Freeloading swim team parents suck

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I don't really understand the focus on timers. Timing swim meets was one of the more enjoyable things I did to support my child's sports. You get to sit down, chat with other parents and every few minutes stand up and push a button. Plus you get to see excited kids pop out of the pool. I actually only timed a few meets a year because I normally worked the hated Clerk of the Course. I even enjoyed that because the vast majority of the kids were a lot of fun.

I'm glad it was enjoyable for you. When I started timing, I had a 5 year old swimmer, a toddler who loved nothing more than to run headfirst towards the pool, and a first responder husband who worked shift work.

So, I'd go to B meet, because my kid still needed help, and then pay for childcare so I could go time other people's kids at the A meet. I would happily have taken that money and given it to someone to time for me or to be used for touch pads or something else.

This makes no sense. If your kid isn't swimming in an A Meet, you don't have to volunteer. There are also other ways to volunteer and not be on the pool deck.

Our team requires B meet parents to volunteer, so if I couldn't volunteer at a B meet, because I had two little kids with me, then I had to volunteer at A. What's hard to understand about that?

There is no reason that a 5 year old needs to be participating in a swim meet. That child should be on pre-team where there is only 1 inter squad meet. That’s your bad for putting a 5 year old on the actual swim team.

At our pool, coaches make that decision, not parents.

That’s ludicrous. Our swim team is extremely large and very welcoming of swimmers of all abilities, and there is not a single 5 year old on the team. I also find it hard to believe that the coach would force you to place a 5 year old on the team vs pre-team. My DD was ok’d to join the team when she was 7, but she didn’t want to, and they didn’t say you can’t do the pre-team anymore, you must be in the full team. Come on, no 5 year old is that special.

You do realize that other teams and other parents may do things differently than you do. You do realize this?

Most 5 year olds are not swimming a full legal stroke.

+1, find me a 5 year old that legally does the breaststroke or butterfly. Your 5 year old isn’t Katie ledecky, hate to break it to you

[Anonymous]

We don’t have “pre team” but our swim team is almost 200 kids and yes, there are some 5 year olds. What a weird thing to fixate on. To make swim team, you have to be able to swim 25 m freestyle.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I don't really understand the focus on timers. Timing swim meets was one of the more enjoyable things I did to support my child's sports. You get to sit down, chat with other parents and every few minutes stand up and push a button. Plus you get to see excited kids pop out of the pool. I actually only timed a few meets a year because I normally worked the hated Clerk of the Course. I even enjoyed that because the vast majority of the kids were a lot of fun.

I'm glad it was enjoyable for you. When I started timing, I had a 5 year old swimmer, a toddler who loved nothing more than to run headfirst towards the pool, and a first responder husband who worked shift work.

So, I'd go to B meet, because my kid still needed help, and then pay for childcare so I could go time other people's kids at the A meet. I would happily have taken that money and given it to someone to time for me or to be used for touch pads or something else.

This makes no sense. If your kid isn't swimming in an A Meet, you don't have to volunteer. There are also other ways to volunteer and not be on the pool deck.

Our team requires B meet parents to volunteer, so if I couldn't volunteer at a B meet, because I had two little kids with me, then I had to volunteer at A. What's hard to understand about that?

There is no reason that a 5 year old needs to be participating in a swim meet. That child should be on pre-team where there is only 1 inter squad meet. That’s your bad for putting a 5 year old on the actual swim team.

At our pool, coaches make that decision, not parents.

That’s ludicrous. Our swim team is extremely large and very welcoming of swimmers of all abilities, and there is not a single 5 year old on the team. I also find it hard to believe that the coach would force you to place a 5 year old on the team vs pre-team. My DD was ok’d to join the team when she was 7, but she didn’t want to, and they didn’t say you can’t do the pre-team anymore, you must be in the full team. Come on, no 5 year old is that special.

Most pools don’t have pre-team. That’s what you aren’t understanding.

[Anonymous]

LOL, if you had to swim all four strokes legally to be on swim team, my 13 and 11 yos would be SOL.

