So I have been swimming with a masters team since august and have since then paid my usms membership fee at the end of October to be able to swim in a meet we recently had. I haven't recieved my usms card in the mail yet. In two weeks and am going back home from school for a month but need to swim in a structured program and am gonna find the masters team at home and wanted to know if I could still swim with them without my membership card, is there a way to prove my membership without it?
It is not practical, reasonable or a good use of money to make USMS known to everyone in the world. It is pretty much known to those who care - us swimmers, triathletes and most pool patrons where a USMS team practices. Getting the word out to people who care less about swimming seems pointless. As a member of a few athletic organizations, USMS does a very nice job, especially considering the reasonable dues.
One very simple thing all LMSCs/clubs should do is to make sure they have a website and a link to that site or a page on their local age grouper page. If your age grouper/club site is like ours, it is the primary source of info for meets/records/time standards/etc. Many times parents will join USMS to have a common bond with their kids.
As much as I love trinkets, that's just low hanging fruit. I think Rob Butcher is doing a fine job and I'm excited about things to come.
Other than outsourcing the work (which costs more money and I already get swimmers to complain about our $12 LMSC fee), I have yet to hear how Paul proposes the large LMSCs handle something like a bag tag.
You can hire a fulfillment company to do that work or a virtual assistant if the volunteer resources are not available. The LMSC exists to serve its members, one way is to build brand awareness. If this involves hiring/contracting with somebody who will do that work, so be it. This is the direction we are heading anyway on both the LMSC and national level.
A puny LMSC like Arizona can handle stuffing some envelopes and laminating tags.
862 swimmers puny?
Paul's idea is a much better one for the National Organization to consider. They would be better equipped to outsource and make it happen. Having it done at the LMSC level is simply not practical.
That might happen but experience shows that attempting to do anything on a national level is difficult at best. The LMSCs can show the way and experiment, this will provide information that others can analyze and use in their efforts. What works in one LMSC may not work in others but the more activity we engage in, the more data we will have to make decisions in the future.
The key is to take action and see what works. We are doing that in AZ and will let the others catch up when they are ready :)
It is pretty clear that membership growth is desired by the top brass in USMS. My question is a little more basic: whom are we trying to entice to join USMS?
You bring up fitness instructors. Do we want to aggressively market to (say) people who until now are in aqua-aerobics classes? What exactly are the consequences of success?
It seems to me that -- with its interest in expanding OW swimming -- USMS is very interested in enticing triathletes to cross-over into USMS. Do we want this?
(These are true questions, not a comment from me on desirability or lack thereof.)
Based on the brief interview of Rob Butcher on Gold Medal Mel, it seems that maybe Butcher is pursuing former big swimming names to get them back into competition. You've been known to do this yourself. Broadening this: are former competitive swimmers the market we should pursue most aggressively?
Or all of these things?
We set up a USMS booth at a local (big) 10k road race here in Richmond last year. We had many, many people come by and ask about USMS (it is not clear to me how many signed up). When they were asking about swimming opportunities in Richmond and I gave them all the information -- we had it all ready -- I found myself wondering if my own small workout group would become so large that it would be unmanageable. (There are now days when we have 6-7 people per lane for awhile, making anything beyond 50 repeats problematic.)
It seems to me that the answers to these questions play a pretty big role in whatever strategies we decide to use to increase brand-recognition.
Chris -
This goes directly to the point I made earlier - what is the mission? The world of elite former swimmers is relatively small when compared to the potentially huge pool of noodlers/aerobic-fitness/lap swimmers. So if increasing membership is the goal, then USMS should go after the latter group.
Your point on workout groups is a great one. As a competitor (as opposed to those members who practice but don't compete), do you want the (assumed) scarce resource of pool space taken up by those in the latter group??
I am not sure exactly how "why doesn't USMS give me a luggage tag" turned into "I am asking the hard questions."
The reason people seem to think that you trivialize volunteers or don't appreciate what we do, Paul, is that it is pretty much exactly how it sounds.
"Why doesn't USMS give me a luggage tag? USAS does. It would be SO EASY. PS: You suck." (Obviously I am joking a little here. But only a little.)
I have no business experience, you are right, and you have a good point about fitness instructors etc. But I do not think the answer is to add to the burden of the most overworked LMSC members, the Registrars.
Comments shouted out from the peanut gallery can be helpful, but only up to a point. The reason people get on you to volunteer is that it seems very important to you and, as you point out, you have a lot of experience to offer. (I realize that working as a coach helps "the cause" a lot too, so it isn't that I think you are a layabout.)
Chris I'm not even sure how to respond...you seem to have completely missed the point I'm making about brand building, loyalty, membeship growth, etc. and are stuck on luggage tags, something I used to point out how poorly this "buisness" has been at the national level on even the most basic of brand building oppurtunities.
