Summer League Swim 2021

[Anonymous]

Kids outside don’t need to stay six feet apart from each other. How absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NVSL team reps and division coordinators are receiving an email if they haven’t already today.

And that email says.....?

The main part:


Happy 2021 to our NVSL teams, families and sponsors. Many of you have reached out to us over the past several weeks to ask about the status of the upcoming season. We are moving forward with plans for a season. The board is meeting regularly, the seeding committee is hard at work, and we will welcome our team reps to the annual seeding meeting on March 14th.



This is a fluid situation and we are closely monitoring the state and local health guidelines that govern youth sports. These guidelines will help us determine the type of season we are able to have. Our newly formed Return to Competition committee, which is made up of team reps, coaches, division coordinators and board members, will meet regularly throughout the spring to determine how we can hold meets safely this summer. We ask for your patience while we work on the details. We will share more information about the season in the weeks ahead and as guidelines change and decisions are made.

This is promising!!!

I really hope the VDH doesn’t come out with some crazy guidelines again or someone is willing to be more specific about outdoor pool use.

Yes, let’s hope. It was crazy that the VDH lumped indoor and outdoor pools under the same rules last spring/summer. They really wrote the guidance for places like gyms and rec centers. Through phase 2 even family members were supposed to maintain at least 10’ in the water and pool use was restricted to guided instruction or exercise.

Those VDH phase 3 guidelines are still in effect. If you want to see a change, don't count on VDH doing the right thing- write to your state delegate. Keep up the pressure.

While I agree that thoughtful advocacy is indeed important, I also feel we're in a vastly different place now than last spring/summer on all accounts for COVID and VDH has a lot more (valid) data and information to use in their guidance.

I'm personally very very hopeful for a swim season this summer as VA public HS sports are ongoing now and without any major issues to my knowledge. Basketball and wrestling just ended, swim might be finalizing too (I don't track HS swim) and football games in the NoVA area start tomorrow 2/22. Every indication and trend would indicate a much more viable path for a swim season.

I agree that we have a lot more valid data and information to use in their guidance. After listening to all the VDH calls on swimming pools last summer, and listening to the lady who wrote the rules talk- I am less optimistic that we will have a good swim season with out a lot of lobbying. I was very disappointed out how susceptible to commercial lobbying VDH was and how non-sensical the restrictions were. e.g. okay for commercial swim instructors to be holding a child in the water, but not okay for a parent to interact with their own child in Phase 2. Spacing outdoor tables 10 feet apart b/c of 'recovering form exercise.' She just didn't have any concept of what a northern virginia community pool was like, nor any interest in being accommodating. diving boards were okay in Phase 2, but waterslides were COVID dangerous until September- I could go on with the inanity of the rules...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NVSL team reps and division coordinators are receiving an email if they haven’t already today.

And that email says.....?

The main part:


Happy 2021 to our NVSL teams, families and sponsors. Many of you have reached out to us over the past several weeks to ask about the status of the upcoming season. We are moving forward with plans for a season. The board is meeting regularly, the seeding committee is hard at work, and we will welcome our team reps to the annual seeding meeting on March 14th.



This is a fluid situation and we are closely monitoring the state and local health guidelines that govern youth sports. These guidelines will help us determine the type of season we are able to have. Our newly formed Return to Competition committee, which is made up of team reps, coaches, division coordinators and board members, will meet regularly throughout the spring to determine how we can hold meets safely this summer. We ask for your patience while we work on the details. We will share more information about the season in the weeks ahead and as guidelines change and decisions are made.

This is promising!!!

I really hope the VDH doesn’t come out with some crazy guidelines again or someone is willing to be more specific about outdoor pool use.

Yes, let’s hope. It was crazy that the VDH lumped indoor and outdoor pools under the same rules last spring/summer. They really wrote the guidance for places like gyms and rec centers. Through phase 2 even family members were supposed to maintain at least 10’ in the water and pool use was restricted to guided instruction or exercise.

Those VDH phase 3 guidelines are still in effect. If you want to see a change, don't count on VDH doing the right thing- write to your state delegate. Keep up the pressure.

While I agree that thoughtful advocacy is indeed important, I also feel we're in a vastly different place now than last spring/summer on all accounts for COVID and VDH has a lot more (valid) data and information to use in their guidance.

I'm personally very very hopeful for a swim season this summer as VA public HS sports are ongoing now and without any major issues to my knowledge. Basketball and wrestling just ended, swim might be finalizing too (I don't track HS swim) and football games in the NoVA area start tomorrow 2/22. Every indication and trend would indicate a much more viable path for a swim season.

