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 finally joined USMS after 'thinking' about it for almost 15 years. It took my daughter swimming for me to realize what I have been missing after all these years.
Now I am no stranger to sports. Name one and I have probably played it, even competed in it. But when I smelled the chlorine for the first time, that started some sort of chemical process in my body that unfortunately took almost 2 years to complete it's work and get me back in the pool. But now that I'm here, I'm here for life.
I'm a very competitive person but mostly I compete with myself so it's all about shaving that half stroke off my handicap or raising my bowling average 1 pin or lifting 5 more pounds than last time. With swimming it's the same way. But this time it's a little different, instead of trying to prove I'm better than other swimmers in a race, I want to race just because I want to see how fast I can go. And more importantly, I greatly desire the social aspects of swimming. Not only as a swim parent but as a swimmer also.
And it is that social aspect that needs to also be reinforced as well.
Getting involved in my daughter's teams has been one of the best things for me and my wife. We are meeting more people, making more friends, coming out of our house more. THAT is the true power of organized swimming. THAT is what needs to be emphasized also. Those folks who have kids (or can remember BEING kids) on a summer league team. What OTHER sport will have a 17 year old boy yelling his head off in encouragement for a 7 year old girl swimming her first race?
Competition is fine but as in all things, it should be a competition against ourselves. Not only to do our best but to be our best.
Sorry, the fumes must be getting to me cause I rambled all over the place. I just had forgotten how much swimming has and does mean to me.
Paul
I finally joined USMS after 'thinking' about it for almost 15 years. It took my daughter swimming for me to realize what I have been missing after all these years.
Now I am no stranger to sports. Name one and I have probably played it, even competed in it. But when I smelled the chlorine for the first time, that started some sort of chemical process in my body that unfortunately took almost 2 years to complete it's work and get me back in the pool. But now that I'm here, I'm here for life.
I'm a very competitive person but mostly I compete with myself so it's all about shaving that half stroke off my handicap or raising my bowling average 1 pin or lifting 5 more pounds than last time. With swimming it's the same way. But this time it's a little different, instead of trying to prove I'm better than other swimmers in a race, I want to race just because I want to see how fast I can go. And more importantly, I greatly desire the social aspects of swimming. Not only as a swim parent but as a swimmer also.
And it is that social aspect that needs to also be reinforced as well.
Getting involved in my daughter's teams has been one of the best things for me and my wife. We are meeting more people, making more friends, coming out of our house more. THAT is the true power of organized swimming. THAT is what needs to be emphasized also. Those folks who have kids (or can remember BEING kids) on a summer league team. What OTHER sport will have a 17 year old boy yelling his head off in encouragement for a 7 year old girl swimming her first race?
Competition is fine but as in all things, it should be a competition against ourselves. Not only to do our best but to be our best.
Sorry, the fumes must be getting to me cause I rambled all over the place. I just had forgotten how much swimming has and does mean to me.
Paul
