I think I'm going to have to disagree a bit with my Longhorn teamates Mr. Commings and The Raz on this subject. It's not good to rely on someone coming out of the woodwork in years to come or simply counting on cycles of ebb and flow over years in the sport.
I have been to many age group meets with my kids the last 4 years. In Georgia, Colorado.... and my home the Great state of Ohio, and enrollment of young boys (ages 8-14) is down further than at any time I can remember in the sport. Gone are the days when I grew up and boys ALWAYS outnumber girls in the sport, and its not merely because more girls are swimming now. It's because boys are interested in other sports..... many of which are easier training sports in my opinion.
This is NOT good for the future of men's swimming. I have a bad feeling the next Michael Phelps will be lured into Soccer or some other sport over the coming years... if not already. Swimming.... particularly the governing body USS.... does NOT do an adequate job marketing the sport to the general public during non Olympic years. We ride too heavily on the success of our Olympic performances in hopes of expanding enrollment, and then every 4 years it dies out quickly. With the added cuts of men's swimming programs in the NCAA Div. I level the growth and continued success of US mens swimming in my opinion is in jeopardy over the next 8-12 years. Michael Phelps is a lucky find for the US. I strongly suggest you take a look at some heat sheets for age group meets in your area. You will likely find that there are about 1/2 to 2/3rds the number of boys heats compared to girls heats in the younger age groups. It's shocking. You're looking at the future of our Olympic team in these reduced heats. You can't rely on a Rowdy Gaines to come into the sport late (like age 13) and dominate especially when the numbers are down so much.
USS needs to find money for a larger national campaign with TV time. Why is it I have NEVER been contacted by USS swimming to donate money?! Why is there NO marketing campaign to solicit funds from ex US swimmers from the past 40 years ?!
In my opinion, this is an all out war against soccer and the evil Big 3 sports. For example...... Australia is hurtin' if you take away their 2 big guns Hacket and Thorpe, there is virtually no one in the pipeline that will take over. The US is in a similar but lessor position. It was truly embarassing that the US had absolutely NO ONE in the 100 free at the Olympics. Let me say it again....
IT WAS TRULY EMBARASSING THAT THE US HAD ABSOLUTELY NO ONE IN THE 100 FREE IN THE FINALS AT THE OLYMPICS !
We should OWN that event ! The 100 free IS United States Swimming. It is our history! Our 400m free relay should NEVER lose at the Olympics or World Games as it is a reflection of depth and speed in our programs.
Face it, our volume of great sprinters are pretty bad right now and thats a reflection of basic athleticism and talent by taking (stealing) "athletes" from other sports with raw speed. Gary Hall saved his butt and the US in the 50 free at Greece, but let's face it, he's an archeology find and not a reflection of up an coming talent. We're relying on someone that probably peaked 2 Olympics ago in the sprints.
The picture is not good for the growth of US men's swimming, and we definitely need to do something about it.
John Smith
Former Member
I feel pretty dumb. Sounds definitely like a "Twainism". I just thought I'd mention his name as someone who knows sports and could really provide some insight to promoting ours. Like John said earlier, he is one of many talented people that USA Swimming could consult to learn how to make swimming more popular.
Don't think we'll see "I am Michael Phelps" commercial a la Tiger Woods, but little blurbs on TV once or twice a year like last weekend is definitely not going to do it. Just seems like they are making a very weak attempt to promote and just betting on the fact that a few stars will shine in the future to keep this sport THE PREMIER Olympic sport it always has been.
If my kids were exposed to the lessons this sport teaches, that is priceless to me. They will be because of me, but how many other parents are missing out on the great benefits this sport provides? Not to mention the stats many of us have seen regarding GPAs of swimmers and graduation rates. Swimming ought to show those comparisons to the "Money Sports" and I think it would definitely turn some heads of parents who actually care about their kids education and future.
But as Paul Smith said earlier a Half Pipe swimming event with blood and broken bones couldn't hurt. Did anyone watch the X-Games this weekend? Those guys were AWESOME!
Former Member
"I am Michael Phelps." Works for me.
Former Member
C'mon Craig, I just covered my monitor with milk & cereal...
Originally posted by Bob McAdams
It lasted a couple of hours, which is also about how long a typical summer swim league dual meet or high school swim team dual meet lasts.
Are there swim meets that last longer than that?
You are lucky. Our summer league meets last 3-5 hours, twice a week. These are duel meets, not the championship meet at the end of the season.
Originally posted by craiglll@yahoo.com
The above quote was inthe speedos thread. I know about 10 boys between the ages of 16 to 9yrs old. Three of them are sons of guys who swam in college and two are nephews of guys who swam in college. Almost all of them think that swimming is a gay sport.
I know a whole lot more than 10 young men. None think swimming is a "gay" sport. What is a gay sport by the way? Do they also think Lance Armstrong and cycling is "gay" because they wear tight little outfits also? What about football and their tight little pants, do they find that gay also? Let's not forget that baseball might also be a gay sport because their pants are usually tight. Same for all track and field.
Please don't assume your limited experience with a tiny group of boys is indicative of all youth. It would help if you could substantiate your claim of homophobia by passing along studies that bear this out, not your small isolated sample of personal experience.
So, the research you did is talking to 10 boys in some small college down in Illinois? From that you draw some conclusion about all boys and all swimming in general.
If that's the sum total of the research you are stating I need to do then I have you trumped, having spoken to many more than 10 boys in a large metorpolitan area, none of whom hold this attitude. I also grew up in a small college town and never experienced this gay thing you find so prevalent about swimming. So, 10 boys from an isolated small area is no sample and is not indicative of swimming or gayness or whatever you are thinking. I'm not even sure what gay has to do with swimming, just swim.
Craig,
So you’re saying your surveyed sample, thought swimmers were gay because of the “dedication of the boys” and because the boys parents are proud of them???? Dude, find a better representation of youths. They may be good baseball players, but they exhibit a very fragile grasp on reality.
Since Illinois is appently the center of all thought on matters gay or otherwise, my sample of 1 from this area has weilded different results. My step-monster is a farm girl from Illinios who did undergrad at the U of I or IU and then went on to Berkeley. She is pretty darn tolerant and liberal and has never accused me of gayness because I swim.
Baseball players also think Skoal is OK so I don't put a lot of weight into their opinions on much of anything.
But, gull is right, any more discussion on this and he'll feel compelled to show another picture of himself.
Former Member
Originally posted by justforfun
Bob:
But, how long did the game last?
It lasted a couple of hours, which is also about how long a typical summer swim league dual meet or high school swim team dual meet lasts.
Are there swim meets that last longer than that? Sure! But they are usually big meets involving a number of teams. The equivalent in baseball would be the Little League regional playoffs, which last several days.
Bob
Former Member
Originally posted by craiglll@yahoo.com
I know about 10 boys between the ages of 16 to 9yrs old. Three of them are sons of guys who swam in college and two are nephews of guys who swam in college. Almost all of them think that swimming is a gay sport.
Originally posted by aquageek
Please send links to study that show homophobia is impacting popularity of swimming in US boys. I'd be interested in reading a real study on this.
I agree, aquageek.
Keep in mind that when boys today say that something is "gay", they usually don't mean that they literally think it's homosexual. And, as Craig himself notes, there are pretty obvious reasons why they should know it couldn't be in this case.
Bob
