As well, this "new" poll is launched in an effort to quiet swimmers who felt they did not have a voice in the decisions made in masters swimming last year.
Communication out to coaches who will then speak to their swimmers is the only solution.
However we still don't even have direct communication with a large percent of masters coaches and workout group leaders.
Until that situation improves or happens, there are always going to be athletes paying their USMS dues with no voice in the decisions of the organization.
I'm not following you as to the motivation behind this poll. It seemed innocent enough to me.
The people who actually vote at Convention are the LMSC delegates. Those are the people who represent your "voice." Contact your LMSC officers if you want to be heard.
If this "poll" is going to mean anything, you need to define some terms here. We need to know if the people voting are fitness swimmers, occasional competitors, or serious competitors (or some other terms).
The biggest flaw with any poll here is what Ahelee hinted at: people on the forum are not representative of the general USMS population.
There was a previous poll that seemed to indicate that forum members tended to come from a swimming background (HS/college) then I think would be true of the bulk of the membership. (I'm going on memory here.) I would probably guess that a greater portion of forumites tend to compete than the general membership.
Trying to slice and dice poll numbers and break them down by things like proficiency level or whether or not they compete is fine. But I object strongly to the notion that you have to have competed within the last X months or Y years in order to have a vote that "counts" in this debate.
As well, this "new" poll is launched in an effort to quiet swimmers who felt they did not have a voice in the decisions made in masters swimming last year.
Communication out to coaches who will then speak to their swimmers is the only solution.
However we still don't even have direct communication with a large percent of masters coaches and workout group leaders.
Until that situation improves or happens, there are always going to be athletes paying their USMS dues with no voice in the decisions of the organization.
I'm not following you as to the motivation behind this poll. It seemed innocent enough to me.
The people who actually vote at Convention are the LMSC delegates. Those are the people who represent your "voice." Contact your LMSC officers if you want to be heard.
If this "poll" is going to mean anything, you need to define some terms here. We need to know if the people voting are fitness swimmers, occasional competitors, or serious competitors (or some other terms).
The biggest flaw with any poll here is what Ahelee hinted at: people on the forum are not representative of the general USMS population.
There was a previous poll that seemed to indicate that forum members tended to come from a swimming background (HS/college) then I think would be true of the bulk of the membership. (I'm going on memory here.) I would probably guess that a greater portion of forumites tend to compete than the general membership.
Trying to slice and dice poll numbers and break them down by things like proficiency level or whether or not they compete is fine. But I object strongly to the notion that you have to have competed within the last X months or Y years in order to have a vote that "counts" in this debate.
