It's been cool for me over the last few years seeing and competing against a number of guys from both my age group and collegiate days. However, when I think back to my college team, in particular, I'm struck by how many guys are NOT back swimming and competing in Masters. I realize this is probably the wrong audience to ask (since we're back in the pool), but, since for me swimming & competing go hand in hand and I love swimming, I'm still puzzled why more people don't come back to the sport and to racing?
Jim, great point. And not everyone was at that level to begin with. There are lots of articles and features featuring many of USMS' best performers in USMS Swimmer, the website, these forums, etc., and I think this is part of the reason why we find so many casual swimmers doing rec swim at our pools who see no benefit to joining USMS. I hear it all the time: "Masters - oh, that's for fast people, I'm not fast..." All of us here know this is a misconception... but is it?
Yes it is. At any Masters meet, who gets the biggest cheers? The oldest and/or slowest competitors. Consistently. Contrast that with some elite-level performances that I've seen that were met with (admittedly, awed) silence. I think most outsiders' light bulbs go on once they see the raucous cheering for the 90 year olds, but then again... if they never actually see it, then that light bulb never goes on.
Jim, great point. And not everyone was at that level to begin with. There are lots of articles and features featuring many of USMS' best performers in USMS Swimmer, the website, these forums, etc., and I think this is part of the reason why we find so many casual swimmers doing rec swim at our pools who see no benefit to joining USMS. I hear it all the time: "Masters - oh, that's for fast people, I'm not fast..." All of us here know this is a misconception... but is it?
Yes it is. At any Masters meet, who gets the biggest cheers? The oldest and/or slowest competitors. Consistently. Contrast that with some elite-level performances that I've seen that were met with (admittedly, awed) silence. I think most outsiders' light bulbs go on once they see the raucous cheering for the 90 year olds, but then again... if they never actually see it, then that light bulb never goes on.
