Anonymous wrote:I’d love to get out of D1, I can tell you that much. A couple of the teams are toxic to a degree that is hard to believe until you see it.

Agreed. Let the 3 who have parity with each other form D1 and just rotate who swims each other twice. Let the rest of us go down.

I’d love to get out of D1, I can tell you that much. A couple of the teams are toxic to a degree that is hard to believe until you see it.

Anonymous wrote:We joined our NVSL team when it was D14 and now it’s D1. I don’t notice much of a difference except that I hear one benefit in being at a more competitive division pool is being able to go to all star relays for example - the higher division team, the more teams have many good swimmers to
likely qualify etc.

It always seemed fairly competitive to make A meets at our pool even in the lower divisions - I guess because we were rising.

We have had the same (particularly good) leadership on the team the whole time, and I can imagine leadership makes a difference.

This is our neighborhood pool so we would be at it at any division - the most important thing to me is all of the kids friends from school being there.

Hello OKM!
Yes. Leadership makes a huge difference.

We joined our NVSL team when it was D14 and now it’s D1. I don’t notice much of a difference except that I hear one benefit in being at a more competitive division pool is being able to go to all star relays for example - the higher division team, the more teams have many good swimmers to
likely qualify etc.

It always seemed fairly competitive to make A meets at our pool even in the lower divisions - I guess because we were rising.

We have had the same (particularly good) leadership on the team the whole time, and I can imagine leadership makes a difference.

This is our neighborhood pool so we would be at it at any division - the most important thing to me is all of the kids friends from school being there.

We are MCSL and division N. We love it , low key teams. Everyone cheering when the last kid struggles in with the 8 and unders. My non year round swimmer swimming A meets.
It depends what you’re looking for I guess.

Our team has been from 7 to 13, and I prefer 9-10. Teams trying to climb the ranks or demoted teams with chips on their shoulders are exhausting. Also our team has swimmers going on vacation all the time, so we can't keep up in practice, even though we can on paper. Down in Division 12/13, some teams REALLY don't care to the point of being disorganized. And some meets the kids were swimming against a lot of open lanes.

Lower middle divisions are the sweet spot. Say divisions 10-14. Most kids who swim every year have done at least some a meets so there is no divide between a meet and b meet kids. Big enough team that you have volunteers and lanes filled. No one taking it too seriously so there is great sportsmanship and focus on the kids having fun.

We’ve bounced around Divisions 2-5 during our time on an NVSL team. I’ve been pleasantly surprised that team culture, spirit, and fun have been consistent, regardless of division. We are currently in D2 and it’s still fun and so far, the other teams have been great, with lots of spirit and positive traditions. The higher divisions are more competitive, of course, but if your team gets into that division, they should theoretically be competitive in that division. It’s not any harder to get into an A meet. Top of the ladder is top of the ladder, no matter which division you’re in.

Larger pools tend to be in higher divisions because there is a larger pool of talent and more competition. It is still fun outside of D1 where it’s extreme. In lower divisions there can still be good swimmers but overall there is more room for summer swimmers since meets are the same size. It’s difficult at big pools to switch pools easily as they often have waiting lists.

Lower Division, smaller teams<------------------------>Higher Division, larger teams

We are in a top division and there is no chill. We used to be in a lower division and it was much more fun (we have A meet swimmers).

We have been on two different teams throughout my child’s swim life. The first initially was in D4/5, but it was a small team with zero bench. Several kids aged out, while some talented swim families moved, and losing every week by 150 points was miserable. The team dropped substantially. While this new division was a much better fit, for club swimmers, it did not tend to push the kids. My daughter was winning by half the pool length, but her times were not competitive with similar club swimmers because she never had to work too hard in meets.

We are now at a larger team in a top (D 1-3) division. The enthusiasm for the team is markedly and positively different, and the kids swim FAST due to the competition at meets. Further, as I posted in another thread, we have a decent number of non-club swimmers in our A-meets. Still, the majority of the team swims B Meets. My daughter is an A-meet swimmer, so I’m not sure what children who only swim B-meets feel about the team’s division and their opportunities.

Great question! We are in D1 and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are a glutton for pain. We have a lovely team & a great pool but the broader climate is next level. It’s very, very difficult to place (or even make A Meets) unless you are a competitive year-round swimmer above 8&U. Not saying that super athletes can’t do it, but pretty hard to do so. I think a mid-level team is the sweet spot unless your higher level team is fun, welcoming, and more balanced.

Div 3-4 is the sweet spot. Have 1 kid that wins everything in Div 2 and one that doesn't. Nice thing about div 3-4 is some meets those kids have a chance to place. Parents aren't as intense. Teams are super nice. Div 2 is great but you have to swim year round to place. Good for kids where swim is their primary sport but tough on kids that do other sports.

We are in our second year of swim with a middle-division team. A parent commented that if we continue on our current season’s path we likely would move up a division next year and things might get more intense. That got me to thinking.

Obviously the teams in higher divisions have faster kids and probably more year round swimmers. But what else is a difference between say a top 3 division and an 8, or a 15? If you could pick which division is ideal for your family or club style, what would it be?