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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
I volunteered when my kids where on swim team, but I really dislike this whole concept. It shuts out a entire group of families who cannot volunteer or afford the fee.

In my opinion, kid swimming should be pared WAY down (no need for all this food, awards, blah blah blah). Kids who are talented and want to compete should be able to do so without depending on parent availability or income. We should not have to incentivize swim team for kids who perhaps wouldn't want to participate without the grub and medals.
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This!

I belong to a pool with a swim team. We don’t do swim team but I see a lot of how it operates. There are a ton of activities people are pressured into volunteering for that are. Not. Necessary. Concessions. Sundae fundraisers. Banquets. Friggin gift bags. Cut that stuff out and you have a lot less need for volunteers. And then I see moms doing things teens on the team should be doing. Like setting up chairs on deck. Why aren’t the kids doing that??

It looks miserable.[/quote]

If you’ve listened to the senior speeches at a banquet, you know that the pancake breakfasts, spirit activities, buddy gifts, etc. are a big part of what makes summer swim special for these kids. It’s intense, yes, but so fun and (imo) worth it. I do a ton of volunteering, which I can do because I teach and am technically off during the summer (though I do tutor). I have more flexibility than the full time working parents during the summer so of course I put more hours in because I can when they don’t have the same flexibility. But make no mistake—most of our parents are working full time during the summer and still make it work.

Is it intense?

To me it’s just as intense as doing a travel team and spending entire weekends at a hotel out of town to watch your kid play a game with kids of the same caliber as they could play in your area, but the “travel” label makes it special, the going to new places, the cameraderie built on eating team dinners in the lobby and the kids splashing in the hotel pool.

It’s as intense as those ice skaters and gymnasts whose parents wake up at 3-4am to drive them to practices before school and 6 hours on the weekends.

It’s as intense as each kid getting a “walk up” song for baseball games.

There’s a whole host of kid-focused activities that are over the top for some reason or another.

But life as an adult is hard enough—let’s give them something special to be a part of when they’re a kid. 
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