"Dara Torres should be the face of United States Masters Swimming"
Brent Rutemiller, October issue Swimming World Magazine
"Of Course, Torres isn't on this trip alone. Aside from the support of Hoffman, her daughter and her coaches, Torres relies on a team. She has a nanny who tends to Tessa, a strength coach, and physical and massage therapists who work her like a piece of dough."
John Lohn, October Swimming World Magazine
With all due respect to Mr. Rutemillier & Mr. Lohn I would suggest that they spend a little more time around the people who not only compete in the meets of our sport but with the people who are the backbone as volunteers in the day to day running of it....Dara's only contribution has been making a few workouts early in her comeback, attending a couple of meets and signing autographs and collecting checks for clinics.
If you want a "face" of Masters Swimming look to Susan Von der Lippe who beat Dara as the first person over 40 to qualify for Trials....and she did it training with a masters team 3x a week...working par time, no nanny, no trainers....no PR person....that to me this is the core of what we are in my opinion.
How about Rob Copeland who somehow manages to run this entire organization, swim extremely well, post on our forum....all without a massage therapist and pilates instructor....again this is what Masters represents...to me.
Dara has done something remarkable for anyone her age... give her credit..but lets see if at some point she wants to time at one of our meets...or be on one of our committee's to help promote masters...without an appearance fee.
There are too many good points being made for me to choose a side. Well said by dorothyde. With 40K+ athletes I'm not sure why we'd have to raise dues substantially to have cash meets. Plus, most meets are self funded and USMS could kick in minor money for some sweet prizes.
I'm gonna pay to swim pretty much no matter what the cost, it's my hobby so I could really care less the price. However, if my dues are increased I better see real tangible benefits. Raising by $20 so I can save $3 on a pair of goggles isn't enough.
I think USMS does a great job overall. Some minor tweaks could really help improve the organization.
However, for those that don't want their dues paying for prizes, that's a fallacy. Every single meet you enter has some portion of the fees pay for the prizes, same for all sporting organizations and events, unless the give-a-ways are donated.
There are too many good points being made for me to choose a side. Well said by dorothyde. With 40K+ athletes I'm not sure why we'd have to raise dues substantially to have cash meets. Plus, most meets are self funded and USMS could kick in minor money for some sweet prizes.
I'm gonna pay to swim pretty much no matter what the cost, it's my hobby so I could really care less the price. However, if my dues are increased I better see real tangible benefits. Raising by $20 so I can save $3 on a pair of goggles isn't enough.
I think USMS does a great job overall. Some minor tweaks could really help improve the organization.
However, for those that don't want their dues paying for prizes, that's a fallacy. Every single meet you enter has some portion of the fees pay for the prizes, same for all sporting organizations and events, unless the give-a-ways are donated.
