Freeloading swim team parents suck

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:When things are "mandated" -- push back. If parents pushed back, rules would change eventually.

Your kid will just be kicked off the team. Sure you could appeal to the board, I’ve never seen a pool without a large overlap between board and swim team thou. The majority of parents and kids like things the way they are. You could launch your revolution against concessions, but most people like the sunny-d and chic-fil-a

Those things are raise a little money for the pool.

Most swim teams charge very little given the amount of pool time and coaches and they NEED the things like concession stand to make funding to keep swim team more affordable. Our pool people ask for the concessions but only a few families has stepped up to really do it so it isn't open much as there are only so many hours they can do. What do parents expect for $100-200 for 8 weeks?

Not unnecessary things like swim-team exclusive events every week that require parent volunteers during work hours. I don't expect or need ribbons for 80 kids. I don't expect volunteer coordinators to treat the volunteers like crap from time to time or the martyrdom.

The social part is the fun part. Go to just lessons if you don't want any of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll admit to not reading all 35 pages but I assumed most teams required a volunteer deposit at the beginning of the season that gets returned at the end of the season if you volunteer the required number of times. It’s several hundred dollars so I’d assume most everyone volunteers instead. We typically don’t have an issue with not enough volunteers so it seems to work.

We've been on two teams, neither has any type of deposit or requirement to pay. But, second team just assigns jobs. So much better.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I show up to meets but am in the back on my laptop catching up on work. Sorry. That’s the price I pay because the hours of practice are during normal working hours.

Geez. You work like every other parent?

<shrug>. Our team is 90% SAHM or PT families. I don’t think that’s coincidence.

I’m calling BS on this. This isn’t the 1950s.

Many of ours are teachers. They work, just not in the summer. Most other sports have evening practice, poster makes a good point.

Not really. Meets are in evenings and weekends, just like all other sports. Those are when the volunteer hours are needed. Or, as another parent pointed out, there are plenty of other volunteer jobs that a parent can do "behind the scenes" on their own time, whenever they can fit it in. All you have to do is email your team's volunteer coordinator.

Yes, there are more SAHM and PT moms at practices, and I also see grandparents and nannies taking care of drop-off/pick-up for practices for FT working moms/dads. Again, that has nothing to do with volunteer hours.

Oh, and before some smart ass responds with "your privilege is showing" or something to that effect, it's quite cheap to pay a HS or college kid to take care of running your kid to practice a few days per week. That, or share a carpool with another working parent. Super cheap and easy.

PP just sounds like a slacker looking for excuses.

You are demonstrating how exclusive summer swim is with the daytime practices and volunteering. If you are fortunate enough to work for home hiring help might work, but it's an added expense and strategizing.

Find a team with evening practice. Many in the metro area have them since there are so many families with no SAHP. Our practice is from 6-8. My kids are at childcare/camp during the day and often go from aftercare straight to practice. I usually pack dinner when I go home and change bf pick up or my spouse shows up with it later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When things are "mandated" -- push back. If parents pushed back, rules would change eventually.

Lol

[Anonymous]

I actually like that it is well laid out and you can change each week what you volunteer for and the jobs are explained.

Our team does the big check as “hostage” and asks you to sign up for at least 6 - 7 shifts per family. (We have a zillion kids)

I contrast this with baseball and scouts where there are occasional requests for volunteers but then either: 1) what needs done is not well defined/explained or 2) if you volunteer you are stuck doing it for the season rather than cycling in and out each week with other parents.

[Anonymous]

^ and I love snack bar and would be really ticked if a team we swam against did not have it since I hate the idea of planning and packing all our food/drinks over meal times.

I will say that I appreciate that my present team seems to have roughly the right # of people for each job. Old team had like 4 card runners (vs 2) and other stupid stuff that made it feel like there were extra bodies around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ and I love snack bar and would be really ticked if a team we swam against did not have it since I hate the idea of planning and packing all our food/drinks over meal times.

I will say that I appreciate that my present team seems to have roughly the right # of people for each job. Old team had like 4 card runners (vs 2) and other stupid stuff that made it feel like there were extra bodies around.

If I have to be at another pool at 8:00, I expect to be able to buy a breakfast burrito or biscuit and a coffee. I have never taken my kid to a meet where that hasn't happened

[Anonymous]

Volunteer creep. That's the problem. Over time, the volunteer positions keep increasing -because somebody thinks it's a good idea. It's not efficient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Volunteer creep. That's the problem. Over time, the volunteer positions keep increasing -because somebody thinks it's a good idea. It's not efficient.

