Families that never volunteer - swim team

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And for those who say, "but we have always had 3 timers per lane", no you haven't. It used to be one timer and a starting gun.

I’m assuming you glanced at the 1956 rules that only specifies one timer per lane. In the 1965 rules while it only says it recommends two timers per lane, for any time to be counted as a record the lane needed to have 3 timers. Yes, times change, and in most cases, like this one, improvements are made. We’re not going back in time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's clear that the volunteer requirements are more than many bargained for and are the cause of a lot of resentment. Rah rah parents who spend the most time and run the whole thing seem more sympathetic than the proles who crowd three deep behind a lane and leave the meet with wet sandals. Parents who pay to belong to the club think they get a pass from volunteering because they are really super busy like you wouldn't believe.

Asking for a hefty volunteer deposit doesn't really solve the problem because no one wants to show up for a 2 hour shift. It just alleviates the guilt of the people who are happy to pay and squeezes the rest of the suckers who now have to assume those shifts.

Since timers put the biggest burden on the meet, I don't think it would ruin the fun by going down to one or two timers per lane. And for those who say, "but we have always had 3 timers per lane", no you haven't. It used to be one timer and a starting gun. Times change. Three crappy stopwatch times are not much better than one crappy stopwatch time. Have those would be timers pass out popsicles or sit at a cupcake decorating table instead. I guarantee kids would appreciate that more than another timer at the end of the lane. Or better yet, let them watch their kids swim.

Just stop it already. You are in a small minority in favor of this. Most people are very happy with the way NVSL meets are run and don’t want this aspect to change. Besides, timing is a relatively enjoyable volunteer experience. I would do it every meet if our pool wasn’t short on certified judges. You should just find a pool in a league that does it the way you suggest.

PP's post was spot on. Clearly, people don't want to volunteer, and so things SHOULD change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's clear that the volunteer requirements are more than many bargained for and are the cause of a lot of resentment. Rah rah parents who spend the most time and run the whole thing seem more sympathetic than the proles who crowd three deep behind a lane and leave the meet with wet sandals. Parents who pay to belong to the club think they get a pass from volunteering because they are really super busy like you wouldn't believe.

Asking for a hefty volunteer deposit doesn't really solve the problem because no one wants to show up for a 2 hour shift. It just alleviates the guilt of the people who are happy to pay and squeezes the rest of the suckers who now have to assume those shifts.

Since timers put the biggest burden on the meet, I don't think it would ruin the fun by going down to one or two timers per lane. And for those who say, "but we have always had 3 timers per lane", no you haven't. It used to be one timer and a starting gun. Times change. Three crappy stopwatch times are not much better than one crappy stopwatch time. Have those would be timers pass out popsicles or sit at a cupcake decorating table instead. I guarantee kids would appreciate that more than another timer at the end of the lane. Or better yet, let them watch their kids swim.

Just stop it already. You are in a small minority in favor of this. Most people are very happy with the way NVSL meets are run and don’t want this aspect to change. Besides, timing is a relatively enjoyable volunteer experience. I would do it every meet if our pool wasn’t short on certified judges. You should just find a pool in a league that does it the way you suggest.

PP's post was spot on. Clearly, people don't want to volunteer, and so things SHOULD change.

Those who don’t want to volunteer should simply quit swim. I suppose if there is enough that do, maybe there will be impetus to change but that seems highly unlikely

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's clear that the volunteer requirements are more than many bargained for and are the cause of a lot of resentment. Rah rah parents who spend the most time and run the whole thing seem more sympathetic than the proles who crowd three deep behind a lane and leave the meet with wet sandals. Parents who pay to belong to the club think they get a pass from volunteering because they are really super busy like you wouldn't believe.

Asking for a hefty volunteer deposit doesn't really solve the problem because no one wants to show up for a 2 hour shift. It just alleviates the guilt of the people who are happy to pay and squeezes the rest of the suckers who now have to assume those shifts.

Since timers put the biggest burden on the meet, I don't think it would ruin the fun by going down to one or two timers per lane. And for those who say, "but we have always had 3 timers per lane", no you haven't. It used to be one timer and a starting gun. Times change. Three crappy stopwatch times are not much better than one crappy stopwatch time. Have those would be timers pass out popsicles or sit at a cupcake decorating table instead. I guarantee kids would appreciate that more than another timer at the end of the lane. Or better yet, let them watch their kids swim.

