Do winter swim kids dominate summer swim?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Someone might have made this point already, but sometimes non club swimmers do quite well in summer swim because summer swim focuses on sprinting. A club swimmer who focuses on distances will not necessarily beat an athletic non-swimmer in a 25 or a 50. So don’t assume that your kid does not have a chance. And swimming is always about swimming against your previous times. There is always a faster swimmer somewhere.

This is how you equalize summer swim - with sprints. Club swimmers excel usually at distances. A summer sprint is so unforgiving and just requires a swimmer to swim all out.

The club swimmer should have better dives and turns. It's much easier to go all out if you are only above the surface for 30 of the 50

Yes, this is where the club swimmers have an advantage that is hard to make up. The summer only swimmers might be super athletic but their starts, turns and strokes are more sloppy because they haven't spent nearly as much time practicing and refining these skills. Some of the summer-only swimmers could be better than the year rounders if they did work on these things, but they have other priorities. In the long run the swimmer who spends more time in the pool will generally be faster at more events than the athletic summer only swimmer, especially in the older age groups.

Summer swim meets are all about the turns. You can definitely tell the year round swimmers from the summer swimmer by their turns. And when swimming 50s races are won and lost on the turns.

All that said. Pools have varying degrees of competitiveness. Higher division pools have a larger proportion of kids who swim year round. We are a mid division pool and while we have kids in every age group who swim year round we also have a lot of summer only swimmers who still make A meets.

I do think it is hard for a non-year round kid to transition from a lower division pool where they likely swim as every A meet to a high div pool where they never make an A meet. Sure B meets are fun, but not nearly the same experience as A meets. Hopefully the other aspects of swim team make it fun for all kids regardless of their level. Our pool has a lot of team events and one day a week that is a fun day for the entire team with no practice.

I see a lot of stuff about the fun of B meets on this thread, but that isn't universal. Our pool is larger and a much higher division than our neighboring pools. That means that most other pools aren't capable of hosting B meets with us and that parents from other pools know they will be spending a lot of time just watching our kids swim even when we limit the number of strokes our swimmers can do. We're lucky to get 5 b meets a year and usually end up hosting 4 of those 5.

5 is pretty standard. I think we only have 4 and an inter squad meet.

B meets are really not that much fun. Sure kids enjoy hanging out with their friends, but the meet itself is painfully long. I think people who claim b-meets are super fun have never been to an A meet The only B meet I do genuinely enjoy is our B meet relay event because everyone dresses up.

Looking at it, I guess it is. The A meet schedule just seems so much longer when you include divisional relays, all start relays, divisionals, and all stars. Most A meet swimmers won't make all of them, but I think the best kids in every age group at our pool make 3 out of the 4.

MCSL has a B relay carnival and very few A swimmers qualify for the all star meets. The only real extension is a single divisional meet. There’s not really anything comparable for B meet swimmers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
5 is pretty standard. I think we only have 4 and an inter squad meet.

B meets are really not that much fun. Sure kids enjoy hanging out with their friends, but the meet itself is painfully long. I think people who claim b-meets are super fun have never been to an A meet The only B meet I do genuinely enjoy is our B meet relay event because everyone dresses up.

As a parent I detest B meets because they take forever and our pool doesn’t divide up volunteer hours so that you can just work half the meet. There is nothing worse in summer swim than spending 4-5 hours timing a B meet. However, my kid loved it, they ate a ton of ice cream and sugar and hung out on a summer night with their friends. Her friends that are strictly summer swimmers could have cared less about the concept of A meets.

Can you talk to your team reps about dividing volunteer roles? We have a very large team, over 200 swimmers, and our B meet jobs are all split 1st half and 2nd half except for the ref. We have many families whose kids just do Free and Back and then leave. Families whose kids do Breast or Fly volunteer often for the second half. My kids love B meets hanging out for hours with their friends in the team area. It would feel very long and boring if I didn't volunteer, so I always volunteer for one half and then socialize with my own friends during the other half.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:On the whole the number of days you swim depends on several factors. MOST kids should swim two days a week (or less) until age 10. This is when you move up to three days a week and in some clubs four days.

Most reputable clubs will not allow a kid under the age of 13 to swim more than that. Yes, some kids want to but they would be better served by cross training the other days. The reason for this is overuse injuries. There is a strong correlation of early intense training and shoulder injuries with swimmers.

You will see certain clubs push kids into more training way to early. Clubs that benefit significantly on the days in the water you are signed up for - push too early. Besides injuries there is more chance of burnout.

