Rec Swimming vs. USA Swimming

I was just attacked by someone who I thought was my friend regarding the different opinion I have from hers regarding rec vs USA Swimming.  She's deeply committed and involved in the largest rec team in my area. My daughter swam rec with this team for two years.   It was a great experience and her introduction to swimming.  Unfortunately, my daughter was frustrated by not having the opportunity to swim all of the events offered her age group at meets due to the size of her group.  She started  a USA swim team one fall and never looked back at rec again. She really liked and enjoyed the opportunities she had to swim 50's and 100's in all strokes that was her deciding factor.

This friend was furious with me. She felt that when I stated that a team of  396 swimmers f must pose challenges for all swimmers to get equal opportunity to swim all of the events.  Apparently, that opinion means that I'm saying they can never good swimmers, not at all.  I'm of the opinion that at 396 swimmers it is logistically challenging, if not impossible, to accommodate every swimmer being able to have the opportunity to swim each event they have interest in at each swim meet.  That's a large team, period.  You can't accommodate everyone at that size.  I wasn't disrespecting the coaches, the team, or the swimmers.  This team is one of the more competitive rec teams in our area.  They have a great reputation... they are just one of the LARGEST rec teams in the area.  That is a fact.

I tried to explain that USA swimming has it's advantages for swimmers depending on their goals.  If they like to swim all events and distances they have the opportunity to have more independence and be more self driven with regard to their stroke and event interests and goals.  Year round USA swimming is not for all swimmers, nor is rec.

In speaking with this individual I tried to explain to her that I've come in contact with many families from both rec and USA. Each family I've spoken with, including my experiences, have many common points regarding the two programs. The programs are apples and oranges.  Communities need both.

Below is a list of things that I have observed and/or experienced from both programs.

Rec Swimming:

1. Offers multi-sport swimmers the opportunity of a shortened condensed season freeing up their time for other sports. 
2. Tends to lend itself to being a much better starting point for beginning swimmers.
3. Although competitive, it offers a much more relaxed environment environment which seems to be perceived as being "much more fun" than USA Swimming.
4. The coach drives the events chosen for the swimmers at meets. 
5. With the exception of championships, meets are a competition amongst two teams.
6. There is limited exposure to other distances for each stroke, for example 200 back is not a distance available to rec swimmers, 200 medley and free relays are depending on the age group.
7. Swim meets are typically every Saturday from the beginning of season until the end. 

USA Swimming

1. Swimmers are responsible for choosing their own individual swim events at meet.  Direction from their coaches influences their events chosen, but swimmers tend to gravitate towards the events they are strong in.  For example my daughter loves back stroke.  She will sign up for the 50, 100,  and the 200 distances.  
2. With most USA teams there tends to be a minimum swim skill requirement that needs to be met by each swimmer.  
3. Swimming is all year (yes even in the winter).
4. Swim meets are against many swim teams, not just one.  
5. Offers a more competitive level of swimming depending on each swimmer's individual skill and goals.  
6. Offers a short course season 25 yards and a long course season 50 meter.
7. Swim meets are on the average monthly, depending on team meets chosen, and are typically Friday through Sunday with the exception of higher level qualifying meets which can run from Thursday through Sunday. 

I'm not saying one program is better than the other.  Nor am I saying that rec cannot produce good, or great, swimmers.  An individual is a great swimmer,  because they love what they do, have good coaching, and a strong desire to be their best.

In the end I walked away from that conversation.  It saddened me deeply that this friend, with only a single swim experience to pull from, other than probably high school, so harshly judges a program she has no experience with other than the disgruntled rec families who went from rec to USA, back to rec.  She is of the opinion that USA sucks the fun out of swimming, but yet each year a handful of rec swimmers will leave and go to USA and never look back and be quite happy to do so.