NVSL Seeding is out!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:All this accusing all D1 teams of recruiting or “shenanigans” is bizarre. The Chesterbrook 2019 is messed up but that seems to be an outlier.
Looking at Overlee’s top age group boy’s relay team from last year, 3 of them started swimming at overlee no later than age 8. The 4th started as a 10 year old. Do you think they are reaching out to the parents of promising 7 year olds?

YES

No. However, when your pool has such a strong swim club culture, your members want to be a part of it. We are at one of the top 3 and every kid we know was on swim team in their younger year......every kid. We were all encouraged to keep our kids in swim and join a club. Those that did, got better and better. Being a Saturday swimmer at our pool was a lot of fun. Being a Monday swimmer was much less fun. So, there was an incentive to join one of the clubs and that results in a stronger team.

OMG please tell me which kids are bragging about being in a “top 3” summer swim team - the kids at NCSAs this weekend? I think not.

No one is bragging about top 3. It’s a way to indicate the pool is T, CB or O without indicating which one.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I can't believe I'm defending chesterbrook- but you have proved nothing. There is no restriction in NVSL rules for swimming for the NVSL and another league, indeed many kids do this to swim long course with their club teams and swim summer league. Sure its a little odd that he was swimming for 2 different rec leagues so far apart (its a long way from PG county to mclean)- but as long as his family had a bona fide membership at both clubs he's not breaking any rules. Perhaps the parents are split and he divided his time between mclean and PG county.

First - year round (club swim) and summer swim are two different things. And, no one ever said you can't do both.

This is about the fact he was swimming for 2 different summer leagues at once. You are correct, there is nothing in the rules that states you can't swim for more than one summer league. The only restriction NVSL places is you can't swim for 2 different teams that are a part of the NVSL league. The interesting thing is he ONLY swam for them in 2019. He never swam for them before or after. He has no other time records in the NVSL database. Why would he only swim with them for 1 year? Chesterbrook needed him and his times. Just because he wasn't technically breaking the rules, doesn't make it right.

It goes against the principles of rec league, you know community based fun swimming. Swimming for two rec leagues is BS when he did not have ongoing relationship with one of them.

Also, NVSL states that you have to have a family membership with the pool in order to swim there and most require you to live in the house.

D1 is not really rec league

The entire league is REC league. Just because some teams have managed to cheat the system doesn't mean they are exempt from the rules.

Unless you believe that three pools just happen to produce the best swimmers from their membership year after year for decades, it's pretty obvious that it isn't a rec league at the top

like another poster already pointed out, what really makes these top 3 pools so good every year is their membership size is so much bigger than other pools in the NVSL. So even though our lower division pool may be able to beat them in a few cohorts (e.g 8u boys), these top teams consistently have so much depth they will dominate us in a meet. Even if you think Chesterbrook cheated here (i agree this does go against the spirit of the league), I don't believe cheating is rampant at these pools.

There memberships aren't really that much larger than other pools and certainly not enough to explain their results. The top 5 or 6 divisions are packed with similar sized pools, but these three win ever year

I can't really debate this since I don't know where to find all the data on pool membership size. Someone earlier mentioned that Overlee has over 800 families. That is well more than double the size of our pool (Div 3). Also, I have been to both Overlee and Chesterbrook (but not Tuckahoe) for non-swim league things. Their facilities are massive compared to ours. They both have a secondary pool that i think could probably host a meet without even using their larger pool.

It's all in the bylaws!

Overlee - capped 800 families, summer memberships allowed
Tuckahoe - capped to 3250 people, so ~ 800 families, temporary memberships allowed
chesterbrook - capped to 550 families, summer memberships allowed
Donaldson - capped to 650 families, summer memberships allowed
Highlands - capped to 500 families, summer memberships allowed
Mclean - capped to 450-500 families, renting out memberships allowed

What does “summer memberships allowed” mean?