I’ve never heard of pre-team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Superior beings,
If you don't want kids with non-volunteer parents on your swim team, then make it SUPER CLEAR that enrollment is limited to parent volunteer families only. Drop kids whose parent doesn't occupy a volunteer role in the first A or B meet.

I feel like the leagues are shaming me because I can only volunteer part-time. I can't volunteer for every B meet during the season. I can't commit to judge training, like stroke and turn. But I do what I can with the time I have available.

Teams absolutely make it super clear. And give numerous chances to back out. People know and just don’t care. Takers gonna take.

My kid wants to swim, so I sign him up. I have other kids that play other sports, I have elderly parents that I’m the caretaker for, and I have a job. So I don’t volunteer. I offer to write a check for whatever, but I’m not denying my son an opportunity to swim because his grandparents are dying or I have to work. If it comes back to bite me, as previous posters have threatened, than that’s fine with me.

What exactly are we paying for with swim team sign up fees anyway? It’s not cheap. My other son plays little league, and for the $125 sign up fee they get a uniform, paid umpires, and an end of year party budget. For swim team I buy the swimsuits, volunteers run everything, and concession sales pay for social events.

No, the fee is to pay the coaches, buy the ribbons and other stuff the team needs. It sucks you have so many issues at home, but we all do. So, grow up and do your share.

I just want to say I am so sorry your folks are ill. Our team would be completely understanding of that. We also don’t require parents to volunteer at meets where your kids don’t swim. Us “old” parents also are happy to cover for parents of little ones. I am sure you will do the same for others when your kids are older or grab a job like pasta night clean up that is easy to do when little kids are running around. Fwiw, our pool doesn’t charge people for not volunteering and it always gets covered. I think the Swim team reps set the culture that volunteering is a positive experience where you get to spend time supporting your kids and their friends. I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel high drama or something that evokes such strong feelings.

As for swim team fees, I think the daily practice alone makes it the best deal in town. Ours is $200 for the season, which comes out to $5/practice or possibly even better if your kid makes the extra stuff like divisionals or all stars. I don’t know of any other sport that offers so many practice possibilities for so little money. The fees go to paying coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really understand the focus on timers. Timing swim meets was one of the more enjoyable things I did to support my child's sports. You get to sit down, chat with other parents and every few minutes stand up and push a button. Plus you get to see excited kids pop out of the pool. I actually only timed a few meets a year because I normally worked the hated Clerk of the Course. I even enjoyed that because the vast majority of the kids were a lot of fun.

I'm glad it was enjoyable for you. When I started timing, I had a 5 year old swimmer, a toddler who loved nothing more than to run headfirst towards the pool, and a first responder husband who worked shift work.

So, I'd go to B meet, because my kid still needed help, and then pay for childcare so I could go time other people's kids at the A meet. I would happily have taken that money and given it to someone to time for me or to be used for touch pads or something else.

This makes no sense. If your kid isn't swimming in an A Meet, you don't have to volunteer. There are also other ways to volunteer and not be on the pool deck.

Our team requires B meet parents to volunteer, so if I couldn't volunteer at a B meet, because I had two little kids with me, then I had to volunteer at A. What's hard to understand about that?

There is no reason that a 5 year old needs to be participating in a swim meet. That child should be on pre-team where there is only 1 inter squad meet. That’s your bad for putting a 5 year old on the actual swim team.

At our pool, coaches make that decision, not parents.

That’s ludicrous. Our swim team is extremely large and very welcoming of swimmers of all abilities, and there is not a single 5 year old on the team. I also find it hard to believe that the coach would force you to place a 5 year old on the team vs pre-team. My DD was ok’d to join the team when she was 7, but she didn’t want to, and they didn’t say you can’t do the pre-team anymore, you must be in the full team. Come on, no 5 year old is that special.

You do realize that other teams and other parents may do things differently than you do. You do realize this?

Most 5 year olds are not swimming a full legal stroke.

