Quote Originally Posted by WildRaubtier View Post
^tl;dr : "dont ever go swimming, but if you do, never ever swim above an amateur level or you will DROWN"
Getting into the competitive game means taking part in tournaments, and you will run into high level competition there.

It's closer to "swimming at your local pool is a bit different from swimming at the Olympics. Make sure you enjoy it before you spend years training for it".