Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We will buy it for major meets/big achievements- first time making JO's or NCSA, but never buy it for minor meets like Turkey Claus.

Merch at Turkey Claus, the horror!

*clutches pearls*

(Yeah, merch is expensive. It can also be a fun motivator for kids and a reminder of the benefits of their hard work, including their participation at Turkey Claus.)

Not sure why you took that so personally and felt the need to *clutches pearls*

OP asked what others do and I stated what we do. I didn't comment or judge those who buy merch at every meet. Just stated what we do and when and where my kids ask for merch/care about buying it.

I know families who have insanely fast kids who qualify for all the big meets and buy merch at meets like Turkey Claus. No judgement. You do you.

When you make a point of saying you "never" buy merch at "minor meets like Turkey Claus," it's hard to believe the bolded. That phrasing puts down the hard work of kids who swim there, i.e., kids who aren't fast enough for NST meets. Also, kids who are "insanely fast" are by definition not participating in Turkey Claus, as an NFT meet.

P.S. - I don't take it personally. I do think it's unsportsmanlike of adults to disparage meets that are designed to give slower swimmers (who are children, let's remember) the experience of competing in a championship meet with prelims, finals, and, yes, merch.

+1000

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else's kid wear the hell out of these sweatshirts? It is the only thing they seem to wear.

My kid would go to school naked without swim tshirt and sweatshirts to wear 🤪

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else's kid wear the hell out of these sweatshirts? It is the only thing they seem to wear.

I have one kid who always wants something. Even when he was alternate for relays, had no individual events, and basically snacked his way through the meet. He does wear all of them, especially since he now uses his own money. I have another kid who only wants one every couple of years and wears the hell out of it. When I go through photos on my phone, it's like one long day because he's always in that hoodie. He won several events at both short course and long course JO's, when he was 10, and surprised us by not wanting to buy anything. He said the logos were terrible (not dvm). They were, to be honest. At this point, he's still wearing a 2022 hoodie, so I wouldn't mind buying a new one, just for the sake of breaking up the monotony in my iphotos.

That's my photo roll post-pandemic. It looks like it was shot on a green screen with fake backgrounds added later. It's just my DD getting taller while wearing the same hoodie that still doesn't fit.

In case anyone is reading this in an area where meet merch is all printed on-site, I'm a parent in another area and was dazzled by what experienced parents do where I live now instead of buying the sweatshirt and choosing the logo.

Parents here buy a sweatshirt blanket at the very beginning of the season/kids' career, and pay for the meet logo heat transfers to be applied to the blanket at each meet. Everyone does it and I've never seen a vendor balk at doing just the heat transfer. This would obviously not work if DC/VA has meet merch that's all pre-printed.

I wish we had started this when DD was younger because the blankets that have been going for a few years are really special. It's too late for me and my DD loves her stupid meet sweatshirts, but maybe I can save another parent! The only downside is that you have to travel to meets with a big blanket and carry it around.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We will buy it for major meets/big achievements- first time making JO's or NCSA, but never buy it for minor meets like Turkey Claus.

Merch at Turkey Claus, the horror!

*clutches pearls*

(Yeah, merch is expensive. It can also be a fun motivator for kids and a reminder of the benefits of their hard work, including their participation at Turkey Claus.)

Not sure why you took that so personally and felt the need to *clutches pearls*

OP asked what others do and I stated what we do. I didn't comment or judge those who buy merch at every meet. Just stated what we do and when and where my kids ask for merch/care about buying it.

I know families who have insanely fast kids who qualify for all the big meets and buy merch at meets like Turkey Claus. No judgement. You do you.

When you make a point of saying you "never" buy merch at "minor meets like Turkey Claus," it's hard to believe the bolded. That phrasing puts down the hard work of kids who swim there, i.e., kids who aren't fast enough for NST meets. Also, kids who are "insanely fast" are by definition not participating in Turkey Claus, as an NFT meet.

P.S. - I don't take it personally. I do think it's unsportsmanlike of adults to disparage meets that are designed to give slower swimmers (who are children, let's remember) the experience of competing in a championship meet with prelims, finals, and, yes, merch.

