The date to 'discuss the organization' of a USMS Club here at the Thomasville Y has been set for 4/25. I am starting to prepare a very short presentation and trying to anticipate questions.
One of the benefits USMS offers its member is insurance during all sanctioned events and organized workouts. What does organized workouts mean?
For those of you who have been in on the organization of a club, what questions should I expect to field? (I've read FAQ and looked at the documents Rob posted a couple of weeks ago.)
What else do I need to know? What have you found to be helpful? What I am asking for is your personal experiences.
Thanks!
Elaine
Mel Goldstein, has developed a terrific program to address club development and he has a great deal of experience in dealing with Y’s. I would suggest you email him ( goldstein@mindspring.com ) and see if he can provide you with some insights.
In addition, the Georgia LMSC is in the process of developing a Masters Swimming brochure to describe Masters Swimming to the masses. Lisa Watson, GA LMSC Chair, can provide more details. Her email is lwatson@gc.peachnet.edu
Also available from the USMS National office is the promotional brochures “Masters Swimming, What's It All About”.
Good Luck!
Geek, I would have gladly joined USMS when I first started back swimming if there had been a team already in existance in T'ville. I still believe that USMS doesn't offer anything for people in areas where there isn't a team or for newbies, but those things have been debated in other threads.
I'm following up on the suggestions made here but, I would like to hear from other folks on starting up a club. Surely, someone out there has been involved with the organization of a club.
Lainey
Geek, it isn't about newbies on teams. It is about swimmers (new or not) who don't have access to a team. I wasn't going to join just to be able to carry around a membership card.
I still don't understand the rationale for needing a team for newbies. I swim on a medium sized team with varying levels of abilities, from newby to oldby to fast to slow. No one has ever been turned away from any team I've ever been on due to ability. USMS in no way caters to one level of swimmer.
Well, we are still working on getting the club going, BUT, this past week I have had sooooooooo, many people express an interest... One interested swimmer even said that she thought her father would be interested, and interested in competiting too!
Our aquatics director has been a great help. At first she just wanted us to 'do our own thing' but then when she started hearing a lot of folks saying we wanted someone to help with our stroke mechanics and to coach workouts, she started thinking about a coach. Swim coaches are very few and far between down here. She came up with the idea of using one of the college kids, with lots of swim team experience and who guards. AND since she is offering to pay him, we thought that was a good place to start.
I have a question related to our new coach and Masters. It is my understanding that he can not swim masters and collegate at the same time? Is that correct? Would the fact that he is 'coaching' a Masters team prevent him from collegate swimming? Does he need to be a member of USMS to coach the club?
Then, this afternoon, the aquatics director said she has found one of the Y members who use to actually COACH a masters team, and that person was interested in coaching us! And, that she could see having two coaches, one for early morning workouts and one for the afternoons! How much luckier can we get?
During our conversation this afternoon I also mentioned to the aquatics director that after we register our club I thought we will be able to post our pool in Places to Swim. You should have seen her eyes light up! Y'all, I do have to say that even though our indoor pool is old (recently refurbished) and slow, it is one of the prettiest, cleanest and best managed pools I've ever been associated with (and in comparison to some of the horror stories I've read here about pools it must be in the top 25--of older pools). In the four plus years I've been swimming in it I've only seen it slightly cloudly once, the rest of the time it has been crystal clear, and I've never seen it dirty... not even an unsightly, ring around the pool.
So that is my question and up date on what's going on.
In response to your question of whether coaching a masters team could impact the lifeguard's eligiblity for his/her college team: S/he should ask his/her coach or A.D. to check with the applicable NCAA or NAIA rules. I doubt there would be a problem, but given the complicated morass of rules that are in place, that is the best way to proceed, IMHO.
carl
