Swim Team Volunteering - it helps if you are nice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t even. Every year like clockwork these posts show up after the first week of swim events.

Poor op. She stopped ignoring the emails and complaints about lack of volunteers and signed up. She showed up and not enough people talked to her. Got her feelings hurt because someone said there weren’t enough volunteers and now has deemed them all cliquey. And she hasn’t been able to break into this “major” role she envisioned with these people she doesn’t like after her first event. Did I miss anything?

Hey, obnoxious swim mom has entered the chat! Just continue to sit with your Yeti of wine and gossip with your swim mom friends. Did I miss anything?

Sure Ok.
But is that not an accurate recounting of what happened? It’s the same at any group you join. I did not go to the PTA the first meeting expecting to be welcomed with open arms and crowned the newly minted PTA President that day and have a tantrum when it didn’t happen. OPs expectations are insane.

It’s insane to expect that people are pleasant to a new volunteer at an event where they literally have to beg people to be volunteers? You reap what you sow, if your team culture involves being unwelcoming to new people don’t be surprised when you have trouble getting people to volunteer.

They weren’t unkind to her. They just didn’t talk to her enough apparently. It’s a two way street. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable to be the new person but you just suck it up and approach people.

OP arrived 5 minutes before the start of the meet and then proceeded to pester the person in charge. 5 minutes before start is usually a ridiculously busy time and most people won't want to engage in a long conversation welcoming a new volunteer at that moment. Maybe if OP had shown up 15 minutes earlier, her experience would be different.

She showed up 5 minutes before her assigned time and asked what she should do. What else would you expect from a new volunteer?! That is not pestering. Seriously I can see exactly why so many people have a negative view of swim culture here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t even. Every year like clockwork these posts show up after the first week of swim events.

Poor op. She stopped ignoring the emails and complaints about lack of volunteers and signed up. She showed up and not enough people talked to her. Got her feelings hurt because someone said there weren’t enough volunteers and now has deemed them all cliquey. And she hasn’t been able to break into this “major” role she envisioned with these people she doesn’t like after her first event. Did I miss anything?

Hey, obnoxious swim mom has entered the chat! Just continue to sit with your Yeti of wine and gossip with your swim mom friends. Did I miss anything?

Just curious, is yeti of wine a thing at long B meets? I never thought to do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After so, so many emails about volunteering, the message on the team website about volunteer opportunities, the Welcome to Swim Zoom call, and then listening to our team’s parent reps stand behind me at practice and loudly complain about the lack of volunteers and how they should just cancel socials and all fun things to “show the parents not to take it for granted”, I signed up for a volunteer spot for the Saturday social. It’s our first year on swim team and my kid is a “mini” who didn’t even go to the social.

I showed up 5 min before my assigned time, dressed appropriately to help. I introduced myself to the lead of the activity and was told “well the real work was the set up.” I then stood around for 90 minutes trying to make myself useful and then cleaned up, took out trash, and carried tables. The lifeguards said hi to me because they know my kids. The neighborhood kids said hi to me and thanked me for helping them. No adults spoke to me except to point where to put the tables at the end of the event. No adults assisted the little kids - only me and the lifeguards/HS age coaches. The “experienced” swim team parents just talked among themselves.

So if you want volunteers for your team, maybe try being nice to the people who volunteer or at least not talking smack about parents in front of the parents of 5-6 yr olds who are learning how everything works. 3 weeks into practice and 1 home meet we cheered for, swim is feeling really cliquish. I was hoping to learn the major volunteer roles this year while my kid is not in meets, but I’m feeling pretty discouraged.

I’m trying to understand the second paragraph. Did you not feel there was enough to do or that you got stuck doing too much. It’s unclear. Were you late and missed set up? Were the other adults “just talking” also volunteering in the same role?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t even. Every year like clockwork these posts show up after the first week of swim events.

Poor op. She stopped ignoring the emails and complaints about lack of volunteers and signed up. She showed up and not enough people talked to her. Got her feelings hurt because someone said there weren’t enough volunteers and now has deemed them all cliquey. And she hasn’t been able to break into this “major” role she envisioned with these people she doesn’t like after her first event. Did I miss anything?

Hey, obnoxious swim mom has entered the chat! Just continue to sit with your Yeti of wine and gossip with your swim mom friends. Did I miss anything?

Just curious, is yeti of wine a thing at long B meets? I never thought to do this.

We have one where it is. Two local pools each with swim teams around 250 kids. It starts extra early and they still have to cancel IM every year when it gets too dark. I've never seen it at A meets or quicker B meets though.

[Anonymous]

At a near the top NVSL pool, for meets I am managing close to 70 volunteers from our team alone for a home meet. Twice a week - both A meet and B meet. It is a lot so I know sometimes I may be short or not have time to meet with each volunteer. I try to direct folks because that is my job, but sometimes I am just exhausted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At a near the top NVSL pool, for meets I am managing close to 70 volunteers from our team alone for a home meet. Twice a week - both A meet and B meet. It is a lot so I know sometimes I may be short or not have time to meet with each volunteer. I try to direct folks because that is my job, but sometimes I am just exhausted.

'

Ouch. Our pool has volunteers in charge of the main areas who then direct their own volunteers. I can't imagine one persona directing it all (or even knowing how to do every job). I think it works well and you end up getting to know the people you volunteer with because the same people usually do the same jobs every meet.

[Anonymous]

If there was any doubt how b-itchy swim team moms are, one need only read this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Ladder is the publicly posted times sheet broken out by age/gender/stroke. Its so you know what time you need to be selected for A meets.

