The league should have warned everyone about the lack of cell service. I was there for the Sunday orientation and while spotty, I didn’t realize the surrounding area was a full blackout. I could usually get a text out on the deck itself but no chance on the field or in a lot of the surrounding areas. If we had known, we would have brought backup walkie-talkies.

I thought the rotating event bleachers worked great and I was worried going in as I'd read a bunch of horror stories on here about not being able to get into those because of squatters. Was this better managed than in years past?

Anonymous wrote:It continued to thunder and lightning when the rain stopped until at least 10 pm in the Rutherford / Fairfax area. Meet could not have been resumed.

Rutherford did an amazing job hosting and their volunteers were awesome!! Thank you!

That's not true. The radar showed it was one cell of weather that would come through, which is what occurred, and it was sunny skies and rainbows by 8:00 in that area. Other pools nearby to Rutherford reopened to patrons between 8:00-8:15. Team Reps were on pool grounds cleaning up team areas with no thunder or lightning by 8:00. The NVSL called it way too early - the meet should have resumed.

When there's no will, there's no way.

If their kids couldn't swim in the meet without hosting, a D pool would figure it out.

It continued to thunder and lightning when the rain stopped until at least 10 pm in the Rutherford / Fairfax area. Meet could not have been resumed.

Rutherford did an amazing job hosting and their volunteers were awesome!! Thank you!

Overall the set-up at Rutherford was fine. The team areas were great. They should have had more bleachers inside, but otherwise the space inside the fences was good. Hosting this meet is a huge undertaking and overall Rutherford did a great job.

The major issues were unavoidable by Rutherford as the host, but the NVSL made it seem like this was the first time they had hosted a big meet like this.
*There was no plan for how they'd communicate with Team Reps in the event of a weather delay.
*The coaches and reps couldn't see any of the times during the meet, bc they prioritized having times on the live feed instead of visible at the meet. Only the announcer and some spectators could see them.
*The worst part was they cancelled the meet less than an hour after they delayed it, when radar showed that it would be sunny skies in less than 15 minutes. And it was! With a beautiful rainbow. Other years the meet has resumed 2 hours later. It's a real disappointment for all of the relays that were left to swim.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking at Google maps, Tuckahoe, Overlee and Chesterbrook all have parking lots larger than orange Hunt that could be used for team areas. They also all have plenty of side streets which are what is generally used for parking? Looks to me like those red x’s are green check’s.

Orange Hunt has a lot of adjacent green space. You all are so desperate to punish these D1 teams that you want your kids to stand on asphalt and park god knows how far away and then walk through busy streets through traffic to get to the pool. Come up with better incentives and appropriate support for host pools that have the right setup and put measures in place to curb the bad behavior of some of the D1 spectator parents. The answer is not to cram the meets into their pools and make everything unpleasant and unsafe.

This is BS. I grew up not far from Overlee and swam there as a kid. Traffic is no worse and population no denser than Rutherford and Orange Hunt. And for all those complaining about the parking lot option - it was the set up at Orange Hunt - and yes it was BOILING. No pool is perfect but they make it work.

The neighborhood around Rutherford had wide streets, houses spread out from one another, big driveways, and two car garages. This is not the norm around Overlee (or any/most of the pools in Arlington, for that matter). Completely different circumstances for a mass traffic/parking situation.

Residents should never complain. A pool keeps their neighborhood desirable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking at Google maps, Tuckahoe, Overlee and Chesterbrook all have parking lots larger than orange Hunt that could be used for team areas. They also all have plenty of side streets which are what is generally used for parking? Looks to me like those red x’s are green check’s.

Orange Hunt has a lot of adjacent green space. You all are so desperate to punish these D1 teams that you want your kids to stand on asphalt and park god knows how far away and then walk through busy streets through traffic to get to the pool. Come up with better incentives and appropriate support for host pools that have the right setup and put measures in place to curb the bad behavior of some of the D1 spectator parents. The answer is not to cram the meets into their pools and make everything unpleasant and unsafe.

This is BS. I grew up not far from Overlee and swam there as a kid. Traffic is no worse and population no denser than Rutherford and Orange Hunt. And for all those complaining about the parking lot option - it was the set up at Orange Hunt - and yes it was BOILING. No pool is perfect but they make it work.

Traffic is no different at a pool that is on a major 4-lane road inside the beltway that serves as one of the main non-toll road options in and out of DC and is a major commuter route? Absurd statement.

Also, things have changed a lot in this whole area in terms of density and traffic patterns since we were all kids. So you growing up near Overlee isn't all that relevant.

