Yet...... another comment on "elitism" in masters swimming. This ongoing battle of two imaginary groups....... the selfish former elite swimmers and the non elite counter parts.
Yes..... The Evil Smith and I have taken great pleasure throughout the last decade trying to secretly split USMS into these two groups. Our efforts to perpetuate this divide and fuel our intolerance for "learners" is now being undermined..... :-)
One Big Happy Family: Marcinkowski’s Masters
reachforthewall.com/.../
"Butcher, Zerkle and others say numbers have soared because Marcinkowski has tried to strip the elitism from masters swimming, often thought to be populated with former competitive stars who have little tolerance for learners."
I guess I hadn't really heard that perspective as much as coaches and board members complaining about drop-in swimmers are difficult to manage logistically (pay in cash? check? who holds the money? does the money ever get to the club?) or that many swimmers over-use drop-ins so as to avoid making a commitment to the club and paying monthly dues.
Carlos...no doubt those are factors as well, especially for teams that are maxed out on lane space/members (not a bad problem to have in some cases). There is no doubt that in some cases the people who want to utilize drop-in's "cost" more than they make a club...which is why see some teams raise that fee quite a bit or try to discourage the practice.
Funny story about that, we have a "new" swimmer that only wants to pay the drop in fee to save money even though they want us to help them prepare for an Ironman event coming up which cost them several hundred dollars for the entry fee...
I guess I hadn't really heard that perspective as much as coaches and board members complaining about drop-in swimmers are difficult to manage logistically (pay in cash? check? who holds the money? does the money ever get to the club?) or that many swimmers over-use drop-ins so as to avoid making a commitment to the club and paying monthly dues.
Carlos...no doubt those are factors as well, especially for teams that are maxed out on lane space/members (not a bad problem to have in some cases). There is no doubt that in some cases the people who want to utilize drop-in's "cost" more than they make a club...which is why see some teams raise that fee quite a bit or try to discourage the practice.
Funny story about that, we have a "new" swimmer that only wants to pay the drop in fee to save money even though they want us to help them prepare for an Ironman event coming up which cost them several hundred dollars for the entry fee...