They either specify that they allow people on the waitlist to pay a fee and have a summer only membership. Or they give themselves leeway and state they can give temporary memberships at their discretion. It’s all in the bylaws. Some places allow people to rent out their memberships. Others allow temporary memberships to renters. Some can let employees skip the waitlist. Some let family members skip the waitlist. There’s always a way in, people.

Are you talking about August passes? You’ve listed “summer memberships allowed” for a bunch of pools that are only open in the summer. August passes are valid after the swim team season is over and doesn’t include swim team privileges.

NP. I know that at least one of those clubs offers full summer membership - I knew someone who did this for a couple of years. The waiting list opens once a year on a certain date. From Chesterbrook’s membership information website:

Summer Use Privileges for Individuals/Families on the Waiting List
The Club grants summer use privileges to individuals or families who are waiting for Full Membership. The summer use privilege dues for those individuals/families for 2023 are $1,630, regardless of the size of the family. Summer use privileges include the use of the facility during the time period when the swimming pool facilities are open, usually mid-May through Labor Day, although the period may be extended or shortened as dictated by the weather and staffing. Individuals or families on the waiting list are welcome to participate in all teams and programs; they may not, however, vote or participate in annual or special membership meetings. Those with summer use privileges may enroll in spring, summer and fall tennis programs, teams and lessons under the member fee structure.

[Anonymous]

Lots of pools recruit. Even in the lower divisions. The division 1 teams are just more successful at it. Why do people care? It’s not against any rules and those teams all seem to enjoy the ultra competitive swim environment. It’s not like you don’t know what you are signing up for with those teams. If you want a different swim experience, you find a lower level team. We swim with a low division pool and love it. I couldn’t care less about what the other teams do.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I can't believe I'm defending chesterbrook- but you have proved nothing. There is no restriction in NVSL rules for swimming for the NVSL and another league, indeed many kids do this to swim long course with their club teams and swim summer league. Sure its a little odd that he was swimming for 2 different rec leagues so far apart (its a long way from PG county to mclean)- but as long as his family had a bona fide membership at both clubs he's not breaking any rules. Perhaps the parents are split and he divided his time between mclean and PG county.

First - year round (club swim) and summer swim are two different things. And, no one ever said you can't do both.

This is about the fact he was swimming for 2 different summer leagues at once. You are correct, there is nothing in the rules that states you can't swim for more than one summer league. The only restriction NVSL places is you can't swim for 2 different teams that are a part of the NVSL league. The interesting thing is he ONLY swam for them in 2019. He never swam for them before or after. He has no other time records in the NVSL database. Why would he only swim with them for 1 year? Chesterbrook needed him and his times. Just because he wasn't technically breaking the rules, doesn't make it right.

It goes against the principles of rec league, you know community based fun swimming. Swimming for two rec leagues is BS when he did not have ongoing relationship with one of them.

Also, NVSL states that you have to have a family membership with the pool in order to swim there and most require you to live in the house.

D1 is not really rec league

The entire league is REC league. Just because some teams have managed to cheat the system doesn't mean they are exempt from the rules.

Unless you believe that three pools just happen to produce the best swimmers from their membership year after year for decades, it's pretty obvious that it isn't a rec league at the top

like another poster already pointed out, what really makes these top 3 pools so good every year is their membership size is so much bigger than other pools in the NVSL. So even though our lower division pool may be able to beat them in a few cohorts (e.g 8u boys), these top teams consistently have so much depth they will dominate us in a meet. Even if you think Chesterbrook cheated here (i agree this does go against the spirit of the league), I don't believe cheating is rampant at these pools.

There memberships aren't really that much larger than other pools and certainly not enough to explain their results. The top 5 or 6 divisions are packed with similar sized pools, but these three win ever year

I can't really debate this since I don't know where to find all the data on pool membership size. Someone earlier mentioned that Overlee has over 800 families. That is well more than double the size of our pool (Div 3). Also, I have been to both Overlee and Chesterbrook (but not Tuckahoe) for non-swim league things. Their facilities are massive compared to ours. They both have a secondary pool that i think could probably host a meet without even using their larger pool.