Swimming should be considered a life long sport with intense training starting in high school.

This is NOT true.

You’re claiming your 9 year old made a sectionals cut?

Fwiw, the “reputable” clubs in the area absolutely push the faster kids into 5 practices a week at 11/12. Either 6th or 7th grade, and sometimes late 5th. I can’t think of one club that has kids compete at JOs who doesn’t do this.

York doesn't have a single practice group for kids under 13 that is five days a week. This year, the most you could swim is 3 days a week under 13. Next year they are adding 1 4 day a week practice gropu for 11-14 year olds. https://www.teamunify.com/RegGroupSelectOne.jsp?showonly=1®id=80262

York is a good club. Look at Marlins, Machine ans NCAP as clubs who don’t care about kid well being. They have ten year olds practicing six days a week.

Not true for Marlins. Max for 10 is 4 days/wk. My 10 year old does 2 and no one pressures for more.

I know a Marlin that has been doing 6 days a week starting at nine. She improved tremendously with the extra practices (JOs, Sectionals) but she also is probably going to look at some injuries and damaged shoulders in the next few years.

You don't. This is a lie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
5 is pretty standard. I think we only have 4 and an inter squad meet.

B meets are really not that much fun. Sure kids enjoy hanging out with their friends, but the meet itself is painfully long. I think people who claim b-meets are super fun have never been to an A meet The only B meet I do genuinely enjoy is our B meet relay event because everyone dresses up.

As a parent I detest B meets because they take forever and our pool doesn’t divide up volunteer hours so that you can just work half the meet. There is nothing worse in summer swim than spending 4-5 hours timing a B meet. However, my kid loved it, they ate a ton of ice cream and sugar and hung out on a summer night with their friends. Her friends that are strictly summer swimmers could have cared less about the concept of A meets.

Can you talk to your team reps about dividing volunteer roles? We have a very large team, over 200 swimmers, and our B meet jobs are all split 1st half and 2nd half except for the ref. We have many families whose kids just do Free and Back and then leave. Families whose kids do Breast or Fly volunteer often for the second half. My kids love B meets hanging out for hours with their friends in the team area. It would feel very long and boring if I didn't volunteer, so I always volunteer for one half and then socialize with my own friends during the other half.

I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to be that parent and I really don’t mind volunteering, I get that it is part of summer swim. Our team is also quite large, I’d say maybe just under 200 kids, and the volunteer requirements are just excessive given the number of kids/families that participate. To meet the requirement you have to volunteer for 4 meets a summer without splitting the meet in half. With that many kids/families, there is no need for people to be required to volunteer at every meet except 1, but that’s the way it’s always been done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
5 is pretty standard. I think we only have 4 and an inter squad meet.

B meets are really not that much fun. Sure kids enjoy hanging out with their friends, but the meet itself is painfully long. I think people who claim b-meets are super fun have never been to an A meet The only B meet I do genuinely enjoy is our B meet relay event because everyone dresses up.

As a parent I detest B meets because they take forever and our pool doesn’t divide up volunteer hours so that you can just work half the meet. There is nothing worse in summer swim than spending 4-5 hours timing a B meet. However, my kid loved it, they ate a ton of ice cream and sugar and hung out on a summer night with their friends. Her friends that are strictly summer swimmers could have cared less about the concept of A meets.

Can you talk to your team reps about dividing volunteer roles? We have a very large team, over 200 swimmers, and our B meet jobs are all split 1st half and 2nd half except for the ref. We have many families whose kids just do Free and Back and then leave. Families whose kids do Breast or Fly volunteer often for the second half. My kids love B meets hanging out for hours with their friends in the team area. It would feel very long and boring if I didn't volunteer, so I always volunteer for one half and then socialize with my own friends during the other half.

I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to be that parent and I really don’t mind volunteering, I get that it is part of summer swim. Our team is also quite large, I’d say maybe just under 200 kids, and the volunteer requirements are just excessive given the number of kids/families that participate. To meet the requirement you have to volunteer for 4 meets a summer without splitting the meet in half. With that many kids/families, there is no need for people to be required to volunteer at every meet except 1, but that’s the way it’s always been done.

At a home meet, you need a lot of volunteers.

