United States Masters Swimming
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Masters swimming is an organized program of swimming for adults. Members participate in a variety of ways ranging from lap swimming to international competition. The program is organized by the United States Masters Swimming (USMS) organization, which provides organized workouts, competitions, clinics and workshops for adults aged 18 and over. Programs are open to all adult swimmers (fitness, triathlete, competitive, non-competitive) who are dedicated to improving their fitness through swimming.
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[edit] USMS Corporation
Founded in 1970, the non-profit corporation is organized with 500 clubs in 53 regions throughout the United States. Membership numbers more than 42,000, with individual members ranging in age from 18 to over 100. Within the clubs, structured workouts, often with a coach, offer well-thought-out training assistance. Pool and open-water races provide opportunities to compete and measure individual progress at the local, state, national and international levels. USMS programs also offer stroke and technique clinics, workshops, and instruction, as well as social functions. All USMS programs are designed to help swimmers improve fitness and/or train for specific goals, and offer active support for a healthy lifestyle through friendship, and camaraderie.
[edit] Organization
The country is divided into smaller groups called Local Masters Swimming Committees (LMSC). LMSC's in turn are composed of smaller groups (clubs or teams and unaffiliated swimmers). As an individual, you may choose to join a team or club and enjoy the camaraderie and structure of the group or you may choose to remain unattached. Unattached swimmers enjoy all of the benefits of U.S. Masters Swimming membership, except they cannot compete on relays. An annual membership in USMS is obtained for a fee through Local Masters Swimming Committee and includes insurance benefits and USMS SWIMMER magazine. LMSCs have their own membership fees to cover their administrative and organizational expenses. In addition, clubs or teams may have their own membership fees to pay for pools, coaching, administrative, social and other costs.
[edit] Competition
About 30% of masters swimmers choose to compete in local, regional and national competitions on a regular basis. These are held in one of the following formats:
- short-course – swum in a 25-yard or 25-meter pool
- long-course – swum in a 50-meter pool
- open water – swum in a lake or ocean, often longer distances
In order to run competitions in a time-efficient way, event heats are arranged to group swimmers by seed time (entered time), which means that swimmers of different ages, but like abilities, compete against each other in heats. However, scoring and record keeping are done by age group in 5 year increments (except for the youngest group at 19-24), such as 25-29, 30-34, etc. up to 95 and over. Events include 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyle (400, 800 and 1500 in meters) 50, 100 and 200 backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly and 100, 200 and 400 individual medleys. There are also freestyle and medley relays for men, women and/or mixed teams. Open water swims are held in most locales during the summer and can range in distance from one to ten miles. Special events such as seeing how far you can swim in one hour are contested through the mail.
Typically, there are two seasons of competition: winter, which roughly follows the school year, and summer, which runs from May to August. Winter competitions are mostly held in short-course yards format, and summer competitions held in long-course meters format. USMS hosts two national championship meets a year. A short course (25 yard pool) championship is held in May and a long course (50 meter pool) championship is held in August. These four-day events rotate to different locations around the country.
International championships are conducted periodically by Masters swim organizations in countries throughout the world. While health and physical fitness are the biggest rewards, proficient competitors can garner a host of awards and recognition. World and U.S. records, Top Ten and All America rankings, All Star status and national champion are accomplishments recognized by USMS. Medals, ribbons and trophies are a part of many competitions and are awarded to all age groups.