It's all in the bylaws!

Overlee - capped 800 families, summer memberships allowed
Tuckahoe - capped to 3250 people, so ~ 800 families, temporary memberships allowed
chesterbrook - capped to 550 families, summer memberships allowed
Donaldson - capped to 650 families, summer memberships allowed
Highlands - capped to 500 families, summer memberships allowed
Mclean - capped to 450-500 families, renting out memberships allowed

What does “summer memberships allowed” mean?

They either specify that they allow people on the waitlist to pay a fee and have a summer only membership. Or they give themselves leeway and state they can give temporary memberships at their discretion. It’s all in the bylaws. Some places allow people to rent out their memberships. Others allow temporary memberships to renters. Some can let employees skip the waitlist. Some let family members skip the waitlist. There’s always a way in, people.

Are you talking about August passes? You’ve listed “summer memberships allowed” for a bunch of pools that are only open in the summer. August passes are valid after the swim team season is over and doesn’t include swim team privileges.

NP. I know that at least one of those clubs offers full summer membership - I knew someone who did this for a couple of years. The waiting list opens once a year on a certain date. From Chesterbrook’s membership information website:

Summer Use Privileges for Individuals/Families on the Waiting List
The Club grants summer use privileges to individuals or families who are waiting for Full Membership. The summer use privilege dues for those individuals/families for 2023 are $1,630, regardless of the size of the family. Summer use privileges include the use of the facility during the time period when the swimming pool facilities are open, usually mid-May through Labor Day, although the period may be extended or shortened as dictated by the weather and staffing. Individuals or families on the waiting list are welcome to participate in all teams and programs; they may not, however, vote or participate in annual or special membership meetings. Those with summer use privileges may enroll in spring, summer and fall tennis programs, teams and lessons under the member fee structure.

We tried to get a summer membership at Chesterbrook this summer. I clicked the moment registration opened (and I'm usually really good at getting spots in summer camps this way) but have been told that we're unlikely to get a spot. There are 80+ families ahead of us in line--I'd be completely unsurprised if families with strong swimmers are jumping the queue for a summer membership.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I can't believe I'm defending chesterbrook- but you have proved nothing. There is no restriction in NVSL rules for swimming for the NVSL and another league, indeed many kids do this to swim long course with their club teams and swim summer league. Sure its a little odd that he was swimming for 2 different rec leagues so far apart (its a long way from PG county to mclean)- but as long as his family had a bona fide membership at both clubs he's not breaking any rules. Perhaps the parents are split and he divided his time between mclean and PG county.

First - year round (club swim) and summer swim are two different things. And, no one ever said you can't do both.

This is about the fact he was swimming for 2 different summer leagues at once. You are correct, there is nothing in the rules that states you can't swim for more than one summer league. The only restriction NVSL places is you can't swim for 2 different teams that are a part of the NVSL league. The interesting thing is he ONLY swam for them in 2019. He never swam for them before or after. He has no other time records in the NVSL database. Why would he only swim with them for 1 year? Chesterbrook needed him and his times. Just because he wasn't technically breaking the rules, doesn't make it right.

It goes against the principles of rec league, you know community based fun swimming. Swimming for two rec leagues is BS when he did not have ongoing relationship with one of them.

Also, NVSL states that you have to have a family membership with the pool in order to swim there and most require you to live in the house.

D1 is not really rec league

The entire league is REC league. Just because some teams have managed to cheat the system doesn't mean they are exempt from the rules.

