Is there really a division between masters swimmers? i.e. one camp allied to a more low key fitness oriented approach with low membership growth vs. a meet oriented competitive (elite) camp?
This sounds ridiculous to me. I don't think I've ever run into anyone that acknowledged this debate on a pool deck.
What spawns this rift in Masters swimming? Is this an old guard vs. younger member phenonmenon?
Are there different motivations that exist that create this conflict in terms of the future of USMS? Why can't both coexist?
I say we poll some people out there and find out what they support.
John Smith
Matt,
I am well aware of the initial and ongoing costs of aquatic facilities. I am also aware of the incredibly bad management that is put in place of these facilities (not in all cases, but in enough to make a difference) because municipal, university, or military oversight reaches only to the door of the facility. If there is someone guarding the pool, the institution thinks they have done their job. Nothing is further from the truth.
Every lap pool in the country can operate at a profit. Not on lap swimming alone, but on a variety of programs and classes, as well as enlightened management principles that will attract not only customers, sponsors and tenants, but will also attract and support good staff, coaches, guards and maintenance.
"If you build it, they will come," is a simplistic yet moving saying, but true enough. Pools have a mystical quality of attraction that is there to be exploited, and the current management systems miss that altogether. Water in any form is an attractant, from ice rinks to fountains and water sculptures. It should be used to that advantage.
YMCA pools are the closest I can think of that even approach maximizing the potential of their pools with numerous programs. But even they miss out by limiting the hours of operation and skimping on staffing. Most pools are not open as long as the rest of the facility (in a mixed use setting, likeYMCAs).
And to the last poster, this DF is filled with competition of all sorts, each and every one of us trying to persuade all others that we are not full of hot air. Among us there are lots of very helpful, patient persons who go out of their way to explain or counsel even the most novice swimmer on any topic. I disagree with the notion that fitness swimmers are not made to feel welcome here, even though they may feel overwhelmed by the passion that exists in the posts.
Matt,
I am well aware of the initial and ongoing costs of aquatic facilities. I am also aware of the incredibly bad management that is put in place of these facilities (not in all cases, but in enough to make a difference) because municipal, university, or military oversight reaches only to the door of the facility. If there is someone guarding the pool, the institution thinks they have done their job. Nothing is further from the truth.
Every lap pool in the country can operate at a profit. Not on lap swimming alone, but on a variety of programs and classes, as well as enlightened management principles that will attract not only customers, sponsors and tenants, but will also attract and support good staff, coaches, guards and maintenance.
"If you build it, they will come," is a simplistic yet moving saying, but true enough. Pools have a mystical quality of attraction that is there to be exploited, and the current management systems miss that altogether. Water in any form is an attractant, from ice rinks to fountains and water sculptures. It should be used to that advantage.
YMCA pools are the closest I can think of that even approach maximizing the potential of their pools with numerous programs. But even they miss out by limiting the hours of operation and skimping on staffing. Most pools are not open as long as the rest of the facility (in a mixed use setting, likeYMCAs).
And to the last poster, this DF is filled with competition of all sorts, each and every one of us trying to persuade all others that we are not full of hot air. Among us there are lots of very helpful, patient persons who go out of their way to explain or counsel even the most novice swimmer on any topic. I disagree with the notion that fitness swimmers are not made to feel welcome here, even though they may feel overwhelmed by the passion that exists in the posts.