As a paying member of an organization I think I not only have the right but the obligation to make suggestions on how the buisness is being run...and for the record no other buisness that I support finacially ever tells me to come out of the "peanut gallery" and volunteer if I don't think they are doing a good enough job...and you seem to forget I did volunteer and participate on 2 committee's for a couple of years as well as work very hard here in AZ to build membership so drop the us vs. you stuff will ya?
Other than outsourcing the work (which costs more money and I already get swimmers to complain about our $12 LMSC fee), I have yet to hear how Paul proposes the large LMSCs handle something like a bag tag. It's quite impressive for him to sit back at his computer proposing ideas for other people's time (and for ignoring comments about running volunteers into the ground)... :coffee:
A puny LMSC like Arizona can handle stuffing some envelopes and laminating tags. :banana: But once again, what about the LMSCs that are much larger? What may work for one LMSC doesn't necessarily work for another LMSC and it is rather arrogant to think otherwise.
Paul's idea is a much better one for the National Organization to consider. They would be better equipped to outsource and make it happen. Having it done at the LMSC level is simply not practical.
Jeff...I think Doug did a fine job of answering your question...it really isn't that hard for people who really are interested in thinking a bit outside the box and looking to ways to build buisness.
And since you seem to be skimming my posts and missing the point I'll say it again...this is not about bag tags....this is about the bigger picture of USMS and how even the most basic of areas that we can brand build are not being executed.
Countless times I have proposed ideas about how we might attempt to grow brand awareness of USMS beyond the very small circle we exist in and time and again I get defensive posturing and the "why we can't" BS...so for the record guys just because I don't think we have maximized our oppurtunites to grow and I think posting ideas in an attempt to create discussion about possiblities is not in any way, shape or form saying you suck...OK...maybe a bit with you Chris! :)
This debate is about the same as any volunteer organization. 20% do 80% of the work. 80% of the complaining comes from the 80% who do nothing more than send in a check.
How's this for brand recognition? See today's entry. :)
http://comics.com/frazz/
More seriously, Paul, you seemed bewildered that your suggestions get some people's backs up and all I'm saying that there is some reason for this reaction. Despite your intentions, which I realize are all good. Getting Jeff to come out of lurk mode usually takes some doing, so you should be wondering what caused it to happen.
We also need to distinguish between the (usually valid) larger problems you point out and the potential solutions you propose. I may not have your business background but I've done a lot of program administration in my professional life, and I can usually recognize what will work and what won't (at least in my LMSC).
Don't get upset just because I don't agree with your solutions, it doesn't mean I think there is no problem.
Chris...I'm curious how many companies you've run, worked for, particpated in building, ran PR and/or marketing for...same for Roddin, Peg and anyone else who seems to think I trivilaize volunteers from USMS and don't "appreciate" what work has/is being done?
Me? All I did here was point the original poster to the USMS online registration site and try to answer his original question - "where the heck is my USMS card?"
Perhaps you are getting your "P"s mixed up and mean to throw PWolf under the bus for in post #3 justifiably pointing out your confusion of lamenting and laminating... which by the way, you may also want to work on your "were" (used to be) vs. "we're" (we are) too.
Chris...for the record I'm not upset nor am I bewildered. I am however a person who hates lost oppurtunity and untapped potential...USMS will be just fine with or without me or my suggestions...although it may be a little more boring on these forums with only Geek to stir the pot!
And to be clear I don't think there is a "problem" per se...what I do think is that there is tremendous potential to make USMS far more relevant to far more people with at least an attempt at a few basic brand building efforts.
The reason I ask about buisness backgrounds is that it would surprise me that someone who had one wouldn't recognize the value of basic, low cost, grass roots PR and marketing efforts. As Geek points out he at least gets a stick from USTA when he renews...the best advertising for USMS is the current membership out there everyday sporting the colors and talking the talk...so give them a little help doing that...it'll cost a heck of a lot less than a magazine ad in Shape!
As for Jeff...I'm just trying to get in his head because I'm swimming IM next year and need to work every angle I have to take him down!
As for Jeff...I'm just trying to get in his head because I'm swimming IM next year and need to work every angle I have to take him down!
After what I saw last weekend ... good luck with that! And it's amazing Jeff has any time to train with all the PV work he does.
Seriously, though, no one knows what masters swimming is and branding would help. I had no idea what it was or that it existed until a USS coach recruited me for a practice group he was starting. I don't believe I've ever seen a link on our USS PV website or notices at rec centers, high schools, etc. However, we do have a masters bulletin board where my team trains. So perhaps the college kids are aware we exist.