My numbers may be a little off, but is probably 2 reps, 9 timers, 5 setup, 5 cleanup, 1 ref, 1 starter, 5+ concessions, 2 S&T, 2 clerks, 4 data and table, 2 marshals. That’s 38 volunteers. And I’ve probably forgotten some like announcer, etc. If you have 200 kids, that’s maybe 100 families. At any given meet, I’m guessing it’s way fewer actually participating. So I’m really surprised your team can get away with only requiring you to work at 4 meets a season. If you are complaining about just having to show up and time a meet, instead of having to do all the prep work that goes into everything, I’d have little sympathy. You may want to get educated on all the work that happens behind the scenes so that you appreciate what everyone else does so that your kid can have fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
5 is pretty standard. I think we only have 4 and an inter squad meet.

B meets are really not that much fun. Sure kids enjoy hanging out with their friends, but the meet itself is painfully long. I think people who claim b-meets are super fun have never been to an A meet The only B meet I do genuinely enjoy is our B meet relay event because everyone dresses up.

As a parent I detest B meets because they take forever and our pool doesn’t divide up volunteer hours so that you can just work half the meet. There is nothing worse in summer swim than spending 4-5 hours timing a B meet. However, my kid loved it, they ate a ton of ice cream and sugar and hung out on a summer night with their friends. Her friends that are strictly summer swimmers could have cared less about the concept of A meets.

Can you talk to your team reps about dividing volunteer roles? We have a very large team, over 200 swimmers, and our B meet jobs are all split 1st half and 2nd half except for the ref. We have many families whose kids just do Free and Back and then leave. Families whose kids do Breast or Fly volunteer often for the second half. My kids love B meets hanging out for hours with their friends in the team area. It would feel very long and boring if I didn't volunteer, so I always volunteer for one half and then socialize with my own friends during the other half.

I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to be that parent and I really don’t mind volunteering, I get that it is part of summer swim. Our team is also quite large, I’d say maybe just under 200 kids, and the volunteer requirements are just excessive given the number of kids/families that participate. To meet the requirement you have to volunteer for 4 meets a summer without splitting the meet in half. With that many kids/families, there is no need for people to be required to volunteer at every meet except 1, but that’s the way it’s always been done.

At a home meet, you need a lot of volunteers.

My numbers may be a little off, but is probably 2 reps, 9 timers, 5 setup, 5 cleanup, 1 ref, 1 starter, 5+ concessions, 2 S&T, 2 clerks, 4 data and table, 2 marshals. That’s 38 volunteers. And I’ve probably forgotten some like announcer, etc. If you have 200 kids, that’s maybe 100 families. At any given meet, I’m guessing it’s way fewer actually participating. So I’m really surprised your team can get away with only requiring you to work at 4 meets a season. If you are complaining about just having to show up and time a meet, instead of having to do all the prep work that goes into everything, I’d have little sympathy. You may want to get educated on all the work that happens behind the scenes so that you appreciate what everyone else does so that your kid can have fun.

I will make sure to educate myself Every B meet last summer had between 130-140 kids participating. Even if you assumed that each family had 2 kids participating (which isn’t true, I would say a solid half of the families have just 1 kid that is on the swim team) that would still be roughly 70 families to fill about 40 volunteer slots at home meets (and half of the B meets are away meets). With that ratio there is no need for people to have to volunteer for 4/5 full meets, and no reason to not be able to split some of the meet duties into shifts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
5 is pretty standard. I think we only have 4 and an inter squad meet.

B meets are really not that much fun. Sure kids enjoy hanging out with their friends, but the meet itself is painfully long. I think people who claim b-meets are super fun have never been to an A meet The only B meet I do genuinely enjoy is our B meet relay event because everyone dresses up.

As a parent I detest B meets because they take forever and our pool doesn’t divide up volunteer hours so that you can just work half the meet. There is nothing worse in summer swim than spending 4-5 hours timing a B meet. However, my kid loved it, they ate a ton of ice cream and sugar and hung out on a summer night with their friends. Her friends that are strictly summer swimmers could have cared less about the concept of A meets.

Can you talk to your team reps about dividing volunteer roles? We have a very large team, over 200 swimmers, and our B meet jobs are all split 1st half and 2nd half except for the ref. We have many families whose kids just do Free and Back and then leave. Families whose kids do Breast or Fly volunteer often for the second half. My kids love B meets hanging out for hours with their friends in the team area. It would feel very long and boring if I didn't volunteer, so I always volunteer for one half and then socialize with my own friends during the other half.

I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to be that parent and I really don’t mind volunteering, I get that it is part of summer swim. Our team is also quite large, I’d say maybe just under 200 kids, and the volunteer requirements are just excessive given the number of kids/families that participate. To meet the requirement you have to volunteer for 4 meets a summer without splitting the meet in half. With that many kids/families, there is no need for people to be required to volunteer at every meet except 1, but that’s the way it’s always been done.

