And I’ll add - it’s not about punishing. it’s about pools doing their share and stepping up. Particularly when they are the ones that are most affected by whether these meets are held at all (and usually the ones complaining the most). |
Traffic is no different at a pool that is on a major 4-lane road inside the beltway that serves as one of the main non-toll road options in and out of DC and is a major commuter route? Absurd statement. Also, things have changed a lot in this whole area in terms of density and traffic patterns since we were all kids. So you growing up near Overlee isn't all that relevant. |
All the complaining seems to be ABOUT them. The vast majority of people who are members at these pools and who live around these pools do not care at all about these meets or the swim team. Many can't even get in as members the wait list is so long. So cancel the meets. Maybe these events are just done and are from a bygone era. |
I appreciate Rutherford being willing to host and overall I thought they did a great job. However, as someone stated the CoC was disorganized and the beginning of the meet moved very slowly. I think if they had been a bit more organized, more events could have been swam before the weather came through. Some of the kids had no idea where to go. The lack of cell phone coverage was very problematic when the meet was paused for the weather. As a team rep, it hard making sure my team was all accounted for. I couldn't even send a text to update everyone on the status of the meet. It was also challenging getting the tents that were dropped off at noon safely to vehicles that, in most cases, were parked almost a mile away. I don't know what the answer is, but these big NVSL meets seem very challenging to hold from a logistical standpoint. |
https://www.arlnow.com/2022/05/20/just-in-kid-on-bike-struck-on-langston-blvd/ This was a kid on the Overlee swim team. People FLY down Langston Blvd and there are a lot of blind spots. It is honestly terrifying. |
Not according to lots of coaches (from multiple teams) |
My parents still live there and I’m in the area frequently. Do I get to be relevant now? Accidents happen, traffic sucks, there are a million reason hamlet, orange hunt, Rutherford and pinecrest could have come up with to not host. Kudos to them all for stepping up. |
Residents should never complain. A pool keeps their neighborhood desirable.
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The neighborhood around Rutherford had wide streets, houses spread out from one another, big driveways, and two car garages. This is not the norm around Overlee (or any/most of the pools in Arlington, for that matter). Completely different circumstances for a mass traffic/parking situation. |
Overall the set-up at Rutherford was fine. The team areas were great. They should have had more bleachers inside, but otherwise the space inside the fences was good. Hosting this meet is a huge undertaking and overall Rutherford did a great job.
The major issues were unavoidable by Rutherford as the host, but the NVSL made it seem like this was the first time they had hosted a big meet like this. *There was no plan for how they'd communicate with Team Reps in the event of a weather delay. *The coaches and reps couldn't see any of the times during the meet, bc they prioritized having times on the live feed instead of visible at the meet. Only the announcer and some spectators could see them. *The worst part was they cancelled the meet less than an hour after they delayed it, when radar showed that it would be sunny skies in less than 15 minutes. And it was! With a beautiful rainbow. Other years the meet has resumed 2 hours later. It's a real disappointment for all of the relays that were left to swim. |
It continued to thunder and lightning when the rain stopped until at least 10 pm in the Rutherford / Fairfax area. Meet could not have been resumed.
Rutherford did an amazing job hosting and their volunteers were awesome!! Thank you! |
When there's no will, there's no way.
If their kids couldn't swim in the meet without hosting, a D pool would figure it out. |
That's not true. The radar showed it was one cell of weather that would come through, which is what occurred, and it was sunny skies and rainbows by 8:00 in that area. Other pools nearby to Rutherford reopened to patrons between 8:00-8:15. Team Reps were on pool grounds cleaning up team areas with no thunder or lightning by 8:00. The NVSL called it way too early - the meet should have resumed. |
I thought the rotating event bleachers worked great and I was worried going in as I'd read a bunch of horror stories on here about not being able to get into those because of squatters. Was this better managed than in years past? |
The league should have warned everyone about the lack of cell service. I was there for the Sunday orientation and while spotty, I didn’t realize the surrounding area was a full blackout. I could usually get a text out on the deck itself but no chance on the field or in a lot of the surrounding areas. If we had known, we would have brought backup walkie-talkies. |