I agree that we have a lot more valid data and information to use in their guidance. After listening to all the VDH calls on swimming pools last summer, and listening to the lady who wrote the rules talk- I am less optimistic that we will have a good swim season with out a lot of lobbying. I was very disappointed out how susceptible to commercial lobbying VDH was and how non-sensical the restrictions were. e.g. okay for commercial swim instructors to be holding a child in the water, but not okay for a parent to interact with their own child in Phase 2. Spacing outdoor tables 10 feet apart b/c of 'recovering form exercise.' She just didn't have any concept of what a northern virginia community pool was like, nor any interest in being accommodating. diving boards were okay in Phase 2, but waterslides were COVID dangerous until September- I could go on with the inanity of the rules...

Don’t ya know. Covid might rub off your ass onto the slide. Very dangerous!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids outside don’t need to stay six feet apart from each other. How absurd.

-1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids outside don’t need to stay six feet apart from each other. How absurd.

-1

Haha tell FCPS that with outdoor recess. But I except people to want these same rules this summer too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids outside don’t need to stay six feet apart from each other. How absurd.

Yes, they do. You may have given up on safety, but that's why many of us are concerned because of families like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids a lifeguard. She does not need to be vaccinated. That’s hilarious. You all realize these kids hung out together all summer last year OUTSIDE the pool gates? I think they are good to lifeguard the same this year. It was ridiculous that any of us had to wear masks outside while at the pool.

That is a pretty bad brag about your child and your parenting skills. And, this is why covid is as bad as it is and why swimming is limited. Thanks!

I’m the only parent allowing my kid to play with neighbor kids last summer? Even without masks?

We didn’t use the pool last summer recreationally because your lifeguard kid (and other lifeguard kids) failed to enforce the rules. Those are the same rules we, as a family, instituted outside the pool gates.

Our pool made it clear to the families that the teenage lifeguards were not responsible for enforcing social distancing. They made it clear that as adults we were responsible for ours and our children’s behavior, and honestly with all the ridiculous incidents of people physically assaulting those trying to enforce mask/distancing requirements, I thought this made sense. The guards jobs were to keep an eye on the people in the water, not to make sure people out of the pool were masked, distanced, etc. People abided by the mask requirements on the pool deck and the kids abided by the mask requirement out of the water. There were no Covid issues at our pool over the summer.

+1 for our pool. This makes sense. Lifeguards are there to prevent drowning. Parents should be policing their own children. If they pool makes you uncomfortable don't go!

That only works with responsible parents. Many drop their young kids and tweens off at the pool for hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids outside don’t need to stay six feet apart from each other. How absurd.

-1

Haha tell FCPS that with outdoor recess. But I except people to want these same rules this summer too.

Pool were already ignoring these rules last summer. I doubt they even do much pretending this summer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids a lifeguard. She does not need to be vaccinated. That’s hilarious. You all realize these kids hung out together all summer last year OUTSIDE the pool gates? I think they are good to lifeguard the same this year. It was ridiculous that any of us had to wear masks outside while at the pool.

That is a pretty bad brag about your child and your parenting skills. And, this is why covid is as bad as it is and why swimming is limited. Thanks!

I’m the only parent allowing my kid to play with neighbor kids last summer? Even without masks?

We didn’t use the pool last summer recreationally because your lifeguard kid (and other lifeguard kids) failed to enforce the rules. Those are the same rules we, as a family, instituted outside the pool gates.

Our pool made it clear to the families that the teenage lifeguards were not responsible for enforcing social distancing. They made it clear that as adults we were responsible for ours and our children’s behavior, and honestly with all the ridiculous incidents of people physically assaulting those trying to enforce mask/distancing requirements, I thought this made sense. The guards jobs were to keep an eye on the people in the water, not to make sure people out of the pool were masked, distanced, etc. People abided by the mask requirements on the pool deck and the kids abided by the mask requirement out of the water. There were no Covid issues at our pool over the summer.

+1 for our pool. This makes sense. Lifeguards are there to prevent drowning. Parents should be policing their own children. If they pool makes you uncomfortable don't go!

Eh- they are there for a lot more reasons than that: test water, empty trash and recycling, collect forgotten items, check people in, collect fees for guests, sell items, first aid, stock bathrooms, provide menus to delivery places, offer phones to call parents, etc. They do a lot of things - and while watching the eater is a main duty, it is by no means the only main duty. Enforcing rules (paying for guests, not running, no pushing, etc) is definitely in their job description and it should include telling groups of kids to break it up during a pandemic when the whole pool could be down.

