Summer League Swim 2021

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The larger swim clubs need B swimmer revenue to cover the costs of coaches etc. so it’s difficult to offer only A meets. If A meets are happening, it’s difficult to tell crazy A swim families that the pool is sitting out the season. It’s a quandary.

B meets, even with large teams, could be done in different sessions.

I am on the board of a small club, small team. We lost about 1/8 of our membership last year. If we can’t offer swim team (I assume we will be able to on some form), then I fear we will lose more membership. 2019 was a good year, but another year like last year might cause the club to close.

did your pool botch reopening? our waiting list actually grew once we reopened

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The larger swim clubs need B swimmer revenue to cover the costs of coaches etc. so it’s difficult to offer only A meets. If A meets are happening, it’s difficult to tell crazy A swim families that the pool is sitting out the season. It’s a quandary.

B meets, even with large teams, could be done in different sessions.

I am on the board of a small club, small team. We lost about 1/8 of our membership last year. If we can’t offer swim team (I assume we will be able to on some form), then I fear we will lose more membership. 2019 was a good year, but another year like last year might cause the club to close.

did your pool botch reopening? our waiting list actually grew once we reopened

No. Total opposite. Opening went very well. We opened at the end of May for lap swim. As each phase progressed we were able to do the same. We were completely ready for each phase. Some nearby pools never opened last summer. We had about 25 full bonded memberships choose to not pay their dues. We only sold three new bond memberships. In 2019 we sold 18. What saved us last year was discounted temporary memberships later on the summer.

We haven’t had a wait list in decades. Things had been holding steady or improving slightly and 2019 was good for us. We had been able to invest in quite a few upgrades over recent years. Our pool can have 400 memberships. We had been running about 205 bonds and 30 temporary. We finished last year with about 178 bond memberships.

Our management company said they expect some clubs won’t make it to or through this coming summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The larger swim clubs need B swimmer revenue to cover the costs of coaches etc. so it’s difficult to offer only A meets. If A meets are happening, it’s difficult to tell crazy A swim families that the pool is sitting out the season. It’s a quandary.

B meets, even with large teams, could be done in different sessions.

I am on the board of a small club, small team. We lost about 1/8 of our membership last year. If we can’t offer swim team (I assume we will be able to on some form), then I fear we will lose more membership. 2019 was a good year, but another year like last year might cause the club to close.

did your pool botch reopening? our waiting list actually grew once we reopened

No. Total opposite. Opening went very well. We opened at the end of May for lap swim. As each phase progressed we were able to do the same. We were completely ready for each phase. Some nearby pools never opened last summer. We had about 25 full bonded memberships choose to not pay their dues. We only sold three new bond memberships. In 2019 we sold 18. What saved us last year was discounted temporary memberships later on the summer.

We haven’t had a wait list in decades. Things had been holding steady or improving slightly and 2019 was good for us. We had been able to invest in quite a few upgrades over recent years. Our pool can have 400 memberships. We had been running about 205 bonds and 30 temporary. We finished last year with about 178 bond memberships.

Our management company said they expect some clubs won’t make it to or through this coming summer.

I think there is a tendency for DCUM to think in terms of Arlington and close in McLean pools. There are a limited number of them, the waiting lists are years long, and so the pools can afford to lose some membership b/c there are many more members waiting in the wings.
But venture outside the beltway and there are lot of pools in the situation described above- don't actually even have full memberships. Those pools can't afford to lose members- e.g. if Overlee has 25 members 'choose not to pay dues' those members are no longer members and they would have to rejoin the waitlist, wait 8 years and pay new membership fees to get in. Plus, there are 1000 families waiting to take their place. But if a pool that doesn't have a waiting list, and is not full, looses members- they have no one to take their place, and the financial solvency of the pool becomes an issue.

Also- news flash- VA raised the minimum wage. Its $9.50 for this summer, going up to $12 an hour in 2023. While lifeguards were typically making more than this- pool snack shop attendants, front desk attendants, etc- were not. This is going to continue to increase costs to operate summer pools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The larger swim clubs need B swimmer revenue to cover the costs of coaches etc. so it’s difficult to offer only A meets. If A meets are happening, it’s difficult to tell crazy A swim families that the pool is sitting out the season. It’s a quandary.

B meets, even with large teams, could be done in different sessions.

I am on the board of a small club, small team. We lost about 1/8 of our membership last year. If we can’t offer swim team (I assume we will be able to on some form), then I fear we will lose more membership. 2019 was a good year, but another year like last year might cause the club to close.

did your pool botch reopening? our waiting list actually grew once we reopened

No. Total opposite. Opening went very well. We opened at the end of May for lap swim. As each phase progressed we were able to do the same. We were completely ready for each phase. Some nearby pools never opened last summer. We had about 25 full bonded memberships choose to not pay their dues. We only sold three new bond memberships. In 2019 we sold 18. What saved us last year was discounted temporary memberships later on the summer.

We haven’t had a wait list in decades. Things had been holding steady or improving slightly and 2019 was good for us. We had been able to invest in quite a few upgrades over recent years. Our pool can have 400 memberships. We had been running about 205 bonds and 30 temporary. We finished last year with about 178 bond memberships.

Our management company said they expect some clubs won’t make it to or through this coming summer.

