Commentary On The Concept of A Professional Swimmers Association

Jan 16, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Swimmers dive in the men's 400 meter IM final during the 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series at Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Commentary by John Leonard, Executive Director for the American Swim Coaches Association on the advent of a Professional Swimmers Association

“Our Unity is Our Strength”

The concept of a Professional Swimmers Association is simple; Athlete ownership, Athlete reward, Athlete control of destiny. This is not rocket science. Its already been done…a proven concept…by the PGA of America, and the Association of Tennis Professionals.

It does involve some ideas that are not immediately obvious, unless you are a PGA or ATP member.

First among them, is that you financially DO BETTER individually, when you band TOGETHER.

One or two swimmers can “do OK” asking for appearance money, but 50 athletes, in one unit, can build a financial future based on their shared ownership of a series of events, that far exceeds anything that “a couple” or “a few” athletes can ever achieve by themselves. And working together, EVERYONE will earn more, from the highest paid swimming professionals to the newbies. My old Irish grandfather quoted the Irish proverb…”A Rising Tide Lifts All The Boats.”

OWNERSHIP BUILDS WEALTH…….any counselor of financial matters teaches that. Athletes with OWNERSHIP of their own group events, has a platform for competition that the media wants and will pay for. To achieve this, the world’s best swimmers must unite and work as a unit, as their fellow professionals in Golf and Tennis did decades ago.

The Olympics (and World Championships) need the elite swimmers of the world. Without you, they have nothing to sell. A GROUP of elite athletes wield all the power in the sport to create their own financial future with ownership of their own events. Once they have established these alternative events, that group (PSA) can explain to the organizations operating the two events above, under what conditions they will participate.

When the world’s best swimming professionals band together and agree to compete together, Great Money will flow to the cause. It’s TOGETHER that the group has value to the viewing public.

No single athlete worrying only about themselves, can ever achieve this. You can always be replaced. The strength of the athletes is in working together, in a business you all OWN, that runs its own events.

This creates the negotiating environment where you can match the world standard of the NBA, which mandates 49% of all revenue created by the league, end up in the athletes pockets. And the World Swimming Association wants to see that standard met by the Professional Swimmers Association. You’ve done the work in the pool. Now commit to doing an equal level of work to build a united financial future by organizing the PSA.

The initial PSA Tour is being put together now for 2018. During that months long tour of multiple events, we hope to help the professional athletes of the world form their own OWNED association, the PSA.

Please contact me with questions and comments. Your strength….is as a united front of elite swimmers…with ownership and 49% of all earned revenue coming to you.

All the Best,

John Leonard

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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