At a home meet, you need a lot of volunteers.

My numbers may be a little off, but is probably 2 reps, 9 timers, 5 setup, 5 cleanup, 1 ref, 1 starter, 5+ concessions, 2 S&T, 2 clerks, 4 data and table, 2 marshals. That’s 38 volunteers. And I’ve probably forgotten some like announcer, etc. If you have 200 kids, that’s maybe 100 families. At any given meet, I’m guessing it’s way fewer actually participating. So I’m really surprised your team can get away with only requiring you to work at 4 meets a season. If you are complaining about just having to show up and time a meet, instead of having to do all the prep work that goes into everything, I’d have little sympathy. You may want to get educated on all the work that happens behind the scenes so that you appreciate what everyone else does so that your kid can have fun.

I will make sure to educate myself Every B meet last summer had between 130-140 kids participating. Even if you assumed that each family had 2 kids participating (which isn’t true, I would say a solid half of the families have just 1 kid that is on the swim team) that would still be roughly 70 families to fill about 40 volunteer slots at home meets (and half of the B meets are away meets). With that ratio there is no need for people to have to volunteer for 4/5 full meets, and no reason to not be able to split some of the meet duties into shifts.

So step up and volunteer to be the B rep for your team. You've got a plan, put it into action!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
5 is pretty standard. I think we only have 4 and an inter squad meet.

B meets are really not that much fun. Sure kids enjoy hanging out with their friends, but the meet itself is painfully long. I think people who claim b-meets are super fun have never been to an A meet The only B meet I do genuinely enjoy is our B meet relay event because everyone dresses up.

As a parent I detest B meets because they take forever and our pool doesn’t divide up volunteer hours so that you can just work half the meet. There is nothing worse in summer swim than spending 4-5 hours timing a B meet. However, my kid loved it, they ate a ton of ice cream and sugar and hung out on a summer night with their friends. Her friends that are strictly summer swimmers could have cared less about the concept of A meets.

Can you talk to your team reps about dividing volunteer roles? We have a very large team, over 200 swimmers, and our B meet jobs are all split 1st half and 2nd half except for the ref. We have many families whose kids just do Free and Back and then leave. Families whose kids do Breast or Fly volunteer often for the second half. My kids love B meets hanging out for hours with their friends in the team area. It would feel very long and boring if I didn't volunteer, so I always volunteer for one half and then socialize with my own friends during the other half.

I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to be that parent and I really don’t mind volunteering, I get that it is part of summer swim. Our team is also quite large, I’d say maybe just under 200 kids, and the volunteer requirements are just excessive given the number of kids/families that participate. To meet the requirement you have to volunteer for 4 meets a summer without splitting the meet in half. With that many kids/families, there is no need for people to be required to volunteer at every meet except 1, but that’s the way it’s always been done.

At a home meet, you need a lot of volunteers.

My numbers may be a little off, but is probably 2 reps, 9 timers, 5 setup, 5 cleanup, 1 ref, 1 starter, 5+ concessions, 2 S&T, 2 clerks, 4 data and table, 2 marshals. That’s 38 volunteers. And I’ve probably forgotten some like announcer, etc. If you have 200 kids, that’s maybe 100 families. At any given meet, I’m guessing it’s way fewer actually participating. So I’m really surprised your team can get away with only requiring you to work at 4 meets a season. If you are complaining about just having to show up and time a meet, instead of having to do all the prep work that goes into everything, I’d have little sympathy. You may want to get educated on all the work that happens behind the scenes so that you appreciate what everyone else does so that your kid can have fun.

I will make sure to educate myself Every B meet last summer had between 130-140 kids participating. Even if you assumed that each family had 2 kids participating (which isn’t true, I would say a solid half of the families have just 1 kid that is on the swim team) that would still be roughly 70 families to fill about 40 volunteer slots at home meets (and half of the B meets are away meets). With that ratio there is no need for people to have to volunteer for 4/5 full meets, and no reason to not be able to split some of the meet duties into shifts.

So step up and volunteer to be the B rep for your team. You've got a plan, put it into action!

Our swim team has been run by the same people for years. For a generally friendly pool, the swim team reps and parents that have been around forever are not the most welcoming. Fortunately for me I have a break from B meets this year since my kid is now a year rounder at the upper end of their age group and will be all A meets this year. But maybe I’ll think about saying something when I return to the dreaded mix of A and B meets next summer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
5 is pretty standard. I think we only have 4 and an inter squad meet.

