Why is Toll still allowed to run age group champs?

[Anonymous]

And at last season’s jr/sr
short a long course champs. They just have to start getting strict about it because it’s now a perpetual issue.

Anonymous wrote:^ The same thing happened last weekend with Open champs. Clubs that don’t fill their slots shouldn’t be allowed to swim

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My big problem with TOLL at this meet is that they assigned timers to each club based on participant count, and nobody signed up from certain clubs. They said they would pull the coaches to time, they did not. They asked, and asked, and asked the general public to time.

Stop begging, pulling on heartstrings, making me feel like a jerk because I won’t time today when I’m signed up to time tomorrow. Let the coaches reach out to their group of parents.

It’s not everybody’s problem, it’s team X’s problem.

Yes. Don't send out all caps emails with the plan, then throw the plan out and start guilting/begging right away.

Probably the only thing that would really get parents attention is not letting their kids swim if the timers for their team aren’t filled. Your team has two slots to fill to time. You don’t have the 2 timers. Your team’s kids don’t swim until your timers are at a block with a watch or a clipboard. Any kid that misses a swim because of this, misses their swim. They can’t make up swims later in the session or meet. They just forfeit that event. Timers would have to slide around to different blocks to time the kids whose parents did step up in the meantime. Watch what happens when the kids realize their team has 40 swimmers in a session and can’t get two parents to time. The problem will be solved with a quickness. The pressure to time needs to come from the kids, not the coaches or meet director.

Or let parents pay someone to time for them if they have to. I’ll time 3 hours for someone else’s team for $75. Not kidding. That’ll pay for most of a hoodie.

Please tell me what is wrong with this idea.

NP - I’m all for it. I timed at every meet my kids swam during their first year of club, before I became certified at S&T. Then I officiated at every meet. If every family volunteered at least ONCE per season, this would not be a problem. The number of parents who never volunteer is staggering. I have zero patience for them.

[Anonymous]

Can high schoolers time for SSL hours?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Toll did a good job hosting. The one thing I think could have made things run more smoothly (and there is nothing Toll could have done to prevent this), is UMD security could have started letting spectators in WAY earlier. Instead they made people wait until after 7. By that time the line was ridiculous. Of course, if they let us in any earlier security lady wouldn’t have been able to give her “this isn’t Walmart” speech (which, in case you don’t know, NO OUTSIDE FOOD OR DRINKS ARE ALLOWED INSIDE!!! IF YOU BRING FOOD INSIDE, YOU ****WILL****** THROW IT OUT!!!THIS ISNT WALMART!!!)

Some of the UMD Security folks are always on ridiculous power trips. It’s so bad it makes me hate coming here (along with the parking situation). Many are super chill and go along to get along and just do their jobs and then you have a handful who I think missed their calling to be ICE agents. No reason to treat parents with such contempt and distain.

[Anonymous]

Why are they screaming for timers when only two spots are empty and the teams are listed? (FXFX-boys and SDS-girls)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can high schoolers time for SSL hours?

I believe so, one of my DDs teammates sibling has done this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are they screaming for timers when only two spots are empty and the teams are listed? (FXFX-boys and SDS-girls)

For 17 timers no less. Do they not have their own sign up genius?

[Anonymous]

