North Carolina Year 2021 Registration Form
and On Line Registration Links

The easiest way to renew your registration or register as a new person with a team in North Carolina is to do it with USMS's secure online registration system.  The system requires a payment with a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover.  The terminology used for the North Carolina Masters Swimming Club's (NCMS) teams are called Workout Groups (see below for a more detailed discussion). There are also other clubs in NC independent of the NCMS Club

If you are renewing, just use your 5 digit permanent ID, which is the last 5 digits of your registration number, i.e., 135A-02222 where the 02222 is the permanent ID. You will have to verify your date of birth, and use the same name you used previously on your registration card, the system will prompt you and is simple to use.

When you register online, you will have the opportunity to print your registration card and option to have the NC registrar mail you one, there is no waiting to get your 2019 number and card if you print it yourself. Please consider printing your own card to save our LMSC the cost of envelopes and postage, thank you. Please make sure your email address is correct, you will receive a receipt for your registration as well as a welcome letter.

If you are already registered and need a copy of your registration card, you can print one if you have the Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your system, just go to the link and enter the proper information: USMS Website Print USMS Membership Card webpage.

If you need to change your email ID or mailing address, please go to the USMS Update Membership Information webpage and change your profile or send a note to the North Carolina registrar, email registrar@ncmasters.org

2021 Registration Season starts November 1st, 2020. The will be $60.

North Carolina Masters Swimming (NCMS) is always welcoming any transfers from another LMSC. You can also transfer from one NC Club to another NC Club.

Workout Groups and Clubs, what are my options to join

North Carolina is one of the many LMSC (Local Masters Swimming Committee) organizations in the US that has within its boundaries, one club which can be considered a "super club", that one big club is the North Carolina Masters Swimming (NCMS), which has many teams, or as USMS formally recognizes them - "workout groups".

These workout groups are the teams you are familiar with, such as SwimMAC, Raleigh Area Masters, Asheville Masters Swimming, SwimMAC, etc. (all of them are shown below). If you want more information about each of the teams and a contact point, view the Masters Swim Teams in North Carolina web page, there you will find links to each teams web page, contact name and phone number, and a direct link to registering with the team.

In North Carolina, when a swim meet is held, NCMS Club swimmers compete among themselves as teams of these "workout groups" and the meet is scored by "workout groups". Likewise if you belong to club other than NCMS, you compete for that club. NC also allows NCMS club swimmers to band together at an in-state meet as a NCMS team and form relays to see if a record can be broken for a relay. For any out of state and national level meets, everyone that is not registered as unattached or with another club in NC must compete as members of one club, NCMS, since "workout groups" are not formally recognized out of our state boundaries. In NC, there are many swimmers who belong to NCMS, and do not specify a "workout group", similar to being unattached but still having the ability to easily transfer to a "workout group" without charge or in a meet, join a relay team of other swimmers in the NCMS club. Registering as totally unattached will prohibit you from participating on a relay, as you must belong to a club to be a member of relay, and in NC, it is North Carolina Masters Swimming (NCMS).

Trial Memberships

U.S. Masters Swimming provides short-term guest memberships to prospective members who wish to “try out” a Masters swimming program, to participate in workouts or clinics only (NOT to swim in meets or open water race events) as long as the club or workout group will allow "try outs".
1) Tryout memberships are limited to one per lifetime regardless of club or workout group.
2) Tryout memberships are limited to 30 consecutive days in length.
3) Tryout memberships are for workouts or clinics only.
4) Tryout memberships cannot be used to participate in swim meets or open water race events.
5) A Tryout membership provides secondary personal accident coverage to the participant while participating in the USMS activity.
The try out form can be found at: https://www.usms.org/admin/lmschb/gto_reg_30daytryout_regform.pdf

Starting A New Masters Team in North Carolina

Our Local Masters Swimming Committee (LMSC for North Carolina) has a set of bylaws which require at least 5 swimmers to make a team, it is hoped that each new team can be significantly larger than that, but of course, you must start somewhere. If you feel that your team can start with 5 swimmers, then it is a good idea to begin the team building process. The LMSC for NC has a goal for 2015 of expanding our membership in the LMSC to 1600 swimmers, we reached 1568 in 2014, but your team can help make that goal.  

The structure of our organization is one big parent club, North Carolina Masters Swimming (NCMS) with multiple workout groups. You can read about our organization here. Starting a team can be made easier if you are affiliated with an age group team, where coaching is available to provide good work outs and instructions to new members.

The North Carolina registrar handles registration for each team's members in North Carolina in order to facilitate timely registration of each swimmer for both new registrations, transfers, and renewals. Swim Team renewal information is generally sent out early in October and each individual swimmer is sent a renewal email notice early in November.

USMS Membership runs from January 1 through December 31 of each year, but swimmers can renew or become new members for the following year in the months of November and December. As an example, a new swimmer registering on November 1st of 2018 is registered for the remainder of 2018 and all of 2019.

There is no proration of dues, however, a discounted registration for the current year is available only in the months of September and October. Someone registering in September and October online only pay the disounted fee, and paper registration forms list the correct end of year fees owed in September and October. For new teams, the best deal is to have members register in November.

Every new and renewing swimmer is encouraged to register online and pay via credit card, this way there is no delay of receiving membership and the swimmer can print their card for proof of membership. Regsitration is easy, swimmers link to the registration link for North Carolina choose the NCMS club, and select their workout group.

Just a reminder about the requirements for USMS swimming, where your pool may require that formal team practices be insured for secondary accident and liability coverage. The USMS requirement is that all members must hold current USMS membership, and that there be a coach on deck supervising the formal team work out must also be a USMS member. The coach must be a USMS member and may also be a USA Swimming Certified Coach. Also, USA Swimming youth members can swim with USMS members only if the coach on deck is a USA Certified Coach, and they are swimming in a different lane from the Masters Swimmers. For new people (age 18 or over) who want to try out with a team, they can only do so for a MAXIMUM of 30 days prior to registering, and only if they have not been previously registered in the past year and sign and mail in a waiver certificate to the USMS National Office. See requirements on http://www.ncmasters.org/regform.html for links.

If you decide to be an independent club, and not a workout group of NCMS, then your chosen abbreviation for your club must be verified to be available. You must also have your club registered prior to anyone being able to register with your club, this includes yearly renewals. It is highly recommended that to start out, you choose to be a workout group of North Carolina Masters Swimmers, which will allow your swimmers to participate in meets relays with other swimmers from North Carolina if your group cannot get enough people to form age group relays, the parent club concept allows this.

The rule book can be downloaded from the USMS website. There is a $45 yearly fee charge for forming a workout group in North Carolina. For 2019, the LMSC pays for the yearly renewal fee for clubs and workout groups that had a minimum of 3 swimmers in the previous registration year.

Thanks, and if there is anything the registrar can do once you have decided to form a USMS team, such as sending you an e-mail list of your members addresses and phone numbers, please e-mail me at registrar@ncmasters.org