B meets are really not that much fun. Sure kids enjoy hanging out with their friends, but the meet itself is painfully long. I think people who claim b-meets are super fun have never been to an A meet The only B meet I do genuinely enjoy is our B meet relay event because everyone dresses up.

As a parent I detest B meets because they take forever and our pool doesn’t divide up volunteer hours so that you can just work half the meet. There is nothing worse in summer swim than spending 4-5 hours timing a B meet. However, my kid loved it, they ate a ton of ice cream and sugar and hung out on a summer night with their friends. Her friends that are strictly summer swimmers could have cared less about the concept of A meets.

Can you talk to your team reps about dividing volunteer roles? We have a very large team, over 200 swimmers, and our B meet jobs are all split 1st half and 2nd half except for the ref. We have many families whose kids just do Free and Back and then leave. Families whose kids do Breast or Fly volunteer often for the second half. My kids love B meets hanging out for hours with their friends in the team area. It would feel very long and boring if I didn't volunteer, so I always volunteer for one half and then socialize with my own friends during the other half.

I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to be that parent and I really don’t mind volunteering, I get that it is part of summer swim. Our team is also quite large, I’d say maybe just under 200 kids, and the volunteer requirements are just excessive given the number of kids/families that participate. To meet the requirement you have to volunteer for 4 meets a summer without splitting the meet in half. With that many kids/families, there is no need for people to be required to volunteer at every meet except 1, but that’s the way it’s always been done.

A meet swimmer doesn't swim in B meets? Our A meet swimmers also swim B.


At a home meet, you need a lot of volunteers.

My numbers may be a little off, but is probably 2 reps, 9 timers, 5 setup, 5 cleanup, 1 ref, 1 starter, 5+ concessions, 2 S&T, 2 clerks, 4 data and table, 2 marshals. That’s 38 volunteers. And I’ve probably forgotten some like announcer, etc. If you have 200 kids, that’s maybe 100 families. At any given meet, I’m guessing it’s way fewer actually participating. So I’m really surprised your team can get away with only requiring you to work at 4 meets a season. If you are complaining about just having to show up and time a meet, instead of having to do all the prep work that goes into everything, I’d have little sympathy. You may want to get educated on all the work that happens behind the scenes so that you appreciate what everyone else does so that your kid can have fun.

I will make sure to educate myself Every B meet last summer had between 130-140 kids participating. Even if you assumed that each family had 2 kids participating (which isn’t true, I would say a solid half of the families have just 1 kid that is on the swim team) that would still be roughly 70 families to fill about 40 volunteer slots at home meets (and half of the B meets are away meets). With that ratio there is no need for people to have to volunteer for 4/5 full meets, and no reason to not be able to split some of the meet duties into shifts.

So step up and volunteer to be the B rep for your team. You've got a plan, put it into action!

Our swim team has been run by the same people for years. For a generally friendly pool, the swim team reps and parents that have been around forever are not the most welcoming. Fortunately for me I have a break from B meets this year since my kid is now a year rounder at the upper end of their age group and will be all A meets this year. But maybe I’ll think about saying something when I return to the dreaded mix of A and B meets next summer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
5 is pretty standard. I think we only have 4 and an inter squad meet.

B meets are really not that much fun. Sure kids enjoy hanging out with their friends, but the meet itself is painfully long. I think people who claim b-meets are super fun have never been to an A meet The only B meet I do genuinely enjoy is our B meet relay event because everyone dresses up.

As a parent I detest B meets because they take forever and our pool doesn’t divide up volunteer hours so that you can just work half the meet. There is nothing worse in summer swim than spending 4-5 hours timing a B meet. However, my kid loved it, they ate a ton of ice cream and sugar and hung out on a summer night with their friends. Her friends that are strictly summer swimmers could have cared less about the concept of A meets.

Can you talk to your team reps about dividing volunteer roles? We have a very large team, over 200 swimmers, and our B meet jobs are all split 1st half and 2nd half except for the ref. We have many families whose kids just do Free and Back and then leave. Families whose kids do Breast or Fly volunteer often for the second half. My kids love B meets hanging out for hours with their friends in the team area. It would feel very long and boring if I didn't volunteer, so I always volunteer for one half and then socialize with my own friends during the other half.

I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to be that parent and I really don’t mind volunteering, I get that it is part of summer swim. Our team is also quite large, I’d say maybe just under 200 kids, and the volunteer requirements are just excessive given the number of kids/families that participate. To meet the requirement you have to volunteer for 4 meets a summer without splitting the meet in half. With that many kids/families, there is no need for people to be required to volunteer at every meet except 1, but that’s the way it’s always been done.

