And I thought the suits were killing the sport ...

I understand that, I really do, but if the $40/year for joining USMS makes THAT much of a difference in someone's balance sheet, then swimming isn't the right activity for them anyway. September 9th, 2009 03:51 PM Wow, judge and jury.

Only when someone wheels out the 'can't afford it' angle as to why people don't/won't join USMS. "Let them eat cake."

I am a registered USMS, I pay it, happy to pay it. I have not used it to race or to swim with a club. If I were to swim with a master club here I must be a registered member or you can not work out with the team.:canada::canada: Here is our local clubs regitration form www.winskillotters.com/membership.html

Only when someone wheels out the 'can't afford it' angle as to why people don't/won't join USMS. No, I think issue is not that they can't afford it, its that money is tight and the membership is not necessary for what they want out of swimming. If you don't plan on competing and are a member of SCAQ what is the point of joining USMS? They have insurance covered separately. I believe this was the original question in the first post. Would you pay $40 (or what ever the cost is) for something you get no perceived value from?

Can't afford it go swim laps during open general pool swim. Without coaching that is supplied by a masters swim club.

"Let them eat cake." I love it; perfect quote! In Los Angeles you can swim at a public pool for free if you have a library card or $2.50 if you don't. Telling someone that the first month fee is $100 to join a club is "sticker shock" so job-one is to get the person in the pool and then convince them to compete.

I've been part of the USMS organization for over 10 years. Yet every year when I get my USMS renewal materials, I always contemplate not renewing. My team is also one that doesn't require USMS membership, we have our own separate insurance. I haven't competed in a meet since I don't know when (when USMS SCY Nationals was here in AZ). Sure, the magazine comes, and once in a while I'll skim through it (I enjoyed reading the article when Fort was in it). Yes, I do get access to these forums, but my team has been moving towards forums on its website, and now seems to be taking the Facebook direction. There's many reasons why I don't compete in swim meets. One reason is I'm nowhere near competitive. At USMS nationals, after one of my heats, someone told me that I was one of the reasons the meet was taking so long. But I really would rather be doing other things with my time and money (such as a vacation to Europe). If I want to test how fast I'm swimming, why not just ask my coach to time me? I'm certainly not about to shell out hundreds of dollars for a fancy suit that I'll wear a handful of times. We hardly have anyone on my team who competes, so I really don't see much of a point. I see swimming as a way to relieve stress. Worrying about things like meets, buying the best suit, etc simply create stress.

There's many reasons why I don't compete in swim meets. One reason is I'm nowhere near competitive. At USMS nationals, after one of my heats, someone told me that I was one of the reasons the meet was taking so long. But I really would rather be doing other things with my time and money (such as a vacation to Europe). If I want to test how fast I'm swimming, why not just ask my coach to time me? I'm certainly not about to shell out hundreds of dollars for a fancy suit that I'll wear a handful of times. We hardly have anyone on my team who competes, so I really don't see much of a point. I see swimming as a way to relieve stress. Worrying about things like meets, buying the best suit, etc simply create stress. Whatever jackass told you that you were dragging out the meet needs to be stuffed in a bottle and sent out on the Japanese current, to paraphrase the late, great Hunter S. Thompson. Anyone can swim 3 events at Nats with no qualifying whatsoever, and anyone with the guts to swim an event on the National level deserves a round of applause when he or she touches the wall, whether their time was smokin' or glacial. Competing for me is all about fun. I didn't spend a whole lot of time agonizing over whether the B70 would be better than the FS Pro I already had, or whether the Jaked is better yet. I felt like buying a tech suit or two, and did. I'm not by any means a top tier competitor, but I get a rush out of trying to better my times; beating an occasional nemesis or two; swimming relays with friends and folks I've admired; and watching the jaw-dropping performances of the top tier competitors, especially the ones in the older age groups. I suppose competing causes me a minor amount of stress, but in my mind it's good, motivational stress, as opposed to the negative stresses brought on by work and family life. As my coach says, where else can folks our age get the old butterflies going with no real negative consequences for falling short of whatever it is you were hoping to achieve? I can't get all of that out of practice. Obviously, YMMV, but for any fence-sitters out there, competing keeps me motivated and is really just a whole bunch of fun. I highly recommend it -- at any level, but the fun factor just ramps up at the National level -- to all.

The obvious benefit of attending USMS meets is the breathless opportunity to rub elbows with the smokin' posting paladins of the USMS forums...