Ok, so a little about me - I grew up in the UK, swam age group up to 18, took a break then retuned as a master about 10 years ago. I swam on & off during that time as marriage, kids and a move to the US all got in the way.
Now in the UK all competitive swimmers (all age group standards, masters etc) must register with the ASA for insurance purposes etc and it is all done through the club.
So what happens here as there seems to be so many different swimming "bodies"? Right now I cannot fathom being on a poolside 30 mins from home at 5.15am, so am going it alone.....If sometime in the future I wanted to enter a meet do I need to register with USMS? Am I allowed to, not being a US citizen? And how does this interact with the summer swimming teams?
I will likely register with TAAF to swim this summer (due to an unfortunate deal with my 6 year old) so would being part of USMS mean that I'm considered "year round" and render me ineligible for the summer meets in the future?
Thanks in advance (and for reading this far :blush:)
Parents
Former Member
So what happens here as there seems to be so many different swimming "bodies"?
There are two swimming NGBs (National Governing Bodies) in the United States. USA Swimming has kids up through Olympians as members, with a few adults as well. USMS is open to anyone age 18 and older.
If sometime in the future I wanted to enter a meet do I need to register with USMS?
Yes, if it's a Masters meet sanctioned by USMS.
Am I allowed to, not being a US citizen?
Yes. We have quite a few members who are not US citizens.
And how does this interact with the summer swimming teams?
It doesn't. Your membership in USMS shouldn't have any effect on any other membership you may have. Many of our members are also members of USA Swimming. Some of them even belong to Masters organizations in other countries.
I will likely register with TAAF to swim this summer (due to an unfortunate deal with my 6 year old) so would being part of USMS mean that I'm considered "year round" and render me ineligible for the summer meets in the future?
No. Again, a membership in USMS won't have an effect on any other membership you hold.
Many USMS members train on their own. Part of the membership includes SWIMMER magazine, which has a lot of good articles on stroke technique and training tips. I'd encourage you to join even if you're not planning to swim in any Masters meets right away. If you need help figuring out how to register, contact me at the USMS national office at: AnnaLea (at) usms (dot) org.
So what happens here as there seems to be so many different swimming "bodies"?
There are two swimming NGBs (National Governing Bodies) in the United States. USA Swimming has kids up through Olympians as members, with a few adults as well. USMS is open to anyone age 18 and older.
If sometime in the future I wanted to enter a meet do I need to register with USMS?
Yes, if it's a Masters meet sanctioned by USMS.
Am I allowed to, not being a US citizen?
Yes. We have quite a few members who are not US citizens.
And how does this interact with the summer swimming teams?
It doesn't. Your membership in USMS shouldn't have any effect on any other membership you may have. Many of our members are also members of USA Swimming. Some of them even belong to Masters organizations in other countries.
I will likely register with TAAF to swim this summer (due to an unfortunate deal with my 6 year old) so would being part of USMS mean that I'm considered "year round" and render me ineligible for the summer meets in the future?
No. Again, a membership in USMS won't have an effect on any other membership you hold.
Many USMS members train on their own. Part of the membership includes SWIMMER magazine, which has a lot of good articles on stroke technique and training tips. I'd encourage you to join even if you're not planning to swim in any Masters meets right away. If you need help figuring out how to register, contact me at the USMS national office at: AnnaLea (at) usms (dot) org.