Just stop it already. You are in a small minority in favor of this. Most people are very happy with the way NVSL meets are run and don’t want this aspect to change. Besides, timing is a relatively enjoyable volunteer experience. I would do it every meet if our pool wasn’t short on certified judges. You should just find a pool in a league that does it the way you suggest.

PP's post was spot on. Clearly, people don't want to volunteer, and so things SHOULD change.

Those who don’t want to volunteer should simply quit swim. I suppose if there is enough that do, maybe there will be impetus to change but that seems highly unlikely

Or, just maybe, the leagues could adapt to work better for the modern family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's clear that the volunteer requirements are more than many bargained for and are the cause of a lot of resentment. Rah rah parents who spend the most time and run the whole thing seem more sympathetic than the proles who crowd three deep behind a lane and leave the meet with wet sandals. Parents who pay to belong to the club think they get a pass from volunteering because they are really super busy like you wouldn't believe.

Asking for a hefty volunteer deposit doesn't really solve the problem because no one wants to show up for a 2 hour shift. It just alleviates the guilt of the people who are happy to pay and squeezes the rest of the suckers who now have to assume those shifts.

Since timers put the biggest burden on the meet, I don't think it would ruin the fun by going down to one or two timers per lane. And for those who say, "but we have always had 3 timers per lane", no you haven't. It used to be one timer and a starting gun. Times change. Three crappy stopwatch times are not much better than one crappy stopwatch time. Have those would be timers pass out popsicles or sit at a cupcake decorating table instead. I guarantee kids would appreciate that more than another timer at the end of the lane. Or better yet, let them watch their kids swim.

Just stop it already. You are in a small minority in favor of this. Most people are very happy with the way NVSL meets are run and don’t want this aspect to change. Besides, timing is a relatively enjoyable volunteer experience. I would do it every meet if our pool wasn’t short on certified judges. You should just find a pool in a league that does it the way you suggest.

PP's post was spot on. Clearly, people don't want to volunteer, and so things SHOULD change.

Those who don’t want to volunteer should simply quit swim. I suppose if there is enough that do, maybe there will be impetus to change but that seems highly unlikely

Or, just maybe, the leagues could adapt to work better for the modern family.

What exactly is a modern family? One who just drops off their kid or finds a carpool where the other family does all the driving and you, as a parent, just do very little?

The point of part of swim team in the summer is the community. Otherwise just put your kid in lessons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's clear that the volunteer requirements are more than many bargained for and are the cause of a lot of resentment. Rah rah parents who spend the most time and run the whole thing seem more sympathetic than the proles who crowd three deep behind a lane and leave the meet with wet sandals. Parents who pay to belong to the club think they get a pass from volunteering because they are really super busy like you wouldn't believe.

Asking for a hefty volunteer deposit doesn't really solve the problem because no one wants to show up for a 2 hour shift. It just alleviates the guilt of the people who are happy to pay and squeezes the rest of the suckers who now have to assume those shifts.

Since timers put the biggest burden on the meet, I don't think it would ruin the fun by going down to one or two timers per lane. And for those who say, "but we have always had 3 timers per lane", no you haven't. It used to be one timer and a starting gun. Times change. Three crappy stopwatch times are not much better than one crappy stopwatch time. Have those would be timers pass out popsicles or sit at a cupcake decorating table instead. I guarantee kids would appreciate that more than another timer at the end of the lane. Or better yet, let them watch their kids swim.

Again - this is an actual sport and this method relies on one person not making a mistake for an entire meet. Have you ever timed a meet and not had at least one time really off?

I think you need to find another sport.

Again, this is an actual rec activity, so it is OKAY not to be accurate, as long as finish order is preserved. I mean, it already isn't accurate with stopwatches. If people were intent on accuracy, they would get a real automated timing system and not rely on humans with stopwatches. And yes I have timed before. So much so that I eventually became an admin official and now I run the computer and I get to look at ALL the times. The watch times are the last resort and they are often way off. People try hard, but you can't escape human reaction times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The entitlement on this thread is insane. The fact remains that summer swim teams rely on many volunteers throughout the season. If everyone said f it, this team takes the volunteer commitment too seriously, then it won’t happen. The team shuts down.

What’s wrong with showing and investing in your kids’ activities? Summer swim is a community thing, invest in it or don’t participate.

Always the same parents that step up to help. It’s a shame, what are you teaching your children?

So selfish.

It's a bandwidth thing. Thankfully our team isn't run by people like you.

Your team is run by volunteers like PP and me, and we all have important jobs and a million other things to do. The difference is that we invest our time and effort in our communities and our kids, while you don’t. Maybe get off DCUM and do something productive with your time.

