I just started back swimming about six months ago and about two months ago signed up for USMS because there was a Masters swim meet at my pool and I thought it would be a fun goal to eventually compete.
I am seriously thinking about signing up for my first swim meet (Colonial Zone SCY Championships) in April but I am afraid that 1)I will finish dead last in every event I do - I have gotten A LOT faster but I don't I am at race speed yet and 2)The people from my swim club might be irritated that I didn't scored well enough in my races to earn them any club points. I also don't think I will be doing any relays because I think I will hurt the team's chances in placing well. I don't know anyone else in the local swim club (VMST) I signed up for.
Right now, I think I want to do the 50 free, 50 back, and 100 back. Should I really wait to do my first swim meet or should I just do this first one for the experience? I don't want people to snicker at my times.
I swam my first meet last year and had a lot of the same worries. It had been over 25 years since my last meet when I was in Jr. High School. Back then, being last or slow or awkward would get an occasional snide comment but even as kids most teammates knew that not much good comes from picking on other teammates. From what I've seen so far teams are very welcoming and supportive. When I travel, I'll just show up at master's practices in different parts of the country and they allways take me in and find me a lane.
As suggested by Fortress, this is the perfect time to get used to the race conditions. There's nothing on the line here so get used to the racing atmosphere and how everything runs. Worry about your times next year. You will have a fresh set of "personal bests" to train to beat and hopefully a touch of the competition bug to keep you motivated. That and a bunch of new teammates.
One suggeston: If there aren't any time (or other) constraints, enter more events. Try everything out and see what you enjoy. Last year, I entered a lot of the shorter events but I also entered the 500 free and enjoyed it more than the sprints even though I was dead last in my heat. This year, everything I'm swimming is 200 yds and up (except *** stroke).
Good luck and have fun!
I swam my first meet last year and had a lot of the same worries. It had been over 25 years since my last meet when I was in Jr. High School. Back then, being last or slow or awkward would get an occasional snide comment but even as kids most teammates knew that not much good comes from picking on other teammates. From what I've seen so far teams are very welcoming and supportive. When I travel, I'll just show up at master's practices in different parts of the country and they allways take me in and find me a lane.
As suggested by Fortress, this is the perfect time to get used to the race conditions. There's nothing on the line here so get used to the racing atmosphere and how everything runs. Worry about your times next year. You will have a fresh set of "personal bests" to train to beat and hopefully a touch of the competition bug to keep you motivated. That and a bunch of new teammates.
One suggeston: If there aren't any time (or other) constraints, enter more events. Try everything out and see what you enjoy. Last year, I entered a lot of the shorter events but I also entered the 500 free and enjoyed it more than the sprints even though I was dead last in my heat. This year, everything I'm swimming is 200 yds and up (except *** stroke).
Good luck and have fun!
