On the topic (admittedly somewhat loosely) of marketing USMS, every month or so I get a Kiefer or Kastaway catalog filled with pictures of pretty teen/20-something swimmers of both sexes. Maybe it was due in part to the endorphins, but I couldn't help but notice at Federal Way how many really good looking, athletic, sexy swimmers we have in our ranks for whom their twenties are a distant memory. Ande said something similar about the scene at the LCM Nationals. Call me a narcissist, but I am inspired seeing men and women my age and older who are obviously very fit and who have the bodies of folks 20 years younger. (I note that Goodsmith agrees that it's not how fast you are, it's how good you look. Although his mantra may change if Evilsmith gets prize money on the line).
So where are the pictures of 30, 40, 50, etc, somethings in our sponsors' advertising materials? How many parents of age groupers might take a look and say "I want to look like that" -- or maybe it's just "I'd like to see him/her in a fastskin at a meet", but who cares why as long as it gets them thinking about USMS?
Former Member
The first open water race I did was Big Shoulders, a few years ago. I was in the 45 and older group. As we were getting ready to hit the water, I noticed how many men and women were very fit and young looking. Half of them didn't look like they belonged in the group, because they looked so young. All I could think at that moment was "I want to be one of them". And ever since then I've tried my hardest to be!
JIM
My daughter took a picture of me at a tri in a swimsuit when I was 180, and I look at that to remind me where I was. Size 14 then, size 6 now. although at 46 I am not having my picture taken on purpose in a suit anytime soon!
I say totally go for it at size 6. Awesome!
One thing I wish I had done was take pictures 3 years ago of what I looked like when I started Masters Swimming, 220 pounds, plus size suits and extremely painful back that spasmed most of the time.
I did take pictures starting in August of 2006 (190 pounds) and have some from August 2007 (165 pounds). Not as dramatic a change though as it would have been from the start.
Perhaps those who are just starting out should take some before pictures and then progress pictures as they drop the weight (or should I say drop inches) and build muscle. This would probably help us keep people too as weight loss takes longer when you are adding muscle. Even if the scale does not move they could atleast see the pictorial evidence of their efforts.
The first open water race I did was Big Shoulders, a few years ago. I was in the 45 and older group. As we were getting ready to hit the water, I noticed how many men and women were very fit and young looking. Half of them didn't look like they belonged in the group, because they looked so young. All I could think at that moment was "I want to be one of them". And ever since then I've tried my hardest to be!
JIM
I think it should be the "changing body of USMS" - like many people here, mine has certainly changed since I started swimming and I'm curious to know what I'll look like in a year.
see avatar
Does this qualify?
Hell yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about!
With all due respect to Kirk, we here already drank the Kool-Ade, or we are the choir, or some other mangled metaphor. I want USMS to reach the 38 year old guy sitting home watching beach volleyball who swam or played polo in high school or college but who's now pushing 240 but whose 8 year old just started age group swimming so he gets the catalogs or mags. It's too easy for that guy to dismiss Phelps or Coughlin as being superhuman, but not so easy to dismiss a photo of a ripped 53 year old who just happens to be able to throw down a sub-25 second 50 free (there were 25 guys in the 50 - 54 age group who went sub-25 at Federal Way. That's just plain cool) while holding down a real job and tending to a real family.
Maybe it would light some tiny spark, who knows?
