I have noticed that some (many?) of you swimmers have the opportunity to train with age-group swimmers. How did you manage to arrange that?
I typically train early mornings (5:30, as soon as the pool opens). The local Masters club only trains in the evenings while I am still at work, so the majority of my sessions are solo, trained in the "public lanes". This works out fairly well; I am a fast enough swimmer that I usually end up with my own lane or sharing with other like-minded people. The problem is that, left to my own devices, my work-outs are all about the same. Same times, same strokes, same distance. I always go about 4000 to 4500 meters, one half swim, one quarter kick, one quarter pull. I do some sprints and tons of traditional short-rest interval training. Ho hummmmm...
It would be nice to periodically (or routinelly) swim with the age-group swimmers of my speed calibre, but I just cannot see how to arrange that without coming across as just plain kooky (and not in a good kooky way either) Maybe it is just the very traditional, old fashioned culture in this area that makes this difficult.
As an example: I once asked why the masters swimmers do not share swim meets with the age group swimmers more often to defray the costs of pool rental and increase the number of paying competitors. The major answer was that many parents do not want a bunch of "dirty old men" warming up in the same pool as their young impressionable daughters. This took me aback: at the time my daughter was a competitive swimmer and I just could not fathom that anyone could have such a dirty mind that they could imagine anything sexual happening in a crowded warm-up pool.
For the swimmers that have the opportunity to swim with age group teams: was this opportunity offered-up voluntarily by the club, or did you have to campaign the club to allow you to join as a master swimmer?
I have noticed that some (many?) of you swimmers have the opportunity to train with age-group swimmers. How did you manage to arrange that?
I think the number of masters swimmers who do this is fairly small, but it does happen.
I have trained with 3 different age group clubs and 2 of them did not end very well.
In one case, I was living in Knoxville, TN and there was no masters swim team. Me and one other masters swimmer practiced with an age-group team. The swimmers didn't seem to mind and the coach liked it a lot. But after about one year, some parents complained because we did not pay the full team rate (we also didn't swim at all the practices; our fees were essentially prorated). We were given the option of paying the full team fees, or leaving. We left.
In another case, here in Richmond, I was swimming with the Poseidon team and everything was okay for a little while. But the team was renting the pool from a health club (of which I was a member) and the club was concerned about insurance/liability because the team practice began at 4:45am, before the health club opened. I offered to join USS as a member of the team, and I told the coach I would be willing to pay a reasonable rate based on the number of practices I swam. But the health club was pretty adamant, and the team didn't want to make waves with them b/c their relations have been strained enough.
The team I swim with now (NOVA) started a masters group of their own initiative. They own the pool they practice at. After seeing me swim, the coach invited me to participate in their age-group workouts whenever I wished because he thought it would be inspiring to the kids. That's the situation as it stands. I prefer to train with the masters group almost exclusively, but during the hard training part of my season I probably swim with the age-groupers once/week and I always try to ask first b/c I don't want to contribute to overcrowding.
I am always acutely aware that it is all about the kids. I always choose the least crowded lane and I try not to ever put myself in a position where I slow down or otherwise negatively impact the practice of an age-grouper. I should point out that the coaches, however, are uniformly VERY positive and encouraging about swimming in the pratices. I have never heard complaints from parents either. The swimmers are either indifferent (a few) or supportive and friendly (the majority). Sometimes one will ask when I'm going to practice with them again.
About meets: I have heard from a reliable source that the concern you describe about "dirty old men" has been voiced here in the US as well. But I have never experienced this attitude directly either in practices or meets. I have swum in quite a number of USS meets with nothing but overwhelmingly positive feedback. I know of others around here who have had similar experiences, including masters swimmers who have had the pleasure of competing with their sons and daughters.
Bottom line: I think that swimming with an age-group club depends very strongly on the circumstances. I hope this helps.
I have noticed that some (many?) of you swimmers have the opportunity to train with age-group swimmers. How did you manage to arrange that?
I think the number of masters swimmers who do this is fairly small, but it does happen.
I have trained with 3 different age group clubs and 2 of them did not end very well.
In one case, I was living in Knoxville, TN and there was no masters swim team. Me and one other masters swimmer practiced with an age-group team. The swimmers didn't seem to mind and the coach liked it a lot. But after about one year, some parents complained because we did not pay the full team rate (we also didn't swim at all the practices; our fees were essentially prorated). We were given the option of paying the full team fees, or leaving. We left.
In another case, here in Richmond, I was swimming with the Poseidon team and everything was okay for a little while. But the team was renting the pool from a health club (of which I was a member) and the club was concerned about insurance/liability because the team practice began at 4:45am, before the health club opened. I offered to join USS as a member of the team, and I told the coach I would be willing to pay a reasonable rate based on the number of practices I swam. But the health club was pretty adamant, and the team didn't want to make waves with them b/c their relations have been strained enough.
The team I swim with now (NOVA) started a masters group of their own initiative. They own the pool they practice at. After seeing me swim, the coach invited me to participate in their age-group workouts whenever I wished because he thought it would be inspiring to the kids. That's the situation as it stands. I prefer to train with the masters group almost exclusively, but during the hard training part of my season I probably swim with the age-groupers once/week and I always try to ask first b/c I don't want to contribute to overcrowding.
I am always acutely aware that it is all about the kids. I always choose the least crowded lane and I try not to ever put myself in a position where I slow down or otherwise negatively impact the practice of an age-grouper. I should point out that the coaches, however, are uniformly VERY positive and encouraging about swimming in the pratices. I have never heard complaints from parents either. The swimmers are either indifferent (a few) or supportive and friendly (the majority). Sometimes one will ask when I'm going to practice with them again.
About meets: I have heard from a reliable source that the concern you describe about "dirty old men" has been voiced here in the US as well. But I have never experienced this attitude directly either in practices or meets. I have swum in quite a number of USS meets with nothing but overwhelmingly positive feedback. I know of others around here who have had similar experiences, including masters swimmers who have had the pleasure of competing with their sons and daughters.
Bottom line: I think that swimming with an age-group club depends very strongly on the circumstances. I hope this helps.