I can't. I literally can't. I would if I could. Does attacking a struggling person make you feel better?

Respectfully, getting out of your own head and helping others is exactly what you need.

What if it's not just in her head? You don't know.

You don't know if she has cancer, chronic daily migraines, somebody dying, a wrecking ball hit her house, divorcing, working 75 hours a week, tied up volunteering to give impoverished kids free surgeries to correct birth defects or representing battered women in court, or is some top secret CIA mixed martial arts lady in the middle of fighting some foreign adversary dude hanging off a balcony like Jason Bourne. You just don't know.

I've got one of those issues daily and have had multiple of those issues at one time and I find ways to volunteer at home. And, sure, its great to be a surgeon volunteering or a lawyer volunteering your time to help others, but that shouldn't be at the expense of your kids, who also need your attention and support and part of that is if you have them summer swim and the expectation is you help out there, since you are such a generous and giving person, no reason you cannot help out on swim team. Really, its less than two months.

Ok. Cases are in trial. Should I ask the judge for a continuance for summer swim team? Aside from death of parent, another parent just paralyzed weeks ago, my long covid, plus a wrecking ball to my house. Maybe that can get a continuance to show face to the swim mommies with nothing better to do then feign business and moral superiority?

A wrecking ball hit your house?

And you are in court on Saturday mornings?

I am very sorry about these things. I would have thought that the house hit by a wrecking ball would have made the news though.

I do pro bono on weekends, because I can't do it during my FT lawyer job hours, which also requires overtime work on yes weekends. I work days, nights, and weekends. Sorry moms like me can't tackle more urgent needs facing the swim community. Perhaps a call to your elected officials could bring about change for this important issue of absent swim moms devastating local swim teams. And 7 On Your Side.

So.
Then.
Your.
Kids.
Don’t.
Do.
Swim.
Team.
If.
You.
And/Or.
Their.
Other.
Parent.
Or.
Other.
Family.
Member.
Can’t.
Or.
Won’t.
Meet.
The.
Volunteer.
Requirements.

I’m so glad I could help clear this up for you.

Oh, shut up.

No. Sorry the truth hurts. Deal with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The entitlement on this thread is insane. The fact remains that summer swim teams rely on many volunteers throughout the season. If everyone said f it, this team takes the volunteer commitment too seriously, then it won’t happen. The team shuts down.

What’s wrong with showing and investing in your kids’ activities? Summer swim is a community thing, invest in it or don’t participate.

Always the same parents that step up to help. It’s a shame, what are you teaching your children?

So selfish.

It's a bandwidth thing. Thankfully our team isn't run by people like you.

Your team is run by volunteers like PP and me, and we all have important jobs and a million other things to do. The difference is that we invest our time and effort in our communities and our kids, while you don’t. Maybe get off DCUM and do something productive with your time.

I can't. I literally can't. I would if I could. Does attacking a struggling person make you feel better?

Respectfully, getting out of your own head and helping others is exactly what you need.

What if it's not just in her head? You don't know.

You don't know if she has cancer, chronic daily migraines, somebody dying, a wrecking ball hit her house, divorcing, working 75 hours a week, tied up volunteering to give impoverished kids free surgeries to correct birth defects or representing battered women in court, or is some top secret CIA mixed martial arts lady in the middle of fighting some foreign adversary dude hanging off a balcony like Jason Bourne. You just don't know.

I've got one of those issues daily and have had multiple of those issues at one time and I find ways to volunteer at home. And, sure, its great to be a surgeon volunteering or a lawyer volunteering your time to help others, but that shouldn't be at the expense of your kids, who also need your attention and support and part of that is if you have them summer swim and the expectation is you help out there, since you are such a generous and giving person, no reason you cannot help out on swim team. Really, its less than two months.

Ok. Cases are in trial. Should I ask the judge for a continuance for summer swim team? Aside from death of parent, another parent just paralyzed weeks ago, my long covid, plus a wrecking ball to my house. Maybe that can get a continuance to show face to the swim mommies with nothing better to do then feign business and moral superiority?

A wrecking ball hit your house?

And you are in court on Saturday mornings?

I am very sorry about these things. I would have thought that the house hit by a wrecking ball would have made the news though.

I do pro bono on weekends, because I can't do it during my FT lawyer job hours, which also requires overtime work on yes weekends. I work days, nights, and weekends. Sorry moms like me can't tackle more urgent needs facing the swim community. Perhaps a call to your elected officials could bring about change for this important issue of absent swim moms devastating local swim teams. And 7 On Your Side.

