Usms memebership cards

...in my opinion there should be no costs passed along to members...it would be a very simple and inexpensive process that we be a nice touch...and for the record i already do laminate mine. Of course there is a cost, and someone would have to pay for it. It is not inexpensive or trivial to send out ANYTHING, no matter how small or cheap, to the entire USMS membership. People like Jeff have been doing this work for years, unseen in the background, making it all work. It is easy to take it for granted. Laminated cards as proof of membership is 20th century technology. We should do better.. By my understanding, when the end-to-end-event-mgmt (E2EEM) system is fully implemented, it will be close to completely automated, from the meet sanctioning process, through entries, real-time results, current (national) event rankings and top ten lists. Conceptually there is no reason it can't be done, but implementation is not easy. I think it will happen eventually though.

Slightly off topic but NEVER EVER laminate your Soc Security card. It basically invalidates it.

Laminated cards as proof of membership is 20th century technology. We should do better. But were not and that is the point. There are cost with eveything Chris...and most of us who like the free market sysytem like to think their are also returns...with the amount of $$$ going to the magazine I submit there are more funds that could be better utilized to get PR for USMS than most realize. Something so simple, so basic as this luggage tag and people shoot it down without any other suggestions...or we fall back on the "were a volunteer organization" or "no one would want that"...I may sit out here alone on this but I absolutely disagree. We see people here all the time talking about Top 10, records, patches but try and talk about a value added benefit on even the smalest scale for USMS and sadly (from a bunch of supposed competitive people) is why it won't work. I would suggest that a hang tag on a gym bag for a fitness swimmers would generate more interest in this organization than our magazine which reaches only existing members. Bring up discounts from key sponsors and we heard that won't work, so what will...? So we sit on the treadmill that USMS is on and talk about change and growth and evolving and mission statements...and we talk.

Paul, are you sure you really have a membership in USA Swimming? It hasn't been called USS for quite a few years now. Who are you sending your money to big fella? Maybe you should have Laura look over your shoulder at renewal time... Just be glad I didn't use AAU!! And for the record Mel it will always be "Mile High" Stadium to me no matter who they sell the naming rights to! And for the record it is from Arizona Swimming as part of my "USA" Swimming membership!

I recently was given a USMS window decal and a luggage tag and they went on the car and gym bag within the hour. I would also glue a patch on my gym bag if I was fast enough to earn one. I know Smith will barf but USAT is the king of trinkets. I bought Yankz laces with the USAT logo, bought a sweet packpack and got a hefty USAT discount. I would love to purchase a suit with USMS and Speedo embroidery. I love all the dumb stuff, I'm a sucker for logo'd merchandise.

Something so simple, so basic as this luggage tag and people shoot it down without any other suggestions...or we fall back on the "were a volunteer organization" or "no one would want that"...I may sit out here alone on this but I absolutely disagree. In this case, I am disagreeing with you because we have already done this in our LMSC, found out it was a bad idea for us, and stopped doing it. It basically took running a Registrar into the ground -- and her quitting on us in mid-January -- before we realized we needed to streamline the registration process. Believe me, you do not want an LMSC to go without a Registrar for any length of time. For my money, they are the hardest working people in the LMSC. Fortunately we currently have an excellent one. But there is no reason you can't do it in your own LMSC. Go for it. Better yet, back it up by volunteering to be the Registrar for your LMSC.

Something so simple, so basic as this luggage tag and people shoot it down without any other suggestions...or we fall back on the "were a volunteer organization" or "no one would want that"...I may sit out here alone on this but I absolutely disagree. Everybody in Arizona who registers with USMS will get a Bag Tag(tm) with the logo on the front, Swim - Sun - Fun! on the top, and Swimmer on the bottom. The back will have fields for your address and phone number, along with the web address (www.azlmsc.org) for the organization. These will go out with Classic Car Spa 10% discount cards as well... Our Registrar mails everybody in the state a hard copy of their USMS card. Yeah, it is old school but it does not cost much and is a personal touch. Now though, everybody will get a bag tag and discount card. Oh, I think he is sending the Hertz card with the mailing too. Anyway, we got the Bag Tags(tm) for just under $1100 for 1000x with postage and setup fees. Our cost for re-order will be less than a buck a tag. Action is leadership instantiated.

In this case, I am disagreeing with you because we have already done this in our LMSC, found out it was a bad idea for us, and stopped doing it. It basically took running a Registrar into the ground -- and her quitting on us in mid-January -- before we realized we needed to streamline the registration process. Believe me, you do not want an LMSC to go without a Registrar for any length of time. For my money, they are the hardest working people in the LMSC. Fortunately we currently have an excellent one. But there is no reason you can't do it in your own LMSC. Go for it. Better yet, back it up by volunteering to be the Registrar for your LMSC. Nice dodge Chris...this is not about luggage tags per se....but the bigger picture of putting forth ideas that are based on the organization as a whole...and yes I do understand tht all "olitics" are local but we need the big dogs to set the tone. So tell me how they didn't work? Did you do an anylysis that showed you they weren't providing the "brand" visiblity that over the long term would help more and more people identify with the crazy people they see at the pool everday swimming at 6am? At this stage we have almost nothing in the way of brand awareness so my point is almost anything can help.

It's up to the LSC how they handle the yearly USA-S ID cards. In North Texas, the non-athletes get their cards laminated but the athletes do not. Rationale is that the coaches are supposed to display their ids when on deck. It will save the registrar from having to issue as many replacement cards due to wear and tear. We had considered laminating the athlete cards now that the swimmers must present them as proof-of-registration when late-entering a meet. The decision was that either the swimmers or their team registrar can laminate the cards on their own rather than adding to the LSC registrar's burden. The registration renewal process would be slowed significantly in the last few months of the year with the additional process step. Our NT LSC registrar works incredibly long hours "just" renewing 4500 athletes and 400 nonathletes.

Nice dodge Chris...this is not about luggage tags per se....but the bigger picture of putting forth ideas that are based on the organization as a whole...and yes I do understand tht all "olitics" are local but we need the big dogs to set the tone. So tell me how they didn't work? Did you do an anylysis that showed you they weren't providing the "brand" visiblity that over the long term would help more and more people identify with the crazy people they see at the pool everday swimming at 6am? At this stage we have almost nothing in the way of brand awareness so my point is almost anything can help. No dodge was meant. You are worried about brand visibility, that isn't really what I'm talking about. Why didn't it work? It "worked" just fine, we just felt it wasn't worth the hassle. I can go into more detail if you like. One of the things I like a lot about the online system is that it doesn't require anything to be mailed. I can always download the card if I want it. Going to a system where everyone is mailed something seems a step backward, not progress towards the future. I have enough trinkets around the house, I don't need more. I've been a member of USAS for two years and don't have a luggage tag. Why would I want one? I have NEVER been asked to produce my USAS membership card to enter a meet (I've been in four over the last 2 years) since it is all done electronically through my club team, and presumably they check my membership against the national database. I wish that USMS didn't require physical proof of membership to enter a meet -- that will probably come at some point -- but they ask for a copy of the card with the entry form. That is perhaps so that they can enter the USMS membership ID into the Meet Manager file ahead of time...and a luggage tag doesn't help with that. As a Top Ten recorder for my LMSC, I definitely appreciate it when they get the number right; showing your card at the meet check-in seems more error-prone to me. As far as brand visibility, like Geek I have a sticker on my car. Good enough for me. I think Rob Butcher is working on "brand packaging" and I think he will do a great job. It is beyond my pay grade (since I work for free). But doing it by giving my Registrar more work, and charging me more money, is something I'll fight against.