beginners thread??? or forum?

Originally posted by midaged Is there a "beginners" forum?? Not necessarily inside of this one, but anywhere out there in the e-swim world that you guys can recommend? .... There is not a beginner’s forum on this message board, but there are ways to target the information you want. The best place to do so on this board is currently this General Discussions Forum. Ask questions. There are a lot of beginner, intermediate, or newcomer friendly folks on in this forum. The more specific the question/topic the better. The more “swimming newbies” that post to this forum, the more likely it will be that it will become a haven for newcomers. Try searching the archives on a specific topic. A link to the search index is in the menu bar at the top of most every page in the Forum sections. Try viewing posts by specific forum members. If you click on a “Profile” link for a member you will find a link for “Search for all posts by this user.” (Look to the right of their user ID.) The forum FAQ page will help you with these and other aspects of how the board works. As for other webs or message boards for newbies, the pickin’s are fairly slim. Occasionally, just to see what’s out there, I search the web for swimming instruction in the basic categories of beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Beginner information is fairly easy to find. But once you get past the point saving yourself from drowning there is a huge leap into information that is primarily targeted towards folks who are seeking to break a record somewhere. If you know of any sites that target regular folks, feel free to put them up here. FYI: Sometimes it is difficult to slog through the archives, but there are some very knowledgeable (and witty) folks here, so it can sometimes be worth the effort. I frequently post to threads or questions that are more oriented to “swimming basics”. If you view my collection of posts through my profile you will have relatively easy access to a number of “beginner” oriented threads. (Just a suggestion for a place to start.) Figuring out who is or is not newcomer friendly here is a pretty quick lesson. Swimmers in general are very friendly people, but like any public message forum it sometimes requires patience. If you encounter some negative feedback (occasionally some whack-job will go on a tear here), just stick around and the atmosphere will eventually change for the better.

Originally posted by midaged Is there a "beginners" forum?? Not necessarily inside of this one, but anywhere out there in the e-swim world that you guys can recommend? .... There is not a beginner’s forum on this message board, but there are ways to target the information you want. The best place to do so on this board is currently this General Discussions Forum. Ask questions. There are a lot of beginner, intermediate, or newcomer friendly folks on in this forum. The more specific the question/topic the better. The more “swimming newbies” that post to this forum, the more likely it will be that it will become a haven for newcomers. Try searching the archives on a specific topic. A link to the search index is in the menu bar at the top of most every page in the Forum sections. Try viewing posts by specific forum members. If you click on a “Profile” link for a member you will find a link for “Search for all posts by this user.” (Look to the right of their user ID.) The forum FAQ page will help you with these and other aspects of how the board works. As for other webs or message boards for newbies, the pickin’s are fairly slim. Occasionally, just to see what’s out there, I search the web for swimming instruction in the basic categories of beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Beginner information is fairly easy to find. But once you get past the point saving yourself from drowning there is a huge leap into information that is primarily targeted towards folks who are seeking to break a record somewhere. If you know of any sites that target regular folks, feel free to put them up here. FYI: Sometimes it is difficult to slog through the archives, but there are some very knowledgeable (and witty) folks here, so it can sometimes be worth the effort. I frequently post to threads or questions that are more oriented to “swimming basics”. If you view my collection of posts through my profile you will have relatively easy access to a number of “beginner” oriented threads. (Just a suggestion for a place to start.) Figuring out who is or is not newcomer friendly here is a pretty quick lesson. Swimmers in general are very friendly people, but like any public message forum it sometimes requires patience. If you encounter some negative feedback (occasionally some whack-job will go on a tear here), just stick around and the atmosphere will eventually change for the better.