I have been swimming Masters for two years and am 47 years old. I graduated from high school in 1976 and college in 1980. In South Texas the 45-49 age group has consistently had more swimmers at meets and perhaps the closest competition of any male age group. Why does 45-49 have more swimmers than 40-44 and 50-54, the two neighboring age groups? There are some very fast guys in this age group, who obviously have not taken long breaks (e.g. decades) from swimming. They swim modern breastroke, not legacy breastroke.
Are we 45-49 guys just a demographic phenomenum? Our kids are a certain age, we got a bit fat, and decided to get active again? Or was there a swimmer population bubble in the late 70s and early 80s?
Is this bubble going to follow me when I age up or does some percentage of swimmers retire at 49?
Just an inquiring mind.....
"Is there a breakdown of USMS membership by age group available somewhere? Is there another bubble for women that was caused by Title IX?"
I don't know if there are MORE swimmers in the ages of women who swam with 4 years of college under Title IV, but I do know that the overall times get much faster just after I age up each time. I am "safe" for a couple years (top 10-wise) then I get slaughtered for 3 years until I move up an age group again. I was born in '53 so women born after about 1955 have the advantage of having been coached/trained for 4 years during college after Title IV went through, giving a little time for things to get in place after the passage of it.
"Is there a breakdown of USMS membership by age group available somewhere? Is there another bubble for women that was caused by Title IX?"
I don't know if there are MORE swimmers in the ages of women who swam with 4 years of college under Title IV, but I do know that the overall times get much faster just after I age up each time. I am "safe" for a couple years (top 10-wise) then I get slaughtered for 3 years until I move up an age group again. I was born in '53 so women born after about 1955 have the advantage of having been coached/trained for 4 years during college after Title IV went through, giving a little time for things to get in place after the passage of it.