+1000. This.

-parent of a slow swimmer who works hard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We will buy it for major meets/big achievements- first time making JO's or NCSA, but never buy it for minor meets like Turkey Claus.

Merch at Turkey Claus, the horror!

*clutches pearls*

(Yeah, merch is expensive. It can also be a fun motivator for kids and a reminder of the benefits of their hard work, including their participation at Turkey Claus.)

Not sure why you took that so personally and felt the need to *clutches pearls*

OP asked what others do and I stated what we do. I didn't comment or judge those who buy merch at every meet. Just stated what we do and when and where my kids ask for merch/care about buying it.

I know families who have insanely fast kids who qualify for all the big meets and buy merch at meets like Turkey Claus. No judgement. You do you.

I’m also the parent of a fast kid and I think referring to a meet like Turkey Claus as “minor” when that is the winter champs meet for a lot of kids gives the impression of being too good for a meet like that.

Yup I agree with this. If it’s a meet with a high attendance and/or has prelim and finals, it’s a big meet! Also, Turkey Claus is a fun name for a meet. Deserving of some good merchandise.

I have bought my kids merch at every meet they’ve swam in from their first Turkey Claus to their last sectionals, and everything in between

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else's kid wear the hell out of these sweatshirts? It is the only thing they seem to wear.

I have one kid who always wants something. Even when he was alternate for relays, had no individual events, and basically snacked his way through the meet. He does wear all of them, especially since he now uses his own money. I have another kid who only wants one every couple of years and wears the hell out of it. When I go through photos on my phone, it's like one long day because he's always in that hoodie. He won several events at both short course and long course JO's, when he was 10, and surprised us by not wanting to buy anything. He said the logos were terrible (not dvm). They were, to be honest. At this point, he's still wearing a 2022 hoodie, so I wouldn't mind buying a new one, just for the sake of breaking up the monotony in my iphotos.

Anyone else's kid wear the hell out of these sweatshirts? It is the only thing they seem to wear.

Anonymous wrote:Buying merch varies by families just like buying souvenirs during a trip. My kid owns no merchandise from any meet besides the free bag tags and free team apparel. Based on the long lines at the table other families do things their own way.

My kid said she would rather have a new swimsuit than a meet sweatshirt. Her new Jolyn arrives in a few days.

What is crazy is that the sweatshirt was just as expensive as a Jolyn! I might try this move with my daughter, overpriced sweatshirt or new Jolyn.

Buying merch varies by families just like buying souvenirs during a trip. My kid owns no merchandise from any meet besides the free bag tags and free team apparel. Based on the long lines at the table other families do things their own way.

My kid said she would rather have a new swimsuit than a meet sweatshirt. Her new Jolyn arrives in a few days.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We will buy it for major meets/big achievements- first time making JO's or NCSA, but never buy it for minor meets like Turkey Claus.

Merch at Turkey Claus, the horror!

*clutches pearls*

(Yeah, merch is expensive. It can also be a fun motivator for kids and a reminder of the benefits of their hard work, including their participation at Turkey Claus.)

Not sure why you took that so personally and felt the need to *clutches pearls*

OP asked what others do and I stated what we do. I didn't comment or judge those who buy merch at every meet. Just stated what we do and when and where my kids ask for merch/care about buying it.

I know families who have insanely fast kids who qualify for all the big meets and buy merch at meets like Turkey Claus. No judgement. You do you.

When you make a point of saying you "never" buy merch at "minor meets like Turkey Claus," it's hard to believe the bolded. That phrasing puts down the hard work of kids who swim there, i.e., kids who aren't fast enough for NST meets. Also, kids who are "insanely fast" are by definition not participating in Turkey Claus, as an NFT meet.

P.S. - I don't take it personally. I do think it's unsportsmanlike of adults to disparage meets that are designed to give slower swimmers (who are children, let's remember) the experience of competing in a championship meet with prelims, finals, and, yes, merch.

I always say we won't buy the merch, but we always buy something. I know it's ridiculous, though.