I think TOLL has done a good job this year. This is the 3rd time I think that they have hosted a champs meet and it has gotten better each time. I think their announcer has been great, I could actually hear him in the stands announcing qualifiers. The volunteer thing is something that PVS needs to fix, because it’s an issue at every champs meet regardless of who is hosting. I might actually be inclined to send an email to the board about some ideas that have been thrown around here: more rigidity on the club apportioned volunteer slots, if they aren’t filled by someone from that team the coach needs to time or the kids from that team cannot swim; and giving deck volunteers a wristband or something that allows them to skip the line during the sessions where they aren’t volunteering and be allowed into the seating area while they are keeping everyone out and yelling for more timers. There are so many freaking families at this meet that no one should be having to volunteer on deck more than 1 or 2x over the course of the meet and you have to do more to incentivize the people who don’t do anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think TOLL has done a good job this year. This is the 3rd time I think that they have hosted a champs meet and it has gotten better each time. I think their announcer has been great, I could actually hear him in the stands announcing qualifiers. The volunteer thing is something that PVS needs to fix, because it’s an issue at every champs meet regardless of who is hosting. I might actually be inclined to send an email to the board about some ideas that have been thrown around here: more rigidity on the club apportioned volunteer slots, if they aren’t filled by someone from that team the coach needs to time or the kids from that team cannot swim; and giving deck volunteers a wristband or something that allows them to skip the line during the sessions where they aren’t volunteering and be allowed into the seating area while they are keeping everyone out and yelling for more timers. There are so many freaking families at this meet that no one should be having to volunteer on deck more than 1 or 2x over the course of the meet and you have to do more to incentivize the people who don’t do anything.

I agree, please do that email

If you want, put it on a free app or site and have other parents electronically sign it, like us parents in this forum, you’ll probably want the app or site to require a confirmed email address, has parent name and team name etc. You’ll get a few a**es that will put Mickey Mouse or whatever but hopefully you can weed those out before finalizing the email/letter

I’d prob sign it anyway

[Anonymous]

I think part of the problem with recruiting volunteers for meets at UMD is that there is an Eppeley Center employee who is incredibly rude and unkind to the volunteers. Multiple volunteers were treated very badly by her during the session during which I volunteered. It doesn’t make people want to volunteer at that pool when they are talked to the way she talks to people. That has nothing to do with Toll though- it’s a separate issue. She was also saying we still needed 16 volunteers when it was like 7am and volunteers just hadn’t checked in yet (likely parking their cars, using the facilities and/or grabbing a snack before volunteering!) I think 90+% of the volunteers showed up on time for volunteering each day. There really wasn’t an issue with volunteers keeping their pre-registered commitments at this meet. She was just pre-emptively getting upset before the timers were even due to have checked in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think part of the problem with recruiting volunteers for meets at UMD is that there is an Eppeley Center employee who is incredibly rude and unkind to the volunteers. Multiple volunteers were treated very badly by her during the session during which I volunteered. It doesn’t make people want to volunteer at that pool when they are talked to the way she talks to people. That has nothing to do with Toll though- it’s a separate issue. She was also saying we still needed 16 volunteers when it was like 7am and volunteers just hadn’t checked in yet (likely parking their cars, using the facilities and/or grabbing a snack before volunteering!) I think 90+% of the volunteers showed up on time for volunteering each day. There really wasn’t an issue with volunteers keeping their pre-registered commitments at this meet. She was just pre-emptively getting upset before the timers were even due to have checked in.

She’s a piece of work for sure and very alienating. I’m what most would call a super volunteer and I absolutely refuse to volunteer at UMD meets because of her. Volunteers are too early or too late or told to stand aside and belittled for asking simple questions. She’s not the meet director or volunteer coordinator. She’s security staff and should stay in her lane. I was the volunteer check-in table one meet and she was micromanaging me. I about lost my shit but walked away and vowed never to volunteer again in that facility. I talked with Tom Ugast (it was NCI) about my concerns and he completely dismissed them and thought she was fantastic. 🤯

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think part of the problem with recruiting volunteers for meets at UMD is that there is an Eppeley Center employee who is incredibly rude and unkind to the volunteers. Multiple volunteers were treated very badly by her during the session during which I volunteered. It doesn’t make people want to volunteer at that pool when they are talked to the way she talks to people. That has nothing to do with Toll though- it’s a separate issue. She was also saying we still needed 16 volunteers when it was like 7am and volunteers just hadn’t checked in yet (likely parking their cars, using the facilities and/or grabbing a snack before volunteering!) I think 90+% of the volunteers showed up on time for volunteering each day. There really wasn’t an issue with volunteers keeping their pre-registered commitments at this meet. She was just pre-emptively getting upset before the timers were even due to have checked in.