Yes those are jobs that lifeguards have but none of them involve making these teenage guards the social distancing/mask police when there have been numerous instances of people being threatened and physically assaulted for attempting to enforce those things. Do I think people would have threatened/assaulted the guards at my pool, no I don’t, but would there have been some grumbling about trying to keep the kids apart in the water or from playing together masked mduring the 15 minute breaks, absolutely, and a 16 year old lifeguard shouldn’t be responsible for that. I completely understand why the guard companies did not want pools making the guards responsible for masking and social distancing. Our pool had some morning hours reserved for people who just wanted to lap swim/not deal with the kids issue. It seemed most people that used our pool in the afternoons/evenings last summer had a comfort level with kids being around each other outside masked and/or in chlorinated water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids outside don’t need to stay six feet apart from each other. How absurd.

-1

Haha tell FCPS that with outdoor recess. But I except people to want these same rules this summer too.

Pool were already ignoring these rules last summer. I doubt they even do much pretending this summer

Not at our pool. Everyone wore mask upon entering and exiting. But we didn’t need it walking from pool to table and back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids outside don’t need to stay six feet apart from each other. How absurd.

Yes, they do. You may have given up on safety, but that's why many of us are concerned because of families like you.

Yes, please show us the data on outdoor transmission of covid between kids at outdoor pools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids outside don’t need to stay six feet apart from each other. How absurd.

Yes, they do. You may have given up on safety, but that's why many of us are concerned because of families like you.

Yes, please show us the data on outdoor transmission of covid between kids at outdoor pools.

Right, let’s just pretend no swim kid has had Covid for a hyper competitive parent who has to put their wishes over others health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids outside don’t need to stay six feet apart from each other. How absurd.

-1

Haha tell FCPS that with outdoor recess. But I except people to want these same rules this summer too.

Pool were already ignoring these rules last summer. I doubt they even do much pretending this summer

Not at our pool. Everyone wore mask upon entering and exiting. But we didn’t need it walking from pool to table and back.

It seemed to vary. I am on the board for a smaller swim/tennis club. We opened at the end of May for lap swim and progressed with well thought out, organized plans under each VA phase. At the end of the summer in Phase 3 we still had reserved tables and pool sections. Each family reserved a numbered pool section and corresponding numbered table. One family at a time could use the baby pool. Counting the baby pool I think we had 11 reservable sections. VA said clubs could have up to 75% of capacity if families could keep 10' distance. We knew we couldn't do that and didn't expand beyond the number of section reservations each 1.5 hour which at most would have put us at about 25% of capacity if a family of 4 reserved each spot.

We didn't experience any big issues with people not following rules, but it's a small pool where a lot of people know each other and board members are often around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids outside don’t need to stay six feet apart from each other. How absurd.

Yes, they do. You may have given up on safety, but that's why many of us are concerned because of families like you.

Yes, please show us the data on outdoor transmission of covid between kids at outdoor pools.

Right, let’s just pretend no swim kid has had Covid for a hyper competitive parent who has to put their wishes over others health.

What about PPs comment made you think they were hyper competitive? Pools weren’t open only for swim families last summer. Come on, we’ve all learned enough by now to know that outdoor transmission is much more difficult than indoor, and add some chlorinated water to that mix and it’s not an environment that seems conducive to spreading Covid. There is no data suggesting outdoor pools were the source of spread last summer. The pool, for those comfortable enough to go last summer, was a much needed outlet for many kids that was relatively low risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids outside don’t need to stay six feet apart from each other. How absurd.

Yes, they do. You may have given up on safety, but that's why many of us are concerned because of families like you.

Yes, please show us the data on outdoor transmission of covid between kids at outdoor pools.

Right, let’s just pretend no swim kid has had Covid for a hyper competitive parent who has to put their wishes over others health.

What about PPs comment made you think they were hyper competitive? Pools weren’t open only for swim families last summer. Come on, we’ve all learned enough by now to know that outdoor transmission is much more difficult than indoor, and add some chlorinated water to that mix and it’s not an environment that seems conducive to spreading Covid. There is no data suggesting outdoor pools were the source of spread last summer. The pool, for those comfortable enough to go last summer, was a much needed outlet for many kids that was relatively low risk.

+!