Recruiting

Originally posted by knelson I don't know. Does masters swimming really need more exposure? The team I train with already has five or six swimmers per lane at workouts during the peak season. We have a short course Nationals meet that usually brings in 1500-2000 swimmers. Much more and the meet timeline would be horrendous. It seems to me USMS is doing just fine with the current marketing. One of USMS core objectives is to grow membership. So, if you want an organization that doesn't expand, this isn't it. As the organization grows, the nature of nationals may change to keep the size and length of the eent at a manageable level. Maybe at some point only people qith QT's will be allowed into nationals, as it is with most other sports, and there could be another national event that is less competetive and more cammaraderie orientes. All kinds of things can be one. Juast like anything in life, things change, you can't prevent change. About pool overcrowding... well, as a result of USMS aexpanding and swimming getting more popular, on the long run it should result in more pools being built, more places to swim available, more qualified coaches, masters programs getting more respect and pool time from pool oerators. The expansion doesn't mean just more members stuffed in the same ole overcrowded pool, and more members taxing the same tired coach. Done right, the expansion includes more services, more resources, more tools for swimmers and coaches, more facilities, better quality overall, more fun events and ways for swimmers to connect... When done in a careful and balanced way without taking unreasonable risks, expansion could go a long way, and not really have a negative impact on the existing members.

Originally posted by knelson I don't know. Does masters swimming really need more exposure? The team I train with already has five or six swimmers per lane at workouts during the peak season. We have a short course Nationals meet that usually brings in 1500-2000 swimmers. Much more and the meet timeline would be horrendous. It seems to me USMS is doing just fine with the current marketing. One of USMS core objectives is to grow membership. So, if you want an organization that doesn't expand, this isn't it. As the organization grows, the nature of nationals may change to keep the size and length of the eent at a manageable level. Maybe at some point only people qith QT's will be allowed into nationals, as it is with most other sports, and there could be another national event that is less competetive and more cammaraderie orientes. All kinds of things can be one. Juast like anything in life, things change, you can't prevent change. About pool overcrowding... well, as a result of USMS aexpanding and swimming getting more popular, on the long run it should result in more pools being built, more places to swim available, more qualified coaches, masters programs getting more respect and pool time from pool oerators. The expansion doesn't mean just more members stuffed in the same ole overcrowded pool, and more members taxing the same tired coach. Done right, the expansion includes more services, more resources, more tools for swimmers and coaches, more facilities, better quality overall, more fun events and ways for swimmers to connect... When done in a careful and balanced way without taking unreasonable risks, expansion could go a long way, and not really have a negative impact on the existing members.