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
Parents
Former Member
Sure, it sounds good in theory - if you could guarantee big numbers of paying swimmers you can indeed solve the pool availability problem. Are you suggesting that offering a free USMS membership (avg annual cost of $40) will bring out people in droves to pay ~$600 to $1200+ (or whatever) annually to swim on a team and therefore keep pools open and build new ones?
Probably won't. For most people we 'exit interview' that stop swimming (and neglect their USMS membership eventually), nowdays the biggest problem is the monthly fee for swimming. In this area, it van vary from $20-$50 per month.
Once they are not swimming with a club, most people don't renew their USMS membership. Making the little $40 dollar a year fee go away isn't going to solve the monthly cost of swimming, which is a pretty common barrier, especially as of last couple of years, for those who are dropping out.
Even being unemployed at the moment, whether USMS annual membership is $40 or $60 or free isn't much of an issue. It's a YEARLY fee. I, and I think most people can figure out how to save or find $50-$60 over the course of a year for things I really want, even with no job.
Sure, it sounds good in theory - if you could guarantee big numbers of paying swimmers you can indeed solve the pool availability problem. Are you suggesting that offering a free USMS membership (avg annual cost of $40) will bring out people in droves to pay ~$600 to $1200+ (or whatever) annually to swim on a team and therefore keep pools open and build new ones?
Probably won't. For most people we 'exit interview' that stop swimming (and neglect their USMS membership eventually), nowdays the biggest problem is the monthly fee for swimming. In this area, it van vary from $20-$50 per month.
Once they are not swimming with a club, most people don't renew their USMS membership. Making the little $40 dollar a year fee go away isn't going to solve the monthly cost of swimming, which is a pretty common barrier, especially as of last couple of years, for those who are dropping out.
Even being unemployed at the moment, whether USMS annual membership is $40 or $60 or free isn't much of an issue. It's a YEARLY fee. I, and I think most people can figure out how to save or find $50-$60 over the course of a year for things I really want, even with no job.