My parents still live there and I’m in the area frequently. Do I get to be relevant now?
Accidents happen, traffic sucks, there are a million reason hamlet, orange hunt, Rutherford and pinecrest could have come up with to not host. Kudos to them all for stepping up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What went well at Rutherford:

1. The team areas - having the well marked 15 by 15 plots and team assignments was fantastic.
2. The concessions were quick and never had horrendous lines - only Rita's ice did.
3. The pool deck set up was very good, probably could have added more bleachers.
4. Everyone working the meet were amazing.

What did not work well, or should have been publicized:

1. The lack of cell service in the whole neighborhood. It was a nightmare to coordinate amongst teams and then when the weather. We were told outside the neighborhood was fine, far from the truth.

The lack of cell service was dangerous when the weather came in, communication and messaging was inconsistent.

2. A PA system or something since there was no cell phone service. A way to communicate to teams from the pool what is going on. This also would have helped with the weather call.

Sounds like CoC was really disorganized (in addition to being insanely hot). Which was evidenced by kids being confused about which lanes they swimming in for several heats. Agree with all of the above as well.

Not sure what you're talking about here. I was in CoC area and it was very well-organized.

Not according to lots of coaches (from multiple teams)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking at Google maps, Tuckahoe, Overlee and Chesterbrook all have parking lots larger than orange Hunt that could be used for team areas. They also all have plenty of side streets which are what is generally used for parking? Looks to me like those red x’s are green check’s.

Orange Hunt has a lot of adjacent green space. You all are so desperate to punish these D1 teams that you want your kids to stand on asphalt and park god knows how far away and then walk through busy streets through traffic to get to the pool. Come up with better incentives and appropriate support for host pools that have the right setup and put measures in place to curb the bad behavior of some of the D1 spectator parents. The answer is not to cram the meets into their pools and make everything unpleasant and unsafe.

This is BS. I grew up not far from Overlee and swam there as a kid. Traffic is no worse and population no denser than Rutherford and Orange Hunt. And for all those complaining about the parking lot option - it was the set up at Orange Hunt - and yes it was BOILING. No pool is perfect but they make it work.

https://www.arlnow.com/2022/05/20/just-in-kid-on-bike-struck-on-langston-blvd/

This was a kid on the Overlee swim team. People FLY down Langston Blvd and there are a lot of blind spots. It is honestly terrifying.

I appreciate Rutherford being willing to host and overall I thought they did a great job. However, as someone stated the CoC was disorganized and the beginning of the meet moved very slowly. I think if they had been a bit more organized, more events could have been swam before the weather came through. Some of the kids had no idea where to go. The lack of cell phone coverage was very problematic when the meet was paused for the weather. As a team rep, it hard making sure my team was all accounted for. I couldn't even send a text to update everyone on the status of the meet. It was also challenging getting the tents that were dropped off at noon safely to vehicles that, in most cases, were parked almost a mile away. I don't know what the answer is, but these big NVSL meets seem very challenging to hold from a logistical standpoint.

Anonymous wrote:And I’ll add - it’s not about punishing. it’s about pools doing their share and stepping up. Particularly when they are the ones that are most affected by whether these meets are held at all (and usually the ones complaining the most).

All the complaining seems to be ABOUT them.

The vast majority of people who are members at these pools and who live around these pools do not care at all about these meets or the swim team. Many can't even get in as members the wait list is so long. So cancel the meets. Maybe these events are just done and are from a bygone era.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking at Google maps, Tuckahoe, Overlee and Chesterbrook all have parking lots larger than orange Hunt that could be used for team areas. They also all have plenty of side streets which are what is generally used for parking? Looks to me like those red x’s are green check’s.

Orange Hunt has a lot of adjacent green space. You all are so desperate to punish these D1 teams that you want your kids to stand on asphalt and park god knows how far away and then walk through busy streets through traffic to get to the pool. Come up with better incentives and appropriate support for host pools that have the right setup and put measures in place to curb the bad behavior of some of the D1 spectator parents. The answer is not to cram the meets into their pools and make everything unpleasant and unsafe.

This is BS. I grew up not far from Overlee and swam there as a kid. Traffic is no worse and population no denser than Rutherford and Orange Hunt. And for all those complaining about the parking lot option - it was the set up at Orange Hunt - and yes it was BOILING. No pool is perfect but they make it work.

Traffic is no different at a pool that is on a major 4-lane road inside the beltway that serves as one of the main non-toll road options in and out of DC and is a major commuter route? Absurd statement.

Also, things have changed a lot in this whole area in terms of density and traffic patterns since we were all kids. So you growing up near Overlee isn't all that relevant.

And I’ll add - it’s not about punishing. it’s about pools doing their share and stepping up. Particularly when they are the ones that are most affected by whether these meets are held at all (and usually the ones complaining the most).