Unless you believe that three pools just happen to produce the best swimmers from their membership year after year for decades, it's pretty obvious that it isn't a rec league at the top

like another poster already pointed out, what really makes these top 3 pools so good every year is their membership size is so much bigger than other pools in the NVSL. So even though our lower division pool may be able to beat them in a few cohorts (e.g 8u boys), these top teams consistently have so much depth they will dominate us in a meet. Even if you think Chesterbrook cheated here (i agree this does go against the spirit of the league), I don't believe cheating is rampant at these pools.

There memberships aren't really that much larger than other pools and certainly not enough to explain their results. The top 5 or 6 divisions are packed with similar sized pools, but these three win ever year

I can't really debate this since I don't know where to find all the data on pool membership size. Someone earlier mentioned that Overlee has over 800 families. That is well more than double the size of our pool (Div 3). Also, I have been to both Overlee and Chesterbrook (but not Tuckahoe) for non-swim league things. Their facilities are massive compared to ours. They both have a secondary pool that i think could probably host a meet without even using their larger pool.

It's all in the bylaws!

Overlee - capped 800 families, summer memberships allowed
Tuckahoe - capped to 3250 people, so ~ 800 families, temporary memberships allowed
chesterbrook - capped to 550 families, summer memberships allowed
Donaldson - capped to 650 families, summer memberships allowed
Highlands - capped to 500 families, summer memberships allowed
Mclean - capped to 450-500 families, renting out memberships allowed

What does “summer memberships allowed” mean?

They either specify that they allow people on the waitlist to pay a fee and have a summer only membership. Or they give themselves leeway and state they can give temporary memberships at their discretion. It’s all in the bylaws. Some places allow people to rent out their memberships. Others allow temporary memberships to renters. Some can let employees skip the waitlist. Some let family members skip the waitlist. There’s always a way in, people.

That's patently obvious. There is no way everyone is politely waiting on a ten year long waitlist and then, somehow, miraculously, all the best fastest swimmers just happen to have been families who got on the waitlists before their kids were born. Please, no one is that stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of pools recruit. Even in the lower divisions. The division 1 teams are just more successful at it. Why do people care? It’s not against any rules and those teams all seem to enjoy the ultra competitive swim environment. It’s not like you don’t know what you are signing up for with those teams. If you want a different swim experience, you find a lower level team. We swim with a low division pool and love it. I couldn’t care less about what the other teams do.

Most of the low division teams are HOA pools. No low level pools recruit, how silly.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I can't believe I'm defending chesterbrook- but you have proved nothing. There is no restriction in NVSL rules for swimming for the NVSL and another league, indeed many kids do this to swim long course with their club teams and swim summer league. Sure its a little odd that he was swimming for 2 different rec leagues so far apart (its a long way from PG county to mclean)- but as long as his family had a bona fide membership at both clubs he's not breaking any rules. Perhaps the parents are split and he divided his time between mclean and PG county.

First - year round (club swim) and summer swim are two different things. And, no one ever said you can't do both.

This is about the fact he was swimming for 2 different summer leagues at once. You are correct, there is nothing in the rules that states you can't swim for more than one summer league. The only restriction NVSL places is you can't swim for 2 different teams that are a part of the NVSL league. The interesting thing is he ONLY swam for them in 2019. He never swam for them before or after. He has no other time records in the NVSL database. Why would he only swim with them for 1 year? Chesterbrook needed him and his times. Just because he wasn't technically breaking the rules, doesn't make it right.

It goes against the principles of rec league, you know community based fun swimming. Swimming for two rec leagues is BS when he did not have ongoing relationship with one of them.

Also, NVSL states that you have to have a family membership with the pool in order to swim there and most require you to live in the house.

D1 is not really rec league

The entire league is REC league. Just because some teams have managed to cheat the system doesn't mean they are exempt from the rules.

Unless you believe that three pools just happen to produce the best swimmers from their membership year after year for decades, it's pretty obvious that it isn't a rec league at the top

like another poster already pointed out, what really makes these top 3 pools so good every year is their membership size is so much bigger than other pools in the NVSL. So even though our lower division pool may be able to beat them in a few cohorts (e.g 8u boys), these top teams consistently have so much depth they will dominate us in a meet. Even if you think Chesterbrook cheated here (i agree this does go against the spirit of the league), I don't believe cheating is rampant at these pools.