I think there is a tendency for DCUM to think in terms of Arlington and close in McLean pools. There are a limited number of them, the waiting lists are years long, and so the pools can afford to lose some membership b/c there are many more members waiting in the wings.
But venture outside the beltway and there are lot of pools in the situation described above- don't actually even have full memberships. Those pools can't afford to lose members- e.g. if Overlee has 25 members 'choose not to pay dues' those members are no longer members and they would have to rejoin the waitlist, wait 8 years and pay new membership fees to get in. Plus, there are 1000 families waiting to take their place. But if a pool that doesn't have a waiting list, and is not full, looses members- they have no one to take their place, and the financial solvency of the pool becomes an issue.

Also- news flash- VA raised the minimum wage. Its $9.50 for this summer, going up to $12 an hour in 2023. While lifeguards were typically making more than this- pool snack shop attendants, front desk attendants, etc- were not. This is going to continue to increase costs to operate summer pools.

Agree with this, if you just go even right outside of the beltway there are pools struggling. Swim teams help bring members and they have a tough time even getting the teams because working parents can't do morning swim practices. There are few stay at home moms anymore and this has shifted the team dynamic. Also people are not as on top of one another and the population is not as dense -- there are also pools in a LOT of neighborhoods. I have talked to a lot of people whose pools are struggling and a lack of a swim season and the revenue it generates (concessions are huge) could end up closing pools for good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe A and B meets can both be held “virtually”.

Sure, and B meets really have no need to be against another team. B meets also aren't official NVSL meets so they don't have rules they have to follow.

One thing that will be tough though, particularly for small teams for A meets if they aren't head to head at the same pool, is the number of officials available. Some teams just don't have enough to run a meet on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe A and B meets can both be held “virtually”.

Sure, and B meets really have no need to be against another team. B meets also aren't official NVSL meets so they don't have rules they have to follow.

One thing that will be tough though, particularly for small teams for A meets if they aren't head to head at the same pool, is the number of officials available. Some teams just don't have enough to run a meet on their own.

also- basically all officials have to be recertified- e.g. a stroke and turn certification lasts for two years, at this point I'm guessing the only people who have valid certifications are those who also officiate with PVS. That is going to be hard to accommodate especially with spacing.

[Anonymous]

Maybe both A and B meets could be unofficial this year.
No need to certify volunteers or have three timers per lane. It’s just for fun.

[Anonymous]

I am guessing there will only be one timer this summer and all records that are broken will have to have an asterisk indicating only one timer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe A and B meets can both be held “virtually”.

Sure, and B meets really have no need to be against another team. B meets also aren't official NVSL meets so they don't have rules they have to follow.

One thing that will be tough though, particularly for small teams for A meets if they aren't head to head at the same pool, is the number of officials available. Some teams just don't have enough to run a meet on their own.

also- basically all officials have to be recertified- e.g. a stroke and turn certification lasts for two years, at this point I'm guessing the only people who have valid certifications are those who also officiate with PVS. That is going to be hard to accommodate especially with spacing.

recertification and certifications could be done through online classes like most other things, honestly it is a lot easier since you can do it from home via zoom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am guessing there will only be one timer this summer and all records that are broken will have to have an asterisk indicating only one timer.

VHSL (high school) used one timer and we timed in both hands and wrote down our dominant hand time. Plus head timer had two watches. So that’s 4 times that are possible when it comes down to records. But VHSL accepted one and have now completely regionals so I’m guessing NVSL can accommodate in a similar way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe A and B meets can both be held “virtually”.

Sure, and B meets really have no need to be against another team. B meets also aren't official NVSL meets so they don't have rules they have to follow.

One thing that will be tough though, particularly for small teams for A meets if they aren't head to head at the same pool, is the number of officials available. Some teams just don't have enough to run a meet on their own.

also- basically all officials have to be recertified- e.g. a stroke and turn certification lasts for two years, at this point I'm guessing the only people who have valid certifications are those who also officiate with PVS. That is going to be hard to accommodate especially with spacing.

recertification and certifications could be done through online classes like most other things, honestly it is a lot easier since you can do it from home via zoom.

Why bother for this season? Just keep it simple. Having to certify is silly this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe A and B meets can both be held “virtually”.

Sure, and B meets really have no need to be against another team. B meets also aren't official NVSL meets so they don't have rules they have to follow.

One thing that will be tough though, particularly for small teams for A meets if they aren't head to head at the same pool, is the number of officials available. Some teams just don't have enough to run a meet on their own.

also- basically all officials have to be recertified- e.g. a stroke and turn certification lasts for two years, at this point I'm guessing the only people who have valid certifications are those who also officiate with PVS. That is going to be hard to accommodate especially with spacing.

Those classes are available online. They just need to plan early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe both A and B meets could be unofficial this year.
No need to certify volunteers or have three timers per lane. It’s just for fun.

Are you new here? People take NVSL quite seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am guessing there will only be one timer this summer and all records that are broken will have to have an asterisk indicating only one timer.

VHSL (high school) used one timer and we timed in both hands and wrote down our dominant hand time. Plus head timer had two watches. So that’s 4 times that are possible when it comes down to records. But VHSL accepted one and have now completely regionals so I’m guessing NVSL can accommodate in a similar way.

Omg I feel like I couldn’t time in two hands LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am guessing there will only be one timer this summer and all records that are broken will have to have an asterisk indicating only one timer.

VHSL (high school) used one timer and we timed in both hands and wrote down our dominant hand time. Plus head timer had two watches. So that’s 4 times that are possible when it comes down to records. But VHSL accepted one and have now completely regionals so I’m guessing NVSL can accommodate in a similar way.

Touch pads help for districts and regionals. I know summer doesn’t have those but I’m sure something can be figured out with timers in the summer.