Club Assistant News

Employee Karin Wegner featured in Jan/Feb 2011 edition of USMS Swimmer Magazine, read the original article below:
"Changing Clubs in USMS"

I love that USMS allows members to join clubs all over the country, with no restrictions on where we live. Thanks to Masters swimming in USMS and the YMCA, I have friends all over the country. I registered in 2008 as a member of a New Jersey club full of teammates that I adored, but I was only able to train with them a handful of times because the pool was a far drive from my home. In 2010 I registered for a club in Indiana that I never once trained with; I chose them because the coaches are some of my favorite people in the world, and their team has a spirit I enjoy. For me, claiming membership to one club or another is mainly for the fun at swim meets, and for swimming on relays, but the quieter reason is to feel proud of the group with which I am affiliated. Right now, I represent the club formed by my employer. My clubmates live in different states and rarely compete, but still I find a nice solidarity in representing an organization I care very much about.

I think everyone in USMS should register at least once with a college or high school reunion team. Get together with your old schoolmates, form a new club (if there isn't one already), register, and compete together for the most fun you've had in years. There are a couple of relays at nationals every year made up of guys who used to swim together and break records in college. They don't train together anymore, and they live far from each other now, but they join the same club to bring back the joy of the old days.

Joining a "superclub" or regional club like Oregon or New England should be an experience every swimmer in USMS has. If you've never competed at nationals with a powerhouse that scores a ton of points due to sheer numbers of bodies in the water, then you should join them just for the thrill. Your group feels like a whole country at world champs, and that is pretty cool.

When the thrill wears off from your "superclub" experience, form a club made up of only you. Register your club some place interesting that you'd like to visit, like Alaska or Hawaii. Go to meets and see how often you don't come in last place for team points. It will be more often than you expect. The pride will overwhelm you. You will challenge yourself more and more to climb the ladder and beat teams larger than yours.

With a small tour of the nation completed, go home and join a club in the place where you live. Swim with people you see at the supermarket. Tell them about your national tour. Get them excited to go to the next meet with you. Spread the joy that comes from experiencing USMS at all levels. USMS is an organization about people, not about geography. I love the freedom to join terrific groups of people regardless of their geography or mine.

Karin's Bio
Karin Wegner is a dedicated Masters swimmer since 2005. She travels often for business and for swim meets, making sure to attend as many YMCA Nationals and USMS Nationals as possible. Karin currently resides in Las Vegas with her husband and two young children.

Wednesday September 1 - Saturday September 4, 2010 Club Assistant was at ASCA in Indianapolis.

Wednesday September 15 - Saturday September 18, 2010 Club Assistant was at USAS in Dallas.

Watch Skyline Masters' video April 20, 2010

Watch President Dan Wegner's interview with Brent Rutemiller of Swimming World

September 26, 2007 ClubAssistant hired by United States Masters Swimming for Online Registration