There memberships aren't really that much larger than other pools and certainly not enough to explain their results. The top 5 or 6 divisions are packed with similar sized pools, but these three win ever year

I can't really debate this since I don't know where to find all the data on pool membership size. Someone earlier mentioned that Overlee has over 800 families. That is well more than double the size of our pool (Div 3). Also, I have been to both Overlee and Chesterbrook (but not Tuckahoe) for non-swim league things. Their facilities are massive compared to ours. They both have a secondary pool that i think could probably host a meet without even using their larger pool.

It's all in the bylaws!

Overlee - capped 800 families, summer memberships allowed
Tuckahoe - capped to 3250 people, so ~ 800 families, temporary memberships allowed
chesterbrook - capped to 550 families, summer memberships allowed
Donaldson - capped to 650 families, summer memberships allowed
Highlands - capped to 500 families, summer memberships allowed
Mclean - capped to 450-500 families, renting out memberships allowed

What does “summer memberships allowed” mean?

They either specify that they allow people on the waitlist to pay a fee and have a summer only membership. Or they give themselves leeway and state they can give temporary memberships at their discretion. It’s all in the bylaws. Some places allow people to rent out their memberships. Others allow temporary memberships to renters. Some can let employees skip the waitlist. Some let family members skip the waitlist. There’s always a way in, people.

Are you talking about August passes? You’ve listed “summer memberships allowed” for a bunch of pools that are only open in the summer. August passes are valid after the swim team season is over and doesn’t include swim team privileges.

NP. I know that at least one of those clubs offers full summer membership - I knew someone who did this for a couple of years. The waiting list opens once a year on a certain date. From Chesterbrook’s membership information website:

Summer Use Privileges for Individuals/Families on the Waiting List
The Club grants summer use privileges to individuals or families who are waiting for Full Membership. The summer use privilege dues for those individuals/families for 2023 are $1,630, regardless of the size of the family. Summer use privileges include the use of the facility during the time period when the swimming pool facilities are open, usually mid-May through Labor Day, although the period may be extended or shortened as dictated by the weather and staffing. Individuals or families on the waiting list are welcome to participate in all teams and programs; they may not, however, vote or participate in annual or special membership meetings. Those with summer use privileges may enroll in spring, summer and fall tennis programs, teams and lessons under the member fee structure.

We tried to get a summer membership at Chesterbrook this summer. I clicked the moment registration opened (and I'm usually really good at getting spots in summer camps this way) but have been told that we're unlikely to get a spot. There are 80+ families ahead of us in line--I'd be completely unsurprised if families with strong swimmers are jumping the queue for a summer membership.

It is certainly suspicious that there are 80 families ahead of you somehow when you clicked right away. I bet most of those families have kids who did swim team last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our hoa, little rocky run, has 2800 households with automatic number of pool memberships. If it was just about numbers, we would be competitive in D1.

That is a very valid point. There are some pools with larger memberships than Overlee.

[Anonymous]

My DC has been a two event all-star since they were 7. No pool has ever called our family about switching their club (not that we would - we’re happy where we are ).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I can't believe I'm defending chesterbrook- but you have proved nothing. There is no restriction in NVSL rules for swimming for the NVSL and another league, indeed many kids do this to swim long course with their club teams and swim summer league. Sure its a little odd that he was swimming for 2 different rec leagues so far apart (its a long way from PG county to mclean)- but as long as his family had a bona fide membership at both clubs he's not breaking any rules. Perhaps the parents are split and he divided his time between mclean and PG county.

First - year round (club swim) and summer swim are two different things. And, no one ever said you can't do both.

