I have seen on several of these discussion boards several swimmers and coaches questioning why there are so few master's swimmers out there. Here is just a few theories that could be the main cause.
1. Organization - I don't mean the Masters organization I mean the organization of the local clubs. Many of the masters clubs are very unorganized ( at least the 8 clubs that I have been on ), and younger swimmers see this before even leaving high school or college and thus are turned off to Masters before ever giving it a fair shot. Many of those that have never swam in a group setting or training setting don't witness this until its too late.
2. Coaching - Although no one is perfect Masters swimming seems to lack in the coaching area. This pulls away from those swimmers looking to keep there competitive spirit alive. Tri-athletes and others are not affected as much as it is more about the laps then the quality of workouts.
3. Consistency - Nothing is consistent unless its in the rule book and even then there are clubs that get around the rules by not seeking sanctioned meets. There is nothing wrong with non-master sanctioned events, for some its a turn off.
4. MARKETING - It seems that people who didn't grow up in the swimming world or tri-athlete world, have no clue about masters swimming. Granted the budget for high end marketing campaigns is not there and that is unfortunate.
A Resolution:
Seeing as swimming is not a highlight sport unless Phleps or Lochte, Coughlin, or some other super star is at the event, we as masters swimmers must take charge to grow the membership. We must promote the good, work to eliminate the negative, and market the organization as a whole.
We are not all a part of Master's swimming for the same reason. However if we all do not have the drive to promote the organization that we swim under, why in the world then do we donate our membership fees to it. The lack in Master's memberships is directly connected to the members themselves as they are the organization.
:blah:
Masters swimming grows at the local and regional level
team by team
person by person
friend by friend
workout by workout
event by event
Local programs need to offer attractive training opportunities that swimmers want to be part of
special Events have a way of making swimmers come out of the woodwork
Masters swimming grows at the local and regional level
team by team
person by person
friend by friend
workout by workout
event by event
Local programs need to offer attractive training opportunities that swimmers want to be part of
special Events have a way of making swimmers come out of the woodwork
