Paul Smith has started another thread which has migrated to what USMS might do to attract and keep more members. I thought, after trying unsuccessfully to find a thread on the subject, that I would hit the nail on the head.
There was a recent membership poll on the issues, which I participated in, but I thought it might not have emphasized strongly enough my own personal reasons:
I AM A MEMBER OF USMS SOLELY BECAUSE IT PROVIDES A MECHANISM FOR COMPETITION.
There are other 'benefits' that accrue from your USMS membership but most of them are of no interest to me. Insurance is one that is often mentioned, but in my experience, this is not such an important factor.
Excluding city and county recreation centers and private athletic clubs, here is a list of all the teams I have trained with and their membership requirements:
Laramie Masters Swim Club: trained at the high school; USMS membership required.
University of Wyoming Masters Swim Group: trained at the University; USMS membership not required.
Ford Aquatics: trained at the University of Arizona; USMS membership required.
Northern Arizona Masters: trained at Northern Arizona University; USMS membership not required.
Snow Mountain Masters: trained at Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA; USMS membership not required.
University of Denver Masters: trained at DU; USMS membership not required.
So, of the six teams I have trained with only two have required USMS membership. Most of my training is solo at clubs and recreation centers, so the insurance problem is not an issue.
Also, now that I'm over 50, there are other competition avenues open to me (read Senior Games...) so I could continue to compete even if there were no USMS (In fairness, here, I should stress that USMS has worked VERY HARD to bring these games up to their standards of competition. I went to some of the earlier versions of these that were just a joke. I believe that we seniors owe a great debt to Scott Rabalais and others for carrying this out.)
What's your reason?
I joined USMS to swim in my first meet unattached.
I joined a club team so I could swim at Worlds, which precluded unattached swimmers from competing. (Why? Who knows?) I ended up liking my team very much and wish I could practice with them more often.
I stay with USMS because I like to compete and I enjoy the friends I've made on the forum, at meets and at our dinner socials. They, more than others, "get" me. Paul Smith once said he'd rather have wine chats with a swimmer than a non-swimmer, and I understand that philosophy. This forum has also provided an abundance of information/encouragement that has helped me improve my swimming and training, and, as a mostly self-coached athlete, I'm grateful for that.
I was fit before. Swimming has not changed my life in that way. It just makes me happier -- except when I have a cranky shoulder day.
Like Rob, I hope my children may have masters swimming in their future. Or at least some masters sport.
I joined USMS to swim in my first meet unattached.
I joined a club team so I could swim at Worlds, which precluded unattached swimmers from competing. (Why? Who knows?) I ended up liking my team very much and wish I could practice with them more often.
I stay with USMS because I like to compete and I enjoy the friends I've made on the forum, at meets and at our dinner socials. They, more than others, "get" me. Paul Smith once said he'd rather have wine chats with a swimmer than a non-swimmer, and I understand that philosophy. This forum has also provided an abundance of information/encouragement that has helped me improve my swimming and training, and, as a mostly self-coached athlete, I'm grateful for that.
I was fit before. Swimming has not changed my life in that way. It just makes me happier -- except when I have a cranky shoulder day.
Like Rob, I hope my children may have masters swimming in their future. Or at least some masters sport.
