Summer LCM Options & swimming unattached

[Anonymous]

Our current club just released its summer meet schedule, and unfortunately, it’s not ideal. Both June meets are scheduled for Saturday mornings, directly conflicting with NVSL meets and time trials.

My child has already earned cuts for PVS Summer Champs, but we’re hoping to find additional opportunities to improve seed times and potentially qualify in some distance events. I noticed several meets listed on the PVS schedule, including a few with Friday/Sunday options. Does anyone know of clubs that frequently participate in these more flexible meet formats, rather than sticking strictly to Saturday/Sunday schedules?

Additionally, are any clubs more accommodating of NVSL conflicts and offer schedules that better align with summer league swimmers? I’m particularly interested in any late-May meet options. Do these clubs allow for summer-only registrations?

Lastly, how difficult is it to compete in LCM meets as an unattached swimmer? Is it straightforward to register independently, or would I need specific software to do so?

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Oh Boy. Lot to unpack here.

So generally during LC season, the Saturday portion of all meets are in the afternoon. So after Saturday morning meets. LC for the most part works around summer season. So have you actually looked at the times? (check out last year's if the meet announcement is not posted)

The FISH meet might be when some kids have Time Trials. Talk to your team rep. If your kid is fast they can use last years time or they swim in the B meet to get some times.

But that is the only meet, so not sure what you are talking about.

If by some weird reason the meet is actually on Saturday morning (doubtful) -most clubs are not taking a kid for just the summer and there generally are not a lot of meets for LC season. You would have to switch clubs, and some might not take you till the fall.

As for being unattached, you will still needs a USA Swimming certified coach to be on deck with your swimmer. You can't just sign up and swim in meets. And you need the meet director to approve the situation.

Also your current club could get very angry at you for this and drop you. Because honestly it is sounding like you are being a bit on the extreme side. Part of swim is your swimming working with the schedule and trusting the process.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, the FISH meet is the same weekend (including Saturday) as time trials, which matters A LOT for those of us with swimmers on big teams or in competitive divisions, and make-up time trials is really not ideal. So, yes, that meet definitely conflicts.

The full meet schedule is available on the PVS site:
https://www.pvswim.org/schedule.html

You’ll see a lot of meets last weekend and this weekend (4/27-29 and 5/2-4). And, as the PP said, most of the meets do not have any sessions (other than distance) on Saturdays except that FISH meet. (I wish FISH would flip the younger kids and older kids so the younger kids could attend the meet after time trials. In my experience, older kids are fine missing time trials.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Our current club just released its summer meet schedule, and unfortunately, it’s not ideal. Both June meets are scheduled for Saturday mornings, directly conflicting with NVSL meets and time trials.

My child has already earned cuts for PVS Summer Champs, but we’re hoping to find additional opportunities to improve seed times and potentially qualify in some distance events. I noticed several meets listed on the PVS schedule, including a few with Friday/Sunday options. Does anyone know of clubs that frequently participate in these more flexible meet formats, rather than sticking strictly to Saturday/Sunday schedules?

Additionally, are any clubs more accommodating of NVSL conflicts and offer schedules that better align with summer league swimmers? I’m particularly interested in any late-May meet options. Do these clubs allow for summer-only registrations?

Lastly, how difficult is it to compete in LCM meets as an unattached swimmer? Is it straightforward to register independently, or would I need specific software to do so?

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

I would be honest with your coach. Show what events the child wants to swim that conflict with summer swim, and simply ask if there might be a way for your child to swim those events at another meet. My child was sick during a meet last year, but was projected to have some success in LC season, so our coach (we are at an NCAP site) arranged for my child to attend a meet that only the older swimmers on our team typically attended (it had sessions for 12U swimmers, but our team did not bring its 12U swimmers to this meet).

[Anonymous]

Other than the Fish meet, I don’t know that the other June PVS meets conflict. We attended Summer Solstice last year and the Saturday was afternoon distance. The Machine meet in June already has put its meet invite out and Saturday is afternoon distance. NCAP Elite is now at the end of June but the meet invite hasn’t come out yet. I did note they have added a day (it used to be Friday-Sunday and this year it is Thursday-Sunday) and am assuming that’s because they are just doing distance on Saturday afternoon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, the FISH meet is the same weekend (including Saturday) as time trials, which matters A LOT for those of us with swimmers on big teams or in competitive divisions, and make-up time trials is really not ideal. So, yes, that meet definitely conflicts.