+1, find me a 5 year old that legally does the breaststroke or butterfly. Your 5 year old isn’t Katie ledecky, hate to break it to you

Your team doesn't let kids on till they're legal in all 4 strokes? Ours requires them to be legal in 1, and if they're 8U then they don't even need a flip turn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Superior beings,
If you don't want kids with non-volunteer parents on your swim team, then make it SUPER CLEAR that enrollment is limited to parent volunteer families only. Drop kids whose parent doesn't occupy a volunteer role in the first A or B meet.

I feel like the leagues are shaming me because I can only volunteer part-time. I can't volunteer for every B meet during the season. I can't commit to judge training, like stroke and turn. But I do what I can with the time I have available.

Teams absolutely make it super clear. And give numerous chances to back out. People know and just don’t care. Takers gonna take.

My kid wants to swim, so I sign him up. I have other kids that play other sports, I have elderly parents that I’m the caretaker for, and I have a job. So I don’t volunteer. I offer to write a check for whatever, but I’m not denying my son an opportunity to swim because his grandparents are dying or I have to work. If it comes back to bite me, as previous posters have threatened, than that’s fine with me.

What exactly are we paying for with swim team sign up fees anyway? It’s not cheap. My other son plays little league, and for the $125 sign up fee they get a uniform, paid umpires, and an end of year party budget. For swim team I buy the swimsuits, volunteers run everything, and concession sales pay for social events.

This is maddening. I am a single mom taking care of a child with special needs, two other kids, and an elderly parent who is in serious active treatment for a life threatening condition. I receive no financial support from ex-DH and have a high stress job.

I still make the time to volunteer for swim team because it's the decent thing to do. Do you really think that other families don't have a lot of things going on? If you are really overwhelmed talk to the team rep and work something out but you seem to have no sense of community or guilt which is pretty disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Superior beings,
If you don't want kids with non-volunteer parents on your swim team, then make it SUPER CLEAR that enrollment is limited to parent volunteer families only. Drop kids whose parent doesn't occupy a volunteer role in the first A or B meet.

I feel like the leagues are shaming me because I can only volunteer part-time. I can't volunteer for every B meet during the season. I can't commit to judge training, like stroke and turn. But I do what I can with the time I have available.

Teams absolutely make it super clear. And give numerous chances to back out. People know and just don’t care. Takers gonna take.

My kid wants to swim, so I sign him up. I have other kids that play other sports, I have elderly parents that I’m the caretaker for, and I have a job. So I don’t volunteer. I offer to write a check for whatever, but I’m not denying my son an opportunity to swim because his grandparents are dying or I have to work. If it comes back to bite me, as previous posters have threatened, than that’s fine with me.

What exactly are we paying for with swim team sign up fees anyway? It’s not cheap. My other son plays little league, and for the $125 sign up fee they get a uniform, paid umpires, and an end of year party budget. For swim team I buy the swimsuits, volunteers run everything, and concession sales pay for social events.

This is maddening. I am a single mom taking care of a child with special needs, two other kids, and an elderly parent who is in serious active treatment for a life threatening condition. I receive no financial support from ex-DH and have a high stress job.

I still make the time to volunteer for swim team because it's the decent thing to do. Do you really think that other families don't have a lot of things going on? If you are really overwhelmed talk to the team rep and work something out but you seem to have no sense of community or guilt which is pretty disgusting.

I agree, there’s something you can do. Maybe sign up to bring snacks for the timers to have during half time? A case of bottled water is $4, so it’s probably not a huge hardship if you can afford swim team and a pool membership. Do SOMETHING.

[Anonymous]

You guys are missing the big picture. It takes a village, aka lots of volunteers to make things happen for our kids and our community. More and more people do not volunteer (because both parents working stressful jobs and long hours, because they are taking care of elderly parents and other children), it doesn't really matter, the result is the same: fewer volunteers.

Meanwhile, those who are volunteering are doing more, being appreciated less, and burn out. You cannot just write a check and think it willbe the same.

I see this in nearly everything my kids and family do (so it isn't just swim team parents who aren't volunteering), and I am tired.