So.
Then.
Your.
Kids.
Don’t.
Do.
Swim.
Team.
If.
You.
And/Or.
Their.
Other.
Parent.
Or.
Other.
Family.
Member.
Can’t.
Or.
Won’t.
Meet.
The.
Volunteer.
Requirements.

I’m so glad I could help clear this up for you.

If you are working, all day, all evening and all weekend, who is caring for your kids?

I am. I type, get up, type, get up, type get up. I have not sat on a couch to watch TV in probably 3 years. I don't in bed either. I did sit on the couch for 5 minutes once this year. Some moms are just super busy.

Martyr away

I didn't start a thread about it. The martyrs are the swim moms complaining

Sweetie you posted about a wrecking ball hitting your house, how you apparently get up, type, get up, type, all day, and your crushing pro bono work. You win the whiniest poster award because you aren’t as special as you think you are.

This. In fact, she isn’t special at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's clear that the volunteer requirements are more than many bargained for and are the cause of a lot of resentment. Rah rah parents who spend the most time and run the whole thing seem more sympathetic than the proles who crowd three deep behind a lane and leave the meet with wet sandals. Parents who pay to belong to the club think they get a pass from volunteering because they are really super busy like you wouldn't believe.

Asking for a hefty volunteer deposit doesn't really solve the problem because no one wants to show up for a 2 hour shift. It just alleviates the guilt of the people who are happy to pay and squeezes the rest of the suckers who now have to assume those shifts.

Since timers put the biggest burden on the meet, I don't think it would ruin the fun by going down to one or two timers per lane. And for those who say, "but we have always had 3 timers per lane", no you haven't. It used to be one timer and a starting gun. Times change. Three crappy stopwatch times are not much better than one crappy stopwatch time. Have those would be timers pass out popsicles or sit at a cupcake decorating table instead. I guarantee kids would appreciate that more than another timer at the end of the lane. Or better yet, let them watch their kids swim.

Just stop it already. You are in a small minority in favor of this. Most people are very happy with the way NVSL meets are run and don’t want this aspect to change. Besides, timing is a relatively enjoyable volunteer experience. I would do it every meet if our pool wasn’t short on certified judges. You should just find a pool in a league that does it the way you suggest.

PP's post was spot on. Clearly, people don't want to volunteer, and so things SHOULD change.

Those who don’t want to volunteer should simply quit swim. I suppose if there is enough that do, maybe there will be impetus to change but that seems highly unlikely

Or, just maybe, the leagues could adapt to work better for the modern family.

It works fine for the modern families who aren’t lazy and/or terminally overcommitted martyrs who did it to themselves as a result of their own choices. Shrug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's clear that the volunteer requirements are more than many bargained for and are the cause of a lot of resentment. Rah rah parents who spend the most time and run the whole thing seem more sympathetic than the proles who crowd three deep behind a lane and leave the meet with wet sandals. Parents who pay to belong to the club think they get a pass from volunteering because they are really super busy like you wouldn't believe.

Asking for a hefty volunteer deposit doesn't really solve the problem because no one wants to show up for a 2 hour shift. It just alleviates the guilt of the people who are happy to pay and squeezes the rest of the suckers who now have to assume those shifts.

Since timers put the biggest burden on the meet, I don't think it would ruin the fun by going down to one or two timers per lane. And for those who say, "but we have always had 3 timers per lane", no you haven't. It used to be one timer and a starting gun. Times change. Three crappy stopwatch times are not much better than one crappy stopwatch time. Have those would be timers pass out popsicles or sit at a cupcake decorating table instead. I guarantee kids would appreciate that more than another timer at the end of the lane. Or better yet, let them watch their kids swim.

Just stop it already. You are in a small minority in favor of this. Most people are very happy with the way NVSL meets are run and don’t want this aspect to change. Besides, timing is a relatively enjoyable volunteer experience. I would do it every meet if our pool wasn’t short on certified judges. You should just find a pool in a league that does it the way you suggest.

PP's post was spot on. Clearly, people don't want to volunteer, and so things SHOULD change.

Those who don’t want to volunteer should simply quit swim. I suppose if there is enough that do, maybe there will be impetus to change but that seems highly unlikely

Or, just maybe, the leagues could adapt to work better for the modern family.

It works fine for the modern families who aren’t lazy and/or terminally overcommitted martyrs who did it to themselves as a result of their own choices. Shrug.