This is about the fact he was swimming for 2 different summer leagues at once. You are correct, there is nothing in the rules that states you can't swim for more than one summer league. The only restriction NVSL places is you can't swim for 2 different teams that are a part of the NVSL league. The interesting thing is he ONLY swam for them in 2019. He never swam for them before or after. He has no other time records in the NVSL database. Why would he only swim with them for 1 year? Chesterbrook needed him and his times. Just because he wasn't technically breaking the rules, doesn't make it right.

It goes against the principles of rec league, you know community based fun swimming. Swimming for two rec leagues is BS when he did not have ongoing relationship with one of them.

Also, NVSL states that you have to have a family membership with the pool in order to swim there and most require you to live in the house.

D1 is not really rec league

The entire league is REC league. Just because some teams have managed to cheat the system doesn't mean they are exempt from the rules.

Unless you believe that three pools just happen to produce the best swimmers from their membership year after year for decades, it's pretty obvious that it isn't a rec league at the top

like another poster already pointed out, what really makes these top 3 pools so good every year is their membership size is so much bigger than other pools in the NVSL. So even though our lower division pool may be able to beat them in a few cohorts (e.g 8u boys), these top teams consistently have so much depth they will dominate us in a meet. Even if you think Chesterbrook cheated here (i agree this does go against the spirit of the league), I don't believe cheating is rampant at these pools.

There memberships aren't really that much larger than other pools and certainly not enough to explain their results. The top 5 or 6 divisions are packed with similar sized pools, but these three win ever year

I can't really debate this since I don't know where to find all the data on pool membership size. Someone earlier mentioned that Overlee has over 800 families. That is well more than double the size of our pool (Div 3). Also, I have been to both Overlee and Chesterbrook (but not Tuckahoe) for non-swim league things. Their facilities are massive compared to ours. They both have a secondary pool that i think could probably host a meet without even using their larger pool.

It's all in the bylaws!

Overlee - capped 800 families, summer memberships allowed
Tuckahoe - capped to 3250 people, so ~ 800 families, temporary memberships allowed
chesterbrook - capped to 550 families, summer memberships allowed
Donaldson - capped to 650 families, summer memberships allowed
Highlands - capped to 500 families, summer memberships allowed
Mclean - capped to 450-500 families, renting out memberships allowed

Our pool has a two year waitlist and 450 memberships allowed. We do not allow summer memberships, which might be the vehicle that is used to recruit swimmers. I do not believe in the logic that it is their numbers that makes them D1. Statistics does not support that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I can't believe I'm defending chesterbrook- but you have proved nothing. There is no restriction in NVSL rules for swimming for the NVSL and another league, indeed many kids do this to swim long course with their club teams and swim summer league. Sure its a little odd that he was swimming for 2 different rec leagues so far apart (its a long way from PG county to mclean)- but as long as his family had a bona fide membership at both clubs he's not breaking any rules. Perhaps the parents are split and he divided his time between mclean and PG county.

First - year round (club swim) and summer swim are two different things. And, no one ever said you can't do both.

This is about the fact he was swimming for 2 different summer leagues at once. You are correct, there is nothing in the rules that states you can't swim for more than one summer league. The only restriction NVSL places is you can't swim for 2 different teams that are a part of the NVSL league. The interesting thing is he ONLY swam for them in 2019. He never swam for them before or after. He has no other time records in the NVSL database. Why would he only swim with them for 1 year? Chesterbrook needed him and his times. Just because he wasn't technically breaking the rules, doesn't make it right.

It goes against the principles of rec league, you know community based fun swimming. Swimming for two rec leagues is BS when he did not have ongoing relationship with one of them.

Also, NVSL states that you have to have a family membership with the pool in order to swim there and most require you to live in the house.

D1 is not really rec league

The entire league is REC league. Just because some teams have managed to cheat the system doesn't mean they are exempt from the rules.

