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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have a DC with September birthday . But even at times I think it’s absurd in certain ways especially I have a friend whose DC birthday is May 31st . I understand the summer swim team and rules .

But it’s kind of absurd that boy who just turned 11 on May 31st was swimming against 11-12 where the 12 year old turned 13 on June 6th. I think it’s almost 2 years of age difference. We can be sportive and accept it. But the only thing not able to tolerate is 13 year olds parents bragging about the win.

If you expect other parents to be sportive then you also behave as one . It’s not like your so called 12 is 12 , he is  13. If real swim happened with 13-14 then true Level can be seen.

I would say it’s better that we have summer swim league only  for summer birthday children and they can all truly compete. Everyone else could just do it as recreation swim . Then we all could see the true level. Because summer birthday  swimmers are always winning and on top as they are racing with children younger than them. [/quote]

This applies regardless of the age of the swimmers. Don't be a jerk about your kid winning. Teach your kid not to be a jerk about winning. It doesn't matter if they are at the very top of the age bracket or not. Don't do this.

The perception that it is somehow worse if a 13 yr old swimming in the 11-12 bracket exhibits poor sportsmanship is an illusion though. If they changed the rules and next summer, a kid who was 12 yrs 10 months old dominated the bracket and was a poor sport about it, it would be no different. In both cases, a kid is bragging about winning agains swimmers, many of whom are almost 2 years younger. It's the exact same problem.

So it's not a reason to change the rules.

I will, however, note, that one reason to keep the rules is that kids with summer birthdays often don't get the experience of being at the top of their age bracket and getting that advantage (unless they are redshirted), so that's actually an argument for keeping the current cut offs. Because summer swim really is supposed to be about having fun and being a good teammate and learning good sportsmanships, so it's a good opportunity for kids who aren't used to winning to get a taste of it and learn how to handle it appropriately (and for kids who aren't used to losing to get used to that).[/quote]

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