Maybe we need a new model, but I don't know what that is

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You guys are missing the big picture. It takes a village, aka lots of volunteers to make things happen for our kids and our community. More and more people do not volunteer (because both parents working stressful jobs and long hours, because they are taking care of elderly parents and other children), it doesn't really matter, the result is the same: fewer volunteers.

Meanwhile, those who are volunteering are doing more, being appreciated less, and burn out. You cannot just write a check and think it willbe the same.

I see this in nearly everything my kids and family do (so it isn't just swim team parents who aren't volunteering), and I am tired.

Maybe we need a new model, but I don't know what that is

travel sports. You pay a few thousand and the club handles most of these things for you.

[Anonymous]

Don't have time to read through 19 pages of this nonsense but I judge the volunteer nazis like OP who deliberately try to make people feel bad. Same person who gets into a tizzy when the volunteers' shirt isn't 100% white cotton or if someone makes a mistake when filling out those unnecessary ribbons. SMD, OP.

Riddle me this, how is a single parent with one kid swimming and two others who aren't because they aren't old enough or don't want to but aren't old enough to be at home by themselves supposed to volunteer for 5 effing swim meets, plus all of the other stupid events such as needing volunteers for tie-dying shirts, or for pancake breakfasts or for the rootbeer floats. It's so much bullshine.

Perhaps at registration allow folks to opt out from volunteering for an additionl $50-$100. Then you could hire the additional help needed to do the meets.

For B meets, why not just one or two timers? It's not important at all and if little Johnny is going to swim in 8 meets he doesn't need 24 different time samples for each stroke to figure out if he's good enough for all stars or whatever else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't have time to read through 19 pages of this nonsense but I judge the volunteer nazis like OP who deliberately try to make people feel bad. Same person who gets into a tizzy when the volunteers' shirt isn't 100% white cotton or if someone makes a mistake when filling out those unnecessary ribbons. SMD, OP.

Riddle me this, how is a single parent with one kid swimming and two others who aren't because they aren't old enough or don't want to but aren't old enough to be at home by themselves supposed to volunteer for 5 effing swim meets, plus all of the other stupid events such as needing volunteers for tie-dying shirts, or for pancake breakfasts or for the rootbeer floats. It's so much bullshine.

Perhaps at registration allow folks to opt out from volunteering for an additionl $50-$100. Then you could hire the additional help needed to do the meets.

For B meets, why not just one or two timers? It's not important at all and if little Johnny is going to swim in 8 meets he doesn't need 24 different time samples for each stroke to figure out if he's good enough for all stars or whatever else.

Thanks for contributing to the nonsense!

[Anonymous]

I volunteer and coach three other teams in another sport where the parents to jack all to help out, so go ahead and judge me if I don't volunteer to help out the swim team. Eat glass while you're judging me, while you're at it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't have time to read through 19 pages of this nonsense but I judge the volunteer nazis like OP who deliberately try to make people feel bad. Same person who gets into a tizzy when the volunteers' shirt isn't 100% white cotton or if someone makes a mistake when filling out those unnecessary ribbons. SMD, OP.

Riddle me this, how is a single parent with one kid swimming and two others who aren't because they aren't old enough or don't want to but aren't old enough to be at home by themselves supposed to volunteer for 5 effing swim meets, plus all of the other stupid events such as needing volunteers for tie-dying shirts, or for pancake breakfasts or for the rootbeer floats. It's so much bullshine.

Perhaps at registration allow folks to opt out from volunteering for an additionl $50-$100. Then you could hire the additional help needed to do the meets.

For B meets, why not just one or two timers? It's not important at all and if little Johnny is going to swim in 8 meets he doesn't need 24 different time samples for each stroke to figure out if he's good enough for all stars or whatever else.

That’s a really easy riddle. You don’t sign your kid up for swim team if you can’t fulfill your volunteer duties. Swim team is optional, remember?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I volunteer and coach three other teams in another sport where the parents to jack all to help out, so go ahead and judge me if I don't volunteer to help out the swim team. Eat glass while you're judging me, while you're at it.

Way to spread yourself too thin thin. No one wants to pick up your slack when you do that. It’s not all about you and your kids.