Unless you believe that three pools just happen to produce the best swimmers from their membership year after year for decades, it's pretty obvious that it isn't a rec league at the top

like another poster already pointed out, what really makes these top 3 pools so good every year is their membership size is so much bigger than other pools in the NVSL. So even though our lower division pool may be able to beat them in a few cohorts (e.g 8u boys), these top teams consistently have so much depth they will dominate us in a meet. Even if you think Chesterbrook cheated here (i agree this does go against the spirit of the league), I don't believe cheating is rampant at these pools.

There memberships aren't really that much larger than other pools and certainly not enough to explain their results. The top 5 or 6 divisions are packed with similar sized pools, but these three win ever year

I can't really debate this since I don't know where to find all the data on pool membership size. Someone earlier mentioned that Overlee has over 800 families. That is well more than double the size of our pool (Div 3). Also, I have been to both Overlee and Chesterbrook (but not Tuckahoe) for non-swim league things. Their facilities are massive compared to ours. They both have a secondary pool that i think could probably host a meet without even using their larger pool.

It's all in the bylaws!

Overlee - capped 800 families, summer memberships allowed
Tuckahoe - capped to 3250 people, so ~ 800 families, temporary memberships allowed
chesterbrook - capped to 550 families, summer memberships allowed
Donaldson - capped to 650 families, summer memberships allowed
Highlands - capped to 500 families, summer memberships allowed
Mclean - capped to 450-500 families, renting out memberships allowed

What does “summer memberships allowed” mean?

They either specify that they allow people on the waitlist to pay a fee and have a summer only membership. Or they give themselves leeway and state they can give temporary memberships at their discretion. It’s all in the bylaws. Some places allow people to rent out their memberships. Others allow temporary memberships to renters. Some can let employees skip the waitlist. Some let family members skip the waitlist. There’s always a way in, people.

Are you talking about August passes? You’ve listed “summer memberships allowed” for a bunch of pools that are only open in the summer. August passes are valid after the swim team season is over and doesn’t include swim team privileges.

NP. I know that at least one of those clubs offers full summer membership - I knew someone who did this for a couple of years. The waiting list opens once a year on a certain date. From Chesterbrook’s membership information website:

Summer Use Privileges for Individuals/Families on the Waiting List
The Club grants summer use privileges to individuals or families who are waiting for Full Membership. The summer use privilege dues for those individuals/families for 2023 are $1,630, regardless of the size of the family. Summer use privileges include the use of the facility during the time period when the swimming pool facilities are open, usually mid-May through Labor Day, although the period may be extended or shortened as dictated by the weather and staffing. Individuals or families on the waiting list are welcome to participate in all teams and programs; they may not, however, vote or participate in annual or special membership meetings. Those with summer use privileges may enroll in spring, summer and fall tennis programs, teams and lessons under the member fee structure.

We tried to get a summer membership at Chesterbrook this summer. I clicked the moment registration opened (and I'm usually really good at getting spots in summer camps this way) but have been told that we're unlikely to get a spot. There are 80+ families ahead of us in line--I'd be completely unsurprised if families with strong swimmers are jumping the queue for a summer membership.

It is certainly suspicious that there are 80 families ahead of you somehow when you clicked right away. I bet most of those families have kids who did swim team last year.

We clicked at the exact moment it opened. Our email confirmation even came across at 12pm. We were offered a spot. We know someone whose email says 12:01 and they were 150 on the waitlist. You can be suspicious all you want, but it is just that lots and lots of people apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC has been a two event all-star since they were 7. No pool has ever called our family about switching their club (not that we would - we’re happy where we are ).

We are not in NVSL. We are in a different league. My friend’s kid has been recruited by a different summer league pool, which is ridiculous. My kid has been recruited by year round teams at summer league (trying to get him to switch club teams). It’s weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our hoa, little rocky run, has 2800 households with automatic number of pool memberships. If it was just about numbers, we would be competitive in D1.

that gets to a fundamental difference between a place like Overlee. At LRR, you are automatically in whether you really care or not, and whether or not you have young children. At Overlee, you had to get on their waitlist before your kid was born.