At a home meet, you need a lot of volunteers.

My numbers may be a little off, but is probably 2 reps, 9 timers, 5 setup, 5 cleanup, 1 ref, 1 starter, 5+ concessions, 2 S&T, 2 clerks, 4 data and table, 2 marshals. That’s 38 volunteers. And I’ve probably forgotten some like announcer, etc. If you have 200 kids, that’s maybe 100 families. At any given meet, I’m guessing it’s way fewer actually participating. So I’m really surprised your team can get away with only requiring you to work at 4 meets a season. If you are complaining about just having to show up and time a meet, instead of having to do all the prep work that goes into everything, I’d have little sympathy. You may want to get educated on all the work that happens behind the scenes so that you appreciate what everyone else does so that your kid can have fun.

I will make sure to educate myself Every B meet last summer had between 130-140 kids participating. Even if you assumed that each family had 2 kids participating (which isn’t true, I would say a solid half of the families have just 1 kid that is on the swim team) that would still be roughly 70 families to fill about 40 volunteer slots at home meets (and half of the B meets are away meets). With that ratio there is no need for people to have to volunteer for 4/5 full meets, and no reason to not be able to split some of the meet duties into shifts.

So step up and volunteer to be the B rep for your team. You've got a plan, put it into action!

Our swim team has been run by the same people for years. For a generally friendly pool, the swim team reps and parents that have been around forever are not the most welcoming. Fortunately for me I have a break from B meets this year since my kid is now a year rounder at the upper end of their age group and will be all A meets this year. But maybe I’ll think about saying something when I return to the dreaded mix of A and B meets next summer

A meet swimmer doesn't swim B meets? I don't understand. Our swimmers swim both.

[Anonymous]

I say this with kindness, but please don't approach this by "saying something". This is the problem with summer swim and anything else run strictly by volunteers. Lots of good ideas but no one willing to actually do the work to make the change. I'm not saying your idea is wrong and I actually agree with you it makes sense to divide up the sessions. But be aware it does come with additional work for the volunteers running the meet. Now there are twice as many people to corral, and if people don't show up for the second shift then they are stuck looking for last minute fill ins. If you don't want to be the B rep maybe you could offer to be the volunteer coordinator in charge of filling the shifts and making sure all positions are filled when the hand off happens.

You have a good idea but take the next step and volunteer to help make it happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
5 is pretty standard. I think we only have 4 and an inter squad meet.

B meets are really not that much fun. Sure kids enjoy hanging out with their friends, but the meet itself is painfully long. I think people who claim b-meets are super fun have never been to an A meet The only B meet I do genuinely enjoy is our B meet relay event because everyone dresses up.

As a parent I detest B meets because they take forever and our pool doesn’t divide up volunteer hours so that you can just work half the meet. There is nothing worse in summer swim than spending 4-5 hours timing a B meet. However, my kid loved it, they ate a ton of ice cream and sugar and hung out on a summer night with their friends. Her friends that are strictly summer swimmers could have cared less about the concept of A meets.

Can you talk to your team reps about dividing volunteer roles? We have a very large team, over 200 swimmers, and our B meet jobs are all split 1st half and 2nd half except for the ref. We have many families whose kids just do Free and Back and then leave. Families whose kids do Breast or Fly volunteer often for the second half. My kids love B meets hanging out for hours with their friends in the team area. It would feel very long and boring if I didn't volunteer, so I always volunteer for one half and then socialize with my own friends during the other half.

I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to be that parent and I really don’t mind volunteering, I get that it is part of summer swim. Our team is also quite large, I’d say maybe just under 200 kids, and the volunteer requirements are just excessive given the number of kids/families that participate. To meet the requirement you have to volunteer for 4 meets a summer without splitting the meet in half. With that many kids/families, there is no need for people to be required to volunteer at every meet except 1, but that’s the way it’s always been done.

At a home meet, you need a lot of volunteers.

My numbers may be a little off, but is probably 2 reps, 9 timers, 5 setup, 5 cleanup, 1 ref, 1 starter, 5+ concessions, 2 S&T, 2 clerks, 4 data and table, 2 marshals. That’s 38 volunteers. And I’ve probably forgotten some like announcer, etc. If you have 200 kids, that’s maybe 100 families. At any given meet, I’m guessing it’s way fewer actually participating. So I’m really surprised your team can get away with only requiring you to work at 4 meets a season. If you are complaining about just having to show up and time a meet, instead of having to do all the prep work that goes into everything, I’d have little sympathy. You may want to get educated on all the work that happens behind the scenes so that you appreciate what everyone else does so that your kid can have fun.