She’s a piece of work for sure and very alienating. I’m what most would call a super volunteer and I absolutely refuse to volunteer at UMD meets because of her. Volunteers are too early or too late or told to stand aside and belittled for asking simple questions. She’s not the meet director or volunteer coordinator. She’s security staff and should stay in her lane. I was the volunteer check-in table one meet and she was micromanaging me. I about lost my shit but walked away and vowed never to volunteer again in that facility. I talked with Tom Ugast (it was NCI) about my concerns and he completely dismissed them and thought she was fantastic. 🤯

NP - I know exactly who you mean and yes, she’s awful.

I became an official last year so thankfully she leaves me alone now. I completely agree that she’s a barrier to getting enough volunteers for Eppley-based meets.

[Anonymous]

I understand people have issues with the person at UMD, but in reality if you are timing a whole session you deal with her for like 1 minute to check in before going on deck, put your big girl and boy pants on and deal. That’s a dumb reason to say well I’m just not volunteering, that makes you no better than every other person that does nothing at these meets.

There should be no wrangling of volunteers for prelims. You have a signup genius that breaks volunteer slots down by team and the names of everyone that signed up. If some teams slots are empty you deal directly with the coaches for those teams. Finals is a different story, I am dreading heading over there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think part of the problem with recruiting volunteers for meets at UMD is that there is an Eppeley Center employee who is incredibly rude and unkind to the volunteers. Multiple volunteers were treated very badly by her during the session during which I volunteered. It doesn’t make people want to volunteer at that pool when they are talked to the way she talks to people. That has nothing to do with Toll though- it’s a separate issue. She was also saying we still needed 16 volunteers when it was like 7am and volunteers just hadn’t checked in yet (likely parking their cars, using the facilities and/or grabbing a snack before volunteering!) I think 90+% of the volunteers showed up on time for volunteering each day. There really wasn’t an issue with volunteers keeping their pre-registered commitments at this meet. She was just pre-emptively getting upset before the timers were even due to have checked in.

She had a mom crying on Saturday. I wasn’t there for the incident, but apparently she was berating her for picking up a volunteer tag before she was supposed to. That lady needs to be fired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think part of the problem with recruiting volunteers for meets at UMD is that there is an Eppeley Center employee who is incredibly rude and unkind to the volunteers. Multiple volunteers were treated very badly by her during the session during which I volunteered. It doesn’t make people want to volunteer at that pool when they are talked to the way she talks to people. That has nothing to do with Toll though- it’s a separate issue. She was also saying we still needed 16 volunteers when it was like 7am and volunteers just hadn’t checked in yet (likely parking their cars, using the facilities and/or grabbing a snack before volunteering!) I think 90+% of the volunteers showed up on time for volunteering each day. There really wasn’t an issue with volunteers keeping their pre-registered commitments at this meet. She was just pre-emptively getting upset before the timers were even due to have checked in.

She’s a piece of work for sure and very alienating. I’m what most would call a super volunteer and I absolutely refuse to volunteer at UMD meets because of her. Volunteers are too early or too late or told to stand aside and belittled for asking simple questions. She’s not the meet director or volunteer coordinator. She’s security staff and should stay in her lane. I was the volunteer check-in table one meet and she was micromanaging me. I about lost my shit but walked away and vowed never to volunteer again in that facility. I talked with Tom Ugast (it was NCI) about my concerns and he completely dismissed them and thought she was fantastic. 🤯

Ok well I would be happy to back you up. I volunteered one meet at hospitality and was in charge of getting things set up super early for the officials/coaches. I ended up working for about 6 hours. When I finally left, she asked me for my deck pass. I was legit confused and told her I didn’t have one. She started yelling at me and told me I should not have been on deck without one. I apologized and said I hadn’t realized because she wasn’t here when I entered the building. She proceeded to accuse me of lying. I’m sorry but I’m not spending 6 hours of my time volunteering if that is how you’re going to treat the people who are volunteering.