I have seen many of the posts made here from master swimmers from all over the USA, Canada and the World.
It has me wondering about the state of master swimming.
1. Which State has the most swim meets.
2. Which State has the most master swimmers registered.
3. How many master swimmers registered are in the USA
USMS and USA-S are two completely separate organizations with their own infrastructures.
Let's pretend there is a masters club at State University and you swim there. You pay quarterly dues of let's say $300 to swim there. Those dues go toward paying the coach, using the facility, perhaps getting a team newsletter, kickboards, etc. and maybe they give you a cap each year. Across town there is another masters club at the community college. They pay monthly dues of let's say $75 to swim on that team. Those dues pay their coach, pool time, a tshirt, their newsletter, blah blah blah.
This is inconvenient for you because you want to swim with one program before work on Mon-Wed-Fri but swim with the other program on weekends because it is closer to your home. Now I want you to ask the coach at State University why the two programs can't just get their act together and make it easier for you to be able to swim at both since at the end of the day all you want is to swim.
Mr R -
I'm not talking about all the "club" dues etc that add to the overall cost of practicing at any particular "club" venue, just the USMS/USAS memberships. One would still have to deal with all local club fees if one swam with a particular club.
However, for the many "independent" swimmers going it solo out here in the hinterlands, it would open up more opportunities to participate across both organizations.
USMS and USA-S are two completely separate organizations with their own infrastructures.
Let's pretend there is a masters club at State University and you swim there. You pay quarterly dues of let's say $300 to swim there. Those dues go toward paying the coach, using the facility, perhaps getting a team newsletter, kickboards, etc. and maybe they give you a cap each year. Across town there is another masters club at the community college. They pay monthly dues of let's say $75 to swim on that team. Those dues pay their coach, pool time, a tshirt, their newsletter, blah blah blah.
This is inconvenient for you because you want to swim with one program before work on Mon-Wed-Fri but swim with the other program on weekends because it is closer to your home. Now I want you to ask the coach at State University why the two programs can't just get their act together and make it easier for you to be able to swim at both since at the end of the day all you want is to swim.
Mr R -
I'm not talking about all the "club" dues etc that add to the overall cost of practicing at any particular "club" venue, just the USMS/USAS memberships. One would still have to deal with all local club fees if one swam with a particular club.
However, for the many "independent" swimmers going it solo out here in the hinterlands, it would open up more opportunities to participate across both organizations.