What does your summer swim team call the official list of times?

Ours doesn't post since some of the times used from B meets are not "real" times. B meets tend of have officials that don't properly call DQs. So if a kid is not legal and they see it that basically highlight that fake legal time as something not to consider. I have seen it happen. I saw a breaststroke event a kid did butterfly kicks 1/3 of the pool and it didn't get called and was a "legal" time that was far from legal. You can't put that in the ladder it would ruin your seeding. We use A meet times as our main time and try to put in legit B times.

Is that NVSL? One of the reason that volunteers get burned out is that meets (including B meets) need qualified stroke and turn judges as well as referees and starters and three timers per lane so that the times count. If only A meet times counted, most of the kids at our pool would never get a time or a chance to improve because each age group has way more swimmers than A meets have slots.

THIS. B meet times absolutely count and the entire point is to improve times in order to make the cut for A meets. The cut is not subjective, it’s the top posted times, based upon “the ladder” or official times which all these “experienced swim moms” claim not to know about.

Our summer swim team has a huge mandatory volunteer requirement that you cannot pay your way out of. We have (no kidding) 10 “board members” who do not have to volunteer at meets because they are exempt. They just stand around in their cliques and chit chat while the rest of us sweat and run ourselves ragged.

[Anonymous]

Is it possible you came in a little strong Op? I sincerely don’t understand how you would understand the major volunteer roles without being in meets (or are you planning to go without your child?) or WHY. Ease in. You don’t even know if your child will like it yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Ladder is the publicly posted times sheet broken out by age/gender/stroke. Its so you know what time you need to be selected for A meets.

What does your summer swim team call the official list of times?

Ours doesn't post since some of the times used from B meets are not "real" times. B meets tend of have officials that don't properly call DQs. So if a kid is not legal and they see it that basically highlight that fake legal time as something not to consider. I have seen it happen. I saw a breaststroke event a kid did butterfly kicks 1/3 of the pool and it didn't get called and was a "legal" time that was far from legal. You can't put that in the ladder it would ruin your seeding. We use A meet times as our main time and try to put in legit B times.

Is that NVSL? One of the reason that volunteers get burned out is that meets (including B meets) need qualified stroke and turn judges as well as referees and starters and three timers per lane so that the times count. If only A meet times counted, most of the kids at our pool would never get a time or a chance to improve because each age group has way more swimmers than A meets have slots.

THIS. B meet times absolutely count and the entire point is to improve times in order to make the cut for A meets. The cut is not subjective, it’s the top posted times, based upon “the ladder” or official times which all these “experienced swim moms” claim not to know about.

Our summer swim team has a huge mandatory volunteer requirement that you cannot pay your way out of. We have (no kidding) 10 “board members” who do not have to volunteer at meets because they are exempt. They just stand around in their cliques and chit chat while the rest of us sweat and run ourselves ragged.

That would infuriate me. We have team reps who end up showing up for setup and staying through take down working as hard as anyone. We don't have a volunteer requirement both to encourage families to get their kids swimming at meets and because we usually can get enough volunteers even, but having them and then people exempting themselves would never fly at our pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Ladder is the publicly posted times sheet broken out by age/gender/stroke. Its so you know what time you need to be selected for A meets.

What does your summer swim team call the official list of times?

Ours doesn't post since some of the times used from B meets are not "real" times. B meets tend of have officials that don't properly call DQs. So if a kid is not legal and they see it that basically highlight that fake legal time as something not to consider. I have seen it happen. I saw a breaststroke event a kid did butterfly kicks 1/3 of the pool and it didn't get called and was a "legal" time that was far from legal. You can't put that in the ladder it would ruin your seeding. We use A meet times as our main time and try to put in legit B times.

Is that NVSL? One of the reason that volunteers get burned out is that meets (including B meets) need qualified stroke and turn judges as well as referees and starters and three timers per lane so that the times count. If only A meet times counted, most of the kids at our pool would never get a time or a chance to improve because each age group has way more swimmers than A meets have slots.

THIS. B meet times absolutely count and the entire point is to improve times in order to make the cut for A meets. The cut is not subjective, it’s the top posted times, based upon “the ladder” or official times which all these “experienced swim moms” claim not to know about.

Our summer swim team has a huge mandatory volunteer requirement that you cannot pay your way out of. We have (no kidding) 10 “board members” who do not have to volunteer at meets because they are exempt. They just stand around in their cliques and chit chat while the rest of us sweat and run ourselves ragged.

I find your last two sentences to be very difficult to believe and, if so, why don’t you just become a board member? Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there was any doubt how b-itchy swim team moms are, one need only read this thread.

Yup, and I am one. I hope people know that not all of us are like this. Generally I will make the effort to talk to a new volunteer that looks unsure of what they should be doing and help them out. This BS of I’m so exhausted and therefore I’m short with those volunteers that aren’t part of my crew is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there was any doubt how b-itchy swim team moms are, one need only read this thread.

I find it no b-itchier than the rest of DCUM. What exactly do you object to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there was any doubt how b-itchy swim team moms are, one need only read this thread.

I find it no b-itchier than the rest of DCUM. What exactly do you object to?

If you have read through this thread and do not understand the problem, then you in fact are part of the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there was any doubt how b-itchy swim team moms are, one need only read this thread.

I find it no b-itchier than the rest of DCUM. What exactly do you object to?

If you have read through this thread and do not understand the problem, then you in fact are part of the problem.

DCUM is always much b-itchier then in real life.
People don’t agree with OP and her complaints don’t make a lot of sense. But I’ve seen some horrible threads and there is nothing super offensive here.