I will make sure to educate myself Every B meet last summer had between 130-140 kids participating. Even if you assumed that each family had 2 kids participating (which isn’t true, I would say a solid half of the families have just 1 kid that is on the swim team) that would still be roughly 70 families to fill about 40 volunteer slots at home meets (and half of the B meets are away meets). With that ratio there is no need for people to have to volunteer for 4/5 full meets, and no reason to not be able to split some of the meet duties into shifts.

So step up and volunteer to be the B rep for your team. You've got a plan, put it into action!

Our swim team has been run by the same people for years. For a generally friendly pool, the swim team reps and parents that have been around forever are not the most welcoming. Fortunately for me I have a break from B meets this year since my kid is now a year rounder at the upper end of their age group and will be all A meets this year. But maybe I’ll think about saying something when I return to the dreaded mix of A and B meets next summer

A meet swimmer doesn't swim B meets? I don't understand. Our swimmers swim both.

Our A meet swimmers are not eligible to swim their A meet events in the B meets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I say this with kindness, but please don't approach this by "saying something". This is the problem with summer swim and anything else run strictly by volunteers. Lots of good ideas but no one willing to actually do the work to make the change. I'm not saying your idea is wrong and I actually agree with you it makes sense to divide up the sessions. But be aware it does come with additional work for the volunteers running the meet. Now there are twice as many people to corral, and if people don't show up for the second shift then they are stuck looking for last minute fill ins. If you don't want to be the B rep maybe you could offer to be the volunteer coordinator in charge of filling the shifts and making sure all positions are filled when the hand off happens.

You have a good idea but take the next step and volunteer to help make it happen.

Our pool splits some jobs for B meets. Typically timer, marshal and table, but a lot of the table people volunteer for both slots. It's never been a problem for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:
5 is pretty standard. I think we only have 4 and an inter squad meet.

B meets are really not that much fun. Sure kids enjoy hanging out with their friends, but the meet itself is painfully long. I think people who claim b-meets are super fun have never been to an A meet The only B meet I do genuinely enjoy is our B meet relay event because everyone dresses up.

As a parent I detest B meets because they take forever and our pool doesn’t divide up volunteer hours so that you can just work half the meet. There is nothing worse in summer swim than spending 4-5 hours timing a B meet. However, my kid loved it, they ate a ton of ice cream and sugar and hung out on a summer night with their friends. Her friends that are strictly summer swimmers could have cared less about the concept of A meets.

Can you talk to your team reps about dividing volunteer roles? We have a very large team, over 200 swimmers, and our B meet jobs are all split 1st half and 2nd half except for the ref. We have many families whose kids just do Free and Back and then leave. Families whose kids do Breast or Fly volunteer often for the second half. My kids love B meets hanging out for hours with their friends in the team area. It would feel very long and boring if I didn't volunteer, so I always volunteer for one half and then socialize with my own friends during the other half.

I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to be that parent and I really don’t mind volunteering, I get that it is part of summer swim. Our team is also quite large, I’d say maybe just under 200 kids, and the volunteer requirements are just excessive given the number of kids/families that participate. To meet the requirement you have to volunteer for 4 meets a summer without splitting the meet in half. With that many kids/families, there is no need for people to be required to volunteer at every meet except 1, but that’s the way it’s always been done.

At a home meet, you need a lot of volunteers.

My numbers may be a little off, but is probably 2 reps, 9 timers, 5 setup, 5 cleanup, 1 ref, 1 starter, 5+ concessions, 2 S&T, 2 clerks, 4 data and table, 2 marshals. That’s 38 volunteers. And I’ve probably forgotten some like announcer, etc. If you have 200 kids, that’s maybe 100 families. At any given meet, I’m guessing it’s way fewer actually participating. So I’m really surprised your team can get away with only requiring you to work at 4 meets a season. If you are complaining about just having to show up and time a meet, instead of having to do all the prep work that goes into everything, I’d have little sympathy. You may want to get educated on all the work that happens behind the scenes so that you appreciate what everyone else does so that your kid can have fun.

I will make sure to educate myself Every B meet last summer had between 130-140 kids participating. Even if you assumed that each family had 2 kids participating (which isn’t true, I would say a solid half of the families have just 1 kid that is on the swim team) that would still be roughly 70 families to fill about 40 volunteer slots at home meets (and half of the B meets are away meets). With that ratio there is no need for people to have to volunteer for 4/5 full meets, and no reason to not be able to split some of the meet duties into shifts.