The full meet schedule is available on the PVS site:
https://www.pvswim.org/schedule.html

You’ll see a lot of meets last weekend and this weekend (4/27-29 and 5/2-4). And, as the PP said, most of the meets do not have any sessions (other than distance) on Saturdays except that FISH meet. (I wish FISH would flip the younger kids and older kids so the younger kids could attend the meet after time trials. In my experience, older kids are fine missing time trials.)

I like this suggestion, Fish should flip the events . Even Better why not have the younger kids go on Friday for distance ?

[Anonymous]

Our FISH could be like all the other clubs and NOT schedule a meet during time trials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our FISH could be like all the other clubs and NOT schedule a meet during time trials.

Or our club doesn’t participate because of the conflict and picks other meets with more options

[Anonymous]

Anyone from Fish on here? Can you ask the club to move younger kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone from Fish on here? Can you ask the club to move younger kids

Echo this Friday for young ones preferred for distance.

[Anonymous]

It’s possible FISH can’t get the St James on Friday, but flipping the 13&O with 12&U (or 10&U) would solve the problem. Of course, it will become over-subscribed if they do that.

[Anonymous]

Or you just accept that this one meet is going to force you to choose between time trials and club. It’s kind of crazy to have your young kid swim time trials in a SCM pool and then ferry them over to a LCM meet a few hours later. Let’s be real, that’s not a set up for success in the club meet so why bother? That’s a double, if needed, best left to the older kids. Not everything revolves around you, life involves choices, not a bad lesson for your kid to learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s possible FISH can’t get the St James on Friday, but flipping the 13&O with 12&U (or 10&U) would solve the problem. Of course, it will become over-subscribed if they do that.

I disagree with this. It is more important for 13&O to make this meet than 12&U or 10&U. It is LC and really it does not matter if a 12&U is even swimming LC. But, it does very much matter to the 13&O who are trying to make futures cut and swim in college.

LC should be something fun to try. Too many parents around here are nuts. Your kid is 12 and it is one meet, who cares. They might quit swimming at 16, then what? Wow, they want better cut times for champs and they are 11, why? Seriously. I now know what coaches just roll their eyes at families around here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s possible FISH can’t get the St James on Friday, but flipping the 13&O with 12&U (or 10&U) would solve the problem. Of course, it will become over-subscribed if they do that.

I disagree with this. It is more important for 13&O to make this meet than 12&U or 10&U. It is LC and really it does not matter if a 12&U is even swimming LC. But, it does very much matter to the 13&O who are trying to make futures cut and swim in college.

LC should be something fun to try. Too many parents around here are nuts. Your kid is 12 and it is one meet, who cares. They might quit swimming at 16, then what? Wow, they want better cut times for champs and they are 11, why? Seriously. I now know what coaches just roll their eyes at families around here.

If these 12&U are still swimming (because somehow their parents did not burn them out) they will be complaining if their 13&O can't swim because of Time Trial conflicts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s possible FISH can’t get the St James on Friday, but flipping the 13&O with 12&U (or 10&U) would solve the problem. Of course, it will become over-subscribed if they do that.

I disagree with this. It is more important for 13&O to make this meet than 12&U or 10&U. It is LC and really it does not matter if a 12&U is even swimming LC. But, it does very much matter to the 13&O who are trying to make futures cut and swim in college.

LC should be something fun to try. Too many parents around here are nuts. Your kid is 12 and it is one meet, who cares. They might quit swimming at 16, then what? Wow, they want better cut times for champs and they are 11, why? Seriously. I now know what coaches just roll their eyes at families around here.

+1. I don't have a swimmer in this meet, but agree that's more important for 13&Over (especially 15 & over) to make this meet. The LC scheduled is brutal in terms of how compressed it is and challenging, when you factor in the fact that different clubs have different LC practice availabilities.