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Starting a Masters Swim Club
Updated 12/12/2001
- Visit nearby pools, particularly where there is adult or lap swimming,
to discern any interest in forming a Masters club.
- Post notices of
the intention to form a Masters swim club in pools, shopping malls, sports
facilities, community halls, or other appropriate places.
- Contact
various organizations such as Parks and Recreation, YM/YWCA, university and
community colleges, high schools, and community pools to ascertain pool
availability and cost.
- Contact triathlon organizations for
prospective members.
- Advertise in community newspapers. Many radio
and television stations will air public service announcements as a free
community service.
- Extol the benefits of Masters Swimming: fitness,
fun, friendship and participation.
- Ask other Masters swim clubs how
they got started. Invite some of their members to a meeting. Frequently, a
member of the Pacific Masters Swimming Committee would be pleased to address a
group to explain the benefits of Masters swimming and how to get
started.
- Form an executive from the interested people contacted and
choose a name for the swim club. Decide on membership fees, coach's
remuneration, and frequency, starting time and length of workouts. Set some
goals: to host a swim meet, publish a club newsletter, or hold social
activities. Decide what equipment you will need, e.g. pace clocks, kick
boards, pull buoys, hand paddles, stopwatches or lap counters. Major equipment
purchases may have to be delayed until sufficient funding is available or a
cost-sharing arrangement is worked out with pool management.
- Register your club and each individual swimmer with Southern Pacific Masters Swimming,
your Local Masters Swimming Committee swimming organization. The annual fee is
reasonable and includes several benefits including several from your national
Masters organization, United States Masters Swimming . If you are in Southern
California or Southern Nevada contact :
Southern Pacific Masters Swimming
For information about United States Masters Swimming in other parts of the United States you can call:
Julie Heather
957 N El Molino Ave
Pasadena, CA 91104
Office:United States Masters Swimming
Traci Grilli
261 High Range Road
Londonderry, NH 03053
Office: Fax:
All swimmers in USMS sanctioned swim meets must be registered with a Masters organization in order to compete and to gain official recognition of their times (in Southern Pacific Masters Swimming, nationally or internationally). However, keep in mind that the majority of Unites States Masters swimmers are non-competitive and there are benefits (like Swim Magazine) of registering as a Masters swimmer even if you choose to never compete.
10. To locate more information on your Local Masters Swim Committee, please refer to the USMS map of US and List of LMSC's.
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