So step up and volunteer to be the B rep for your team. You've got a plan, put it into action!

Our swim team has been run by the same people for years. For a generally friendly pool, the swim team reps and parents that have been around forever are not the most welcoming. Fortunately for me I have a break from B meets this year since my kid is now a year rounder at the upper end of their age group and will be all A meets this year. But maybe I’ll think about saying something when I return to the dreaded mix of A and B meets next summer

A meet swimmer doesn't swim B meets? I don't understand. Our swimmers swim both.

Our A meet swimmers are not eligible to swim their A meet events in the B meets.

Our rule is that A meet swimmers can't swim an even that they scored points in in the next B meet. My kids usually just swim them to put up times in strokes they don't swim in A meets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
5 is pretty standard. I think we only have 4 and an inter squad meet.

B meets are really not that much fun. Sure kids enjoy hanging out with their friends, but the meet itself is painfully long. I think people who claim b-meets are super fun have never been to an A meet The only B meet I do genuinely enjoy is our B meet relay event because everyone dresses up.

As a parent I detest B meets because they take forever and our pool doesn’t divide up volunteer hours so that you can just work half the meet. There is nothing worse in summer swim than spending 4-5 hours timing a B meet. However, my kid loved it, they ate a ton of ice cream and sugar and hung out on a summer night with their friends. Her friends that are strictly summer swimmers could have cared less about the concept of A meets.

Can you talk to your team reps about dividing volunteer roles? We have a very large team, over 200 swimmers, and our B meet jobs are all split 1st half and 2nd half except for the ref. We have many families whose kids just do Free and Back and then leave. Families whose kids do Breast or Fly volunteer often for the second half. My kids love B meets hanging out for hours with their friends in the team area. It would feel very long and boring if I didn't volunteer, so I always volunteer for one half and then socialize with my own friends during the other half.

I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to be that parent and I really don’t mind volunteering, I get that it is part of summer swim. Our team is also quite large, I’d say maybe just under 200 kids, and the volunteer requirements are just excessive given the number of kids/families that participate. To meet the requirement you have to volunteer for 4 meets a summer without splitting the meet in half. With that many kids/families, there is no need for people to be required to volunteer at every meet except 1, but that’s the way it’s always been done.

At a home meet, you need a lot of volunteers.

My numbers may be a little off, but is probably 2 reps, 9 timers, 5 setup, 5 cleanup, 1 ref, 1 starter, 5+ concessions, 2 S&T, 2 clerks, 4 data and table, 2 marshals. That’s 38 volunteers. And I’ve probably forgotten some like announcer, etc. If you have 200 kids, that’s maybe 100 families. At any given meet, I’m guessing it’s way fewer actually participating. So I’m really surprised your team can get away with only requiring you to work at 4 meets a season. If you are complaining about just having to show up and time a meet, instead of having to do all the prep work that goes into everything, I’d have little sympathy. You may want to get educated on all the work that happens behind the scenes so that you appreciate what everyone else does so that your kid can have fun.

I will make sure to educate myself Every B meet last summer had between 130-140 kids participating. Even if you assumed that each family had 2 kids participating (which isn’t true, I would say a solid half of the families have just 1 kid that is on the swim team) that would still be roughly 70 families to fill about 40 volunteer slots at home meets (and half of the B meets are away meets). With that ratio there is no need for people to have to volunteer for 4/5 full meets, and no reason to not be able to split some of the meet duties into shifts.

So step up and volunteer to be the B rep for your team. You've got a plan, put it into action!

Our swim team has been run by the same people for years. For a generally friendly pool, the swim team reps and parents that have been around forever are not the most welcoming. Fortunately for me I have a break from B meets this year since my kid is now a year rounder at the upper end of their age group and will be all A meets this year. But maybe I’ll think about saying something when I return to the dreaded mix of A and B meets next summer

A meet swimmer doesn't swim B meets? I don't understand. Our swimmers swim both.

Our A meet swimmers are not eligible to swim their A meet events in the B meets.

Our rule is that A meet swimmers can't swim an even that they scored points in in the next B meet. My kids usually just swim them to put up times in strokes they don't swim in A meets.

My kid did that last summer because they were at the low end of the age group and would only qualify for A meets in 1 or 2 strokes. This year they are going to qualify for all 4 strokes (we are not in one of the top divisions and my kid will be one of only a few club kids in their gender and age group, I’m not trying to be that parent), so this year there won’t be a need for them to do a B meet just to do the 1 stroke they weren’t allowed to do in the A meet.