but would experienced swimmers ever go there? Because I swim alone, I really depend on the help I've been getting from this board. If the newbie section was a place where we could get advice and help from experienced swimmers and coaches as well as getting to know other new people it will be great.
I think an area like that would have to have one or two 'designated' people to watch it and answer the questions, make the newbies feel welcome.
It's not impossible to do, but it would require extra effort and time for someone to watch the posts and answer them.
Any volunteers?
I do know that USMS is welcoming volunteers to help with a number of things.
Perhaps a coach or two could be comissioned to keep an eye on that area, along with on or two members of a fitness comittee.. with 4-5 people checking out the area once or twice a day or so it should get plenty of responsive coverage.
Maybe there could also be a member area where newbies are encouraged to join USMS and get more 'goodies' once theyr'e members. Considering that without extra funds a lot of things don't happe... but also that without a solid membership there won't be that much in a way of extra funds.
Just be careful in your posts to newbies when you direct them to articles and books rather than a personal reply, it often comes across as "Go away boy, you bother me." That is why the newbie and fitness sections need to be far more prominant than they are now.
Originally posted by Conniekat8
If you surf with netscape then all of the submenus on the left side show up as open, showing each sub item, one after the other, and makes it into one extremly long menu... Probably pretty close to 80 entries.
But the other 85% of the users see it as item #10.
Even though I raced until I was 39 years old and have raced as a master swimmer twice over the last 33 years. I still go to a master swimming club and partake of the social activities. What makes every one think you have to compete to be in a master swimming club. I take advantage of the activities and the fun but am not in it to compete. I raced from the age of 6 years of age and have really had all of the racing I need.
I am intending to race in the Master swimming events again this year in my age group I am 71. The last time I competed I was 64 years old. The reason to get in shape....
George www.swimdownhill.com
Hi Bill,
If you look through the articles in the getting started section do you find they do a good job of encouraging the swimmer to join a USMS club offering coaching and workouts? Do they emphasize the benefits of swimming in a coached environment? Do they emphasize the motivational and social benefits of group workouts? Do they answer the question "How good do I have to be to join a USMS club?" These are some of the messages I think USMS could use to appeal to potential new members.
Does the fitness committee find it acceptable to be item 50 in a list of over 80 items on the left of the home page?
As Connie said, Netscape (and some other browsers) display all the items instead of having the collapsable hierarchy, the presentation does work better for IE users and I was unaware of that.
As Connie also points out some of the things we are talking about here might work best if multiple committees worked together, and of course working with the clubs is also important. I personally think that providing information about the benefits of coached group environments would be beneficial to someone just getting started, so I don't view it as purely a marketing issue. I just think it would be a GoodThing(TM) for everyone if this aspect were covered more extensively in the getting started section.
Connie does hit the nail on the head here. I have talked several people into trying to learn to swim and then continue on with fitness or Masters swimming. When they find out that I learned to swim at age 38, and now have actually competed, it inspires them to try too. Afterall if this short little middle age woman can do it, why can't they. :)
While stories about great swimmers are inspiring, especially when I read about the longevity, it would not have gotten me into the pool, because I know I cannot be like them.
What got me in the pool was my child's coach who was also the Masters coach. She made the assumption that since my children swim, I must be a good swimmer too. She did not accept that I could not swim(at least until she actually saw me). She made Masters sound so fun, but I knew I could not keep up, so I took lessons in the spring, worked hard all summer, and joined in the fall because I wanted to be part of the fun. Competing was never, ever in my mind. And once again, it was she who got me to go to a meet(I think she was more nervous than I). Not right away, but when I felt ready for it. Her hope at the time was to show the group(no one was competing), that if I could compete being so new to swimming, they could too. It didn't work, they still don't compete, but I keep dropping off meet information in hopes that one day they will!
Originally posted by LindsayNB
If you look through the articles in the getting started section do you find they do a good job of encouraging the swimmer to join a USMS club offering coaching and workouts? Do they emphasize the benefits of swimming in a coached environment? Do they emphasize the motivational and social benefits of group workouts? Do they answer the question "How good do I have to be to join a USMS club?" These are some of the messages I think USMS could use to appeal to potential new members.
Although there may be some marketing benefit to providing fitness resources for new swimmers, the purpose of the "Getting Started" section is not to address the marketing needs of USMS. That is the business of the USMS Marketing Committee. Our "Getting Started" section was compiled to answer questions commonly asked by people who are just starting out in swimming, such as:
"How do I circle swim?"
"Can anyone tell me about pool etiquette?"
"How do I use a pace clock?"
Originally posted by LindsayNB
Does the fitness committee find it acceptable to be item 50 in a list of over 80 items on the left of the home page?
USMS is undergoing a redesign of its web site. Please see the Communication Committee minutes from the convention for more details:
www.usms.org/.../
This section of the web site is an interesting surf for those who have questions about how USMS works. If you are confused about who does what in USMS and how our organization runs, check out the minutes of the convention meetings. You will not only learn the difference between the Fitness Committee and the Marketing Committee, but you will learn more about all committee activities during the past year and plans for the future.
~Bill
Dorothy is a really good swimmer for starting as as adult. She swam a 50 yard fly faster than did me who swam as a kid. Some fitness swimmers would do the team thing while others would swim at the closest pool to work or home. So, getting general information or some instrucation out to people whether they are on teams or on their own with an informal group is what we should be doing.