We have the opposite. With software, we have cut down a number of roles, but you still need a person physically to time each line and place judge. We aren't fancy enough for those touchpads. But you are wrong if you think everyone is trying to create roles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know why you swim team parents put up with this system. I did summer swim team with people who were later Div I recruited swimmers, and my older sib swam with st least one Olympic qualifier. You know how many parent volunteers there were? Zero. Older kids ran the snack bar (I guess a parent did volunteer to do the Costco run in advance). The coaches or the paid referee monitored for false starts and touch violations. Like what is done in other kids sports. I just don’t know why you swim parents don’t rise up against how ridiculous this system is. I constantly hear people complaining about it but everyone seems to just accept it as a necessary evil. But why is it necessary?

+1. Few sports operate like this. Join those. You will be so much happier.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:When the team says prior to registration that volunteering is mandatory to make swim team work, they don’t mean everyone but YOU.

You suck and I judge you. Don’t give excuses, no one forced you to register your kid.

That’s all.

This is why my kids don’t swim. Congrats on your superiority.

+1

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Like most volunteer organizations it sounds like there are some critical needs and a whole lot of “needs” that are really just bloat.
Nobody needs Tuesday morning donuts or a concession stand or robins given out each meet.

Two years ago we got email after email about the need for a concession manager and volunteers for my sons soccer games. And the threat that if no one volunteered we wooodnt have concessions.
Sure enough, no one volunteered and we haven’t had a concession stand the last few years.
It’s wonderful. No kids begging for soda, no harping on about who is going to volunteer before you even know your kids schedules.

Sounds like you know nothing about swim meets. Nothing is bloat. We have an 8 lane pool and are required to have 3 timers per lane. That’s 24 people per meet just to time. We also need several clerks of course, computer assistants, time card runners and people to work concessions. None of this is bloat.

Our team is very upfront about the volunteer requirement and gives parents several chances to back out with refund. People who stay and freeload anyway are just scum.

Concessions is bloat. Not needed.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I didn’t know I would have to volunteer either. I paid my money for my kid to be on the team. Our meets are at night this year and go until gone 9pm. They always ask for timers but I’m hesitant because I don’t want to be stuck there that late. I have to get up for work at 5am so I usually head out when DD is done.

Honest question, does your child participate in any other rec sport?

yes soccer. I sign up to bring snacks once or twice during the season.

No one had brought snacks to soccer in over a year due to Covid.

Also, everyone brings snacks. That's not "volunteering". Who coaches the team? Who is the assistant coach? Who runs the background checks? Who reserves and organizes the field space for practices and games? Who scheduled the refs? Who puts the kids on teams and processes the payments? Who sets up the registration website? Who gets the kids uniforms organized and gets equipment to and back from the coaches?

The rec organization Commissioner does all of that, except coach. Coaches are volunteers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like most volunteer organizations it sounds like there are some critical needs and a whole lot of “needs” that are really just bloat.
Nobody needs Tuesday morning donuts or a concession stand or robins given out each meet.

Two years ago we got email after email about the need for a concession manager and volunteers for my sons soccer games. And the threat that if no one volunteered we wooodnt have concessions.
Sure enough, no one volunteered and we haven’t had a concession stand the last few years.
It’s wonderful. No kids begging for soda, no harping on about who is going to volunteer before you even know your kids schedules.

Sounds like you know nothing about swim meets. Nothing is bloat. We have an 8 lane pool and are required to have 3 timers per lane. That’s 24 people per meet just to time. We also need several clerks of course, computer assistants, time card runners and people to work concessions. None of this is bloat.

Our team is very upfront about the volunteer requirement and gives parents several chances to back out with refund. People who stay and freeload anyway are just scum.

Concessions is bloat. Not needed.

Its about fundraising. Most teams charge 100-200 per kid which isn't very much and have to hire coaches. The concessions is 1-2 people. That's not a big deal compared to the other required positions. Our meets run hours. Its nice to have it, especially when parents are volunteering and not able to sit with their kids and make sure things like food get handled.

[Anonymous]

“ Concessions is bloat. Not needed.”

Core to summer swim. Absolutely would riot if my team considered ditching it.

Now for winter swim - yes concessions are optional in my view and I think a max of two timers would be fine given touch pads and plungers. I have loved Covid timing with just one timer for inside pools. Winter swim could also taKe a page from summer swim but breaking up the timing shifts in half - they are SO long and just mind numbing lot boring since I know almost none of the swimmers.