Exactly. It has be said 1,000 times in this thread. Don’t participate if you can’t fulfill the volunteer requirements. The only people being entitled in this thread are the ones thinking that summer recreational swim should change its model because they can’t volunteer or find someone to volunteer.

Our team (and I’d assume others) allows SSL service hours to be earned for middle/high school students. Find some local kids to do your jobs for you if you are so busy that you can’t be bothered to volunteer for your kid’s activity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's clear that the volunteer requirements are more than many bargained for and are the cause of a lot of resentment. Rah rah parents who spend the most time and run the whole thing seem more sympathetic than the proles who crowd three deep behind a lane and leave the meet with wet sandals. Parents who pay to belong to the club think they get a pass from volunteering because they are really super busy like you wouldn't believe.

Asking for a hefty volunteer deposit doesn't really solve the problem because no one wants to show up for a 2 hour shift. It just alleviates the guilt of the people who are happy to pay and squeezes the rest of the suckers who now have to assume those shifts.

Since timers put the biggest burden on the meet, I don't think it would ruin the fun by going down to one or two timers per lane. And for those who say, "but we have always had 3 timers per lane", no you haven't. It used to be one timer and a starting gun. Times change. Three crappy stopwatch times are not much better than one crappy stopwatch time. Have those would be timers pass out popsicles or sit at a cupcake decorating table instead. I guarantee kids would appreciate that more than another timer at the end of the lane. Or better yet, let them watch their kids swim.

Just stop it already. You are in a small minority in favor of this. Most people are very happy with the way NVSL meets are run and don’t want this aspect to change. Besides, timing is a relatively enjoyable volunteer experience. I would do it every meet if our pool wasn’t short on certified judges. You should just find a pool in a league that does it the way you suggest.

PP's post was spot on. Clearly, people don't want to volunteer, and so things SHOULD change.

Those who don’t want to volunteer should simply quit swim. I suppose if there is enough that do, maybe there will be impetus to change but that seems highly unlikely

Or, just maybe, the leagues could adapt to work better for the modern family.

Plenty of modern families figure it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's clear that the volunteer requirements are more than many bargained for and are the cause of a lot of resentment. Rah rah parents who spend the most time and run the whole thing seem more sympathetic than the proles who crowd three deep behind a lane and leave the meet with wet sandals. Parents who pay to belong to the club think they get a pass from volunteering because they are really super busy like you wouldn't believe.

Asking for a hefty volunteer deposit doesn't really solve the problem because no one wants to show up for a 2 hour shift. It just alleviates the guilt of the people who are happy to pay and squeezes the rest of the suckers who now have to assume those shifts.

Since timers put the biggest burden on the meet, I don't think it would ruin the fun by going down to one or two timers per lane. And for those who say, "but we have always had 3 timers per lane", no you haven't. It used to be one timer and a starting gun. Times change. Three crappy stopwatch times are not much better than one crappy stopwatch time. Have those would be timers pass out popsicles or sit at a cupcake decorating table instead. I guarantee kids would appreciate that more than another timer at the end of the lane. Or better yet, let them watch their kids swim.

So I’m not a swim parent, but this thread is kind of fascinating to me…can someone explain why this is a burn?

[Anonymous]

So the no volunteer- no swim is fine if it’s fairly applied. But this where it gets tough, for all you posters who are so black and white about this.
You know at some point there will be an awesome swimmer whose family isn’t able to volunteer for whatever reason. Will this kid be denied participating? How about the other non-volunteering kids? What if they show up to all practices and work hard? Are they just flagged and not allowed to sign up next season? Or off the team mid-season?
What volunteer wants the job of being the volunteer police? Awful, plus creating more work.
I’d vote for figuring out how to do with less volunteers vs baring swimmers who show up and practice from participating.
Things are never fair in terms of volunteering- on other sports teams, in offices, in churches, in schools.
I get swim is unique in that it needs soooo many volunteers.
But focusing on policing parents and kicking kids off the team seems like a waste of energy and difficult to enforce.

[Anonymous]

Isn’t the success of any sports league tied to the number of new kids who come out and try the sport?
Seems like a carrot vs stick should be used to compel parents of new swimmers to help out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t the success of any sports league tied to the number of new kids who come out and try the sport?
Seems like a carrot vs stick should be used to compel parents of new swimmers to help out.

Swim has has no problem attracting new kids every year. It doesn’t need this wrecking ball of a troll.