Lately there have been some threads that touch on macroeconomic issues affecting the US and the rest of the world. I am (morbidly?) curious about how this affects masters swimming.
My concern is primarily related to registration and participation. Right now we are in the 2009 registration period, meaning swimmers are either registering or renewing. But are we loosing people because of the economy?
Separate issue is participation. Let's say signing up for USMS is not a problem, but the cost of swimming (dues, gear, commute to pool, etc.) is an issue. I am thinking particularly about people who have either lost their jobs, had to change careers, closed/reduced their business, or lost a lot of money recently. How is this affecting membership?
What do you all have to say about this?
Several years ago, USMS spent some hard earned resources on a membership survey. I believe that the majority of respondents are not interested in competition and join USMS as a requirement to participate in masters workouts. A much smaller, but significant portion, are actively involved in competition. For those involved in competition, the average income level was significantly higher than the reported US median.
My hunch is that the economic condition may affect renewal rates among the non-competition subset, but that the competition subset will continue to both renew and participate (and expend travel related resources) because competitive swimming is a core value - even with possible declines in income and travel related cost increases.
My 2 pesos.
Several years ago, USMS spent some hard earned resources on a membership survey. I believe that the majority of respondents are not interested in competition and join USMS as a requirement to participate in masters workouts. A much smaller, but significant portion, are actively involved in competition. For those involved in competition, the average income level was significantly higher than the reported US median.
My hunch is that the economic condition may affect renewal rates among the non-competition subset, but that the competition subset will continue to both renew and participate (and expend travel related resources) because competitive swimming is a core value - even with possible declines in income and travel related cost increases.
My 2 pesos.