I do also find it odd, that looking at a map of NVSL pools (https://www.mynvsl.com/file/31348/NVSL_Map_of_102_Teams_updated_pdf) , all D1 teams are clustered together in the North Arlington/Falls Church/Mclean area.

Partially it’s the same reason good schools are also in those areas. Money. Money buys year round club teams. Money buys coaches and lessons. There is a reason SportFair and SwimBox are also in N Arlington and Norman swimming can fill multiple time slots at multiple pools every week for families that pay $1000 and commit to 9 months of lessons and Big Blue and Goldfish and Arlington parks and rec also fill all their classes - parents in that area are swim obsessed. And because it’s the thing to do, it perpetuates and snowballs into more of a thing to do. A mom posted to Moms of North Arlington this week to ask what lessons would prep her preschooler for swim team. Living in N Arlington, a lot of parents we meet who grew up in NoVa were on swim team and I’ve met more than 1 family where the parent was a D1 swimmer. And one of the D1 swimmer parents we know does have kids at an D1 pool and told us they purposely bought a house with a pool membership transfer when their kids were in preschool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of pools recruit. Even in the lower divisions. The division 1 teams are just more successful at it. Why do people care? It’s not against any rules and those teams all seem to enjoy the ultra competitive swim environment. It’s not like you don’t know what you are signing up for with those teams. If you want a different swim experience, you find a lower level team. We swim with a low division pool and love it. I couldn’t care less about what the other teams do.

Most of the low division teams are HOA pools. No low level pools recruit, how silly.

I’m not so sure that’s 100% accurate. We’re in a low division pool - we move between 8-11. We have a family that belongs to a country club. They also were at another NVSL pool simply for the swim team. That team was even lower than us - probably Division 15. Our head coach is an NCAP coach. They switched to our pool. The only time they are at our pool is for practice and meets. Since that family switched, we’ve had a few others that join simply for our swim team. Our coach is extremely popular with the kids.

I heard a rumor that Fox Mill Woods recruited a couple of 15-18 brothers back in 2017 to break two of the NVSL relay records. The brothers had been at Chesterbrook and switched to FMW, which was a Division 9 team at the time. They broke the NVSL 15-18 boys 200 Free relay that year and the 200 Medley the next year. The brothers went to W&L high school (Arlington) but Fox Mill Woods is in Reston.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of pools recruit. Even in the lower divisions. The division 1 teams are just more successful at it. Why do people care? It’s not against any rules and those teams all seem to enjoy the ultra competitive swim environment. It’s not like you don’t know what you are signing up for with those teams. If you want a different swim experience, you find a lower level team. We swim with a low division pool and love it. I couldn’t care less about what the other teams do.

Most of the low division teams are HOA pools. No low level pools recruit, how silly.

I’m not so sure that’s 100% accurate. We’re in a low division pool - we move between 8-11. We have a family that belongs to a country club. They also were at another NVSL pool simply for the swim team. That team was even lower than us - probably Division 15. Our head coach is an NCAP coach. They switched to our pool. The only time they are at our pool is for practice and meets. Since that family switched, we’ve had a few others that join simply for our swim team. Our coach is extremely popular with the kids.

I heard a rumor that Fox Mill Woods recruited a couple of 15-18 brothers back in 2017 to break two of the NVSL relay records. The brothers had been at Chesterbrook and switched to FMW, which was a Division 9 team at the time. They broke the NVSL 15-18 boys 200 Free relay that year and the 200 Medley the next year. The brothers went to W&L high school (Arlington) but Fox Mill Woods is in Reston.

This is true, but the boys weren't 'Recruited' by the FWM coach or FWM Team Reps, all 4 boys swam together at machine and decided to form a mega-relay.