Prize to the worst swim parent goes to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the no spectators thing a DMV thing? We are knew to the area and DD has expressed an interest in joining the swim team over the summer.

And it would be a real bummer to not to be able to support her

Summer swim team is different with it being outdoors. I don't know of any pool that has limited spectators.

[Anonymous]

#2 is not crazy; it's practical (and better for the environment to boot!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the no spectators thing a DMV thing? We are knew to the area and DD has expressed an interest in joining the swim team over the summer.

And it would be a real bummer to not to be able to support her

Summer swim team is different with it being outdoors. I don't know of any pool that has limited spectators.

It's a COVID thing for indoor swimming. Hopefully by next year we'll all be crammed into the stands crawling over each other again. Except me, my swimmer is graduating -- Yea!

[Anonymous]

I would be happy if they keep the no spectator rule in club swim. DH and I were regular volunteers in the before times, and went way over the required hours because so many parents just wouldn’t sign up since they could watch from the stands anyway. I would be thrilled to “let” other parents hog the volunteer spots now that they’re a hot ticket. Also willing to chip in for better streaming setups.

The no spectator policy also allows me to avoid my least favorite swim parent, the one who screams in your ear from 6 inches away when his/her kid is swimming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be happy if they keep the no spectator rule in club swim. DH and I were regular volunteers in the before times, and went way over the required hours because so many parents just wouldn’t sign up since they could watch from the stands anyway. I would be thrilled to “let” other parents hog the volunteer spots now that they’re a hot ticket. Also willing to chip in for better streaming setups.

The no spectator policy also allows me to avoid my least favorite swim parent, the one who screams in your ear from 6 inches away when his/her kid is swimming.

I agree- The no spectator policy is the best! You can avoid the drama and watch from home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:#2 is not crazy; it's practical (and better for the environment to boot!).

+1

Practice site is 15 min away so I would spend 45 min driving back home and back again. Just to spend an hour at home. Now back when we were allowed to stay I, if i didn't go for a run, I would read a book inside. Going inside just to stare at your kid practicing is a little crazy.

No spectators allowed has actually been pretty sweet. i enjoy not feeling obligated to sit in the bleachers to watch the entire swim meet. It's like free childcare and alone time for me that doesn't require breathing in chlorine fumes.


Now the parents I can't stand... the ones who cheer like their kids can hear them and the dad who used to whistle so freaking loud it made my head hurt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the no spectators thing a DMV thing? We are knew to the area and DD has expressed an interest in joining the swim team over the summer.

And it would be a real bummer to not to be able to support her

There are definitely summer spectators. The difference is that with summer league you are not spectating - you are working it. Summer teams are run by the parents since they are much smaller teams than club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- I actually don't really care about #1 or #2, it's more that I hear a lot of complaints about it from other parents- as for #2, my DC finds it creepy when the parent just sits there and watches the whole entire time

as for #3, come on- they exist and you know it. Those parents that think they kid is the sh*t and treat all the other parents like they don't matter even when you're trying to be polite- It's like middle school all over again.

Personally, I think the worst swim parents are the ones who make their kids swim even when the kids says they don't want to. The kids talk, it's not a secret.

So as to point one - I will show to practice once of month or so and watch. I have lived in different areas, have had kids on different teams and clubs. I am a swim team rep for a summer team. I am judging the coaching. Not so much watching my kid. I wanted to see what kinds of lanes they have, coach to kid ratio, if they know the kids, if the kids are having fun and being corrected, etc. So really I am not watching so much the performance of my kid as to what they are getting out of the experience.

As to point two - agree with you. We have a kid on the team who really hates swim. Parents make her do it and then constantly say how much she loves it, loves it, loves it. She doesn't. She tells the kids they make her. We also know that they are using it because they think she is heavy and overload her with physical activity then feed her junk. It is all kind of messed up. She is a sweet kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be happy if they keep the no spectator rule in club swim. DH and I were regular volunteers in the before times, and went way over the required hours because so many parents just wouldn’t sign up since they could watch from the stands anyway. I would be thrilled to “let” other parents hog the volunteer spots now that they’re a hot ticket. Also willing to chip in for better streaming setups.

The no spectator policy also allows me to avoid my least favorite swim parent, the one who screams in your ear from 6 inches away when his/her kid is swimming.

I hope that they keep it as well.

[Anonymous]

I will miss it if indoor spectators don't come back. I enjoy watching the sport of swimming the way some people enjoy watching football or baseball. We watch swimming when it ever happens to be on tv, I love watching my own kids swim. We dvr the swimming events during the Olympics.

As a result, we do volunteer a lot but I love watching my own kid swim and if I'm timing lane 7 and he's in lane 3, the reality is it isn't quite the same experience.

If teams and venues make it permanent, I hope they invest in better audio/video feeds so that we can actually clearly see the pools and scoreboards. Maybe even with the person videoing also announcing, so that when parents log in we know if they're in heat 2 or heat 8 of that event.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I do get annoyed at that parent that sits with her tween child at.every.single.meet even though spectators are not allowed. This same parent takes the limited seating given to actual swimmers because I have heard the complaints. This swimmer swims one event and ends up NS for the rest.

My kind side suspects the kid (12ish) suffers anxiety of some sort.

My mean side thinks who the hell would put a kid with those kinds of issues in club swim/swim - probably one of the worse sports for having to be out there on your own.

This falls under not knowing your kid and probably making things worse. My SIL is like this with her kids. They have issues. She asks for advice - get counseling, cognitive therapy, professional help, etc. She does known of that - she listens to podcasts and reads self help books - then does whatever she wants usually making it worse. She is literally her kid's worse enemy.

[Anonymous]

On two separate occasions, I witnessed two different dads tell their sons, “Swimming is not a real sport. You should play a ball sport.” They did not congratulate their child for swimming well. Instead they ridiculed their child.

[Anonymous]

Is it really on the table that PVS might not allow spectators back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- I actually don't really care about #1 or #2, it's more that I hear a lot of complaints about it from other parents- as for #2, my DC finds it creepy when the parent just sits there and watches the whole entire time

as for #3, come on- they exist and you know it. Those parents that think they kid is the sh*t and treat all the other parents like they don't matter even when you're trying to be polite- It's like middle school all over again.

Personally, I think the worst swim parents are the ones who make their kids swim even when the kids says they don't want to. The kids talk, it's not a secret.

Depends on the kid. My kids never “want” to do anything except stay home and play video games.
But I make them go, and when I pick them up they seem to have had a good time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it really on the table that PVS might not allow spectators back?

I would love that, but I highly doubt it.