All,
I'm thinking about attending convention in three weeks. My reasons are several but most important is that I want to become more involved in USMS and I figure the best way to find out how/what/when/where is to attend convention.
Does this make sense? Would it be worthwhile?
Paul
Maybe I'm missing something here....but has anyone published and agenda and when can we get people on this forum who are attending to actually share with us their opinions/likely votes on the key issues?
Doug, your the President of my LMSC so I'd very much like to hear your thoughts/likely vote on:
1) Holding nationals outside of US boundaries
2) Scoring at nationals (club vs. regional team)
3) How best to market/grow USMS
Go to:
www.usms.org/.../
and scroll down to the bottom. Click on any link or report you wish to see; you might be interested in "Proposed changes to USMS Rules and Legislation."
As far as my vote/opinion so far (may change as I think about things), and forgive my bluntness in places:
1. I have no problem with it, I think such bids should be considered on their own merits not shot down out of hand. A silly proposal IMO.
2. Not the burning issue with me as it seems to be out west. I tend to vote to spread the wealth and recognition. I prefer the old size-based scoring, irregardless of club/regional; I would rather help small/medium clubs grow by whatever means necessary, if a banner helps them (and some testified to this last year) that's great.
I have to admit I got a little tired of PM posturing on this issue last year. Whatever we decide would be fine by me, I just hope we don't spend a lot of time & energy on it and hear more threats along the lines of "you'd be sorry if PM decided to be a super team" (I really wouldn't).
3. Is growth for its own sake a good thing? Increasing championship and zone bids is a bigger issue for me than growth. Getting USMS members more interested in competition/meets -- making meets more enticing to the occasional competitor -- is also a bigger issue for me.
But if I had to answer, I'd pretty much go with using OW swimming as a hook for triathletes and former competitive swimmers. I have a number of tri-friends and, even though swimming is the least important discipline, they all TALK a lot about improving in the water.
Some former competitive swimmers prefer OW races a lot compared to pool races. My wife is one of these. She does not train very often and gets depressed by her pool times, but doesn't care about OW times (which are often meaningless b/c of the strong dependence on conditions) and feels a sense of accomplishment just in finishing a 1- or 2-mile race (or whatever).
I wish cable swims were more common because they represent a good transition between pool swimming and "true" open water swims. Swimmers and triathletes who have trouble swimming straight, or get a little nervous in the open water, draw some comfort from the cable.
I could live without the elitism of the "true" OW swimmers, the channel-swimmers and the like, who clearly hold triathletes wetsuit-wearers with contempt even while grudgingly allowing them to compete. Read the the OW Committee report to see what I'm talking about. Not exactly a welcoming attitude conducive to growth, IMO.
Yes, the complete pre-convention delegate packet, including rule change proposals and meeting schedules is available at www.usms.org/.../
Forgive my ADD....but would love is there was some way to get this dialed down to a very simple format that could be posted in the form of a poll here on the forums. I have already said many times that I have no interest in going to a convention again based on how it is currently organized (and am sure they would't want me to be there either!) but would certainly like to see people here on the DF have a "voice".
good idea
Be careful what you ask for :thhbbb:
You might get him turning up in to the PV LMSC "big-wig" meeting in his B-70... :banana: :censor: :bolt:
I have never had any interest in being involved in USMS politics and
have avoided it for 20 years
That is an interesting outlook, and almost entirely without merit, since USMS is a corporation doing it's annual buisiness at the convention. Any time there are hundreds of people together, there is the possibility of disagreement over issues. I would hardly call their discussions politics.
Since politics are not a part of USMS, we are left with the statement that you are not interested in being involved in USMS, which is also not accurate, since you swim a lot and have posted and replied so many times on these DFs, and have quite a following, apparently.
So I am left with the possibility that you wrote in code, really wanting to go to the convention and participate in a meaningful way? That is terrific!
That's pretty much what I did, though I had no thought at all about the convention. I echo Rob's sentiments about giving back. It is easy to just swim and forget about all the effort that is needed to make it happen.
Well, as a swim parent, it's quite a lot harder to ignore all the volunteer work that is required :wine:
Get involved at the local leve first, that is where you will be able to make the biggest difference in the shortest amount of time. Use Convention as a learning experience and a means to meet others who are in the swimming community. Over time, apply what you have learned from Convention, your work experience, education, and other volunteer experiences. Then, after you have helped your LMSC get better, consider if you wish to get involved at the National level.
That is my advice and it is guaranteed or your money back ;-)
See you in Hotlanta?
I think these are the folks being inducted -
Maria Lenk (BRA/USA) - Honor Swimmer
Jim McConica (USA) - Honor Swimmer
Russell Hafferkamp (USA) - Honor Water Polo Player
Willy van Rysel (GBR) - Honor Swimmer
And how about this for a name to learn to spell when he was a kid -
Ibone Belausteguigoitia (MEX) - Honor Diver
