Anonymous wrote:If they get a legal time at a b meet, they might mistakenly be put in an A meet even though they cant swim the stroke legally.

It happened to my DD.

This. You don't want kids who can't swim the stroke legally to displace kids who can. I've seen it happen, especially at time trials, where the S&T judges are either inexperienced or rusty.

The real question is: why do you care that much? All of these activities are just hobbies, taken for fun. Precious few are going to be professional athletes, or get a college scholarship, and those kids actually do need to learn the rules early on.

Anonymous wrote:The swim parents at our pool like to think they’re laid back and chill but they aren’t. The amount of screaming while
their kids are swimming at meets is terrifying. The kids are underwater— they can’t hear you and I don’t think they want to hear you either. And the amount of time and volunteering the team expects from parents is also not laid-back. Finally, the swim families are so clique-ish. The parents don’t interact with non swim-team families, the kids think the pool belongs to them and not all the families. Finally, the families of top swimmers self-segregate from even the rest of the swim team families!

Well the important thing is that everyone is having a blast...kids, coaches and parents! Hard to see what’s wrong with that, but keep trying to bust on people’s good time if you must. And our first child didn’t do swim team and we never felt like we didn’t belong at the pool, so maybe that’s just yours. Tho I can see why that might happen if you so obviously look down on them.

Anonymous wrote:The swim parents at our pool like to think they’re laid back and chill but they aren’t. The amount of screaming while
their kids are swimming at meets is terrifying. The kids are underwater— they can’t hear you and I don’t think they want to hear you either. And the amount of time and volunteering the team expects from parents is also not laid-back. Finally, the swim families are so clique-ish. The parents don’t interact with non swim-team families, the kids think the pool belongs to them and not all the families. Finally, the families of top swimmers self-segregate from even the rest of the swim team families!

One...if you’re at a swim meet where people aren’t cheering it’s quiet and weird.

Two...if parents don’t volunteer the meets can’t happen. Period.

Three...maybe your swim team was clique-ish, but ours isn’t. We are a mid-low division MCSL team in a neighborhood with focus schools...maybe the top teams are like that, but most are supportive and fun based on what I’ve heard from other friends.

The swim parents at our pool like to think they’re laid back and chill but they aren’t. The amount of screaming while
their kids are swimming at meets is terrifying. The kids are underwater— they can’t hear you and I don’t think they want to hear you either. And the amount of time and volunteering the team expects from parents is also not laid-back. Finally, the swim families are so clique-ish. The parents don’t interact with non swim-team families, the kids think the pool belongs to them and not all the families. Finally, the families of top swimmers self-segregate from even the rest of the swim team families!

Anonymous wrote:It’s unclear why swim parents think their sport is different from others cited by OP.

Swim parents just might be the worst and there is certainly a lot of competition for that title in this area.

There is no way that someone could attend one of our summer meets and think this, and this is Montgomery County. It’s fun, supportive and laid back. Also, having had kids in several sports, the summer swim judges seem to approach meets similar to referees...some things they let go, some they don’t. It’s part of the benefit of sports...learning a new skill!

Anonymous wrote:It’s unclear why swim parents think their sport is different from others cited by OP.

Swim parents just might be the worst and there is certainly a lot of competition for that title in this area.

That’s harsh. I am a swim parent and I did not grow up swimming. One of my kid’s DQed last night in fact. She was upset but we talked to her about what happened and how to change it. She got over being upset and will know next time. I think the difference between soccer and swim team is that the top 8 and unders at an A meet are just as valuable to the team points-wise as a 15-18. So like someone has said, if a B meet kid with an illegal stroke gets into an A meet and takes the place of a slower but legal breast stroker, for example, it can affect the teams score. Whereas a 6 year old playing offsides just affects that one little six year old team.

I also think we can’t protect our kids from all the upsets of the world and doing so is a huge disservice to them. Once they’re out on their own and they don’t have any resilience because mom, dad, teachers, coaches have all paved the way for their feelings...they’re going to lose it. Swim team (and many other sports and activities) can offer a chance for these kids to face fears and overcome them, face adversity and learn how to react and adapt. At swim team they’re part of a huge community of all different ages. It’s a very cool opportunity and I’m glad my kids are in it.

It’s unclear why swim parents think their sport is different from others cited by OP.

Swim parents just might be the worst and there is certainly a lot of competition for that title in this area.

Swimming isn’t just about times, it’s getting those times consistent with certain rules. The first time my 8 year old swam breast, he touched with one hand and was DQd. After his race, he asked the timer his time, I told him he did a great job, and then he ran off with his friends never to think about that particular race again, I imagine. There was no ‘you got DQ’d!!’ But, because of the DQ, the coach and I knew to remind him to touch with two hands for the next race. Think of it as a way to help a child learn...like not automatically giving every kid 100% on every test. And it’s not like the DQs are being shoved in a kid’s face, at least at our pool...a kid would really only focus on the overall results if a parent pushed it.

Get in the water and teach your kid the proper stroke, start and finish.
Encourage the coach to do the same. It’s the 4th week the kids should know how to swim right!

You can’t let it go because 1) the time is undeserved because they didn’t swim legally
2) they would absolutely get DQ’d In the A meet that they erroneously qualified for.

Teach your kid to swim. Don’t enter him/her into the events that he/she can’t swim legally in.

Anonymous wrote:Wow! The crazy swim parents didn't take long.

So please tell referees at your kids' kindergarten basketball games that travelling, double dribbles, 3 seconds etc, must be called. Play with 10 ft hoops on full sized courts...play soccer on full fields, full rosters, with regular goals and the offsides rule. The swim folks have explained it.... ALL RULES MUST BE STRICTLY ADHERED TO BY 6yr OLDS OR THEY"LL NEVER LEARN. Please tell your kid's teachers this as well. Little Timmy misspelled a word on a test in 1st grade.....well, if we don't give him an F, he'll never learn.

Way to grow your sport....or is keeping it small the point?

If you'd been able to make a team in another sport, you'd have understood the officiating analogy. But hey, at least you had swimming.

You are crazy that you have to rant about swim when you don't know anything about it. So, just because rules don't apply to you, doesn't mean they don't apply to others. This i very different than basketball. The point is to properly swim.

Anonymous wrote:Just remember. The S&T judge doesnt DQ, the kids DQ themselves.

What does this mean?

Let's just give them all blue ribbons. Why should they be taught how to do the stroke properly? I highly doubt the judge was bragging. (It wasn't me, BTW, I don't do judging).

Wow! The crazy swim parents didn't take long.

So please tell referees at your kids' kindergarten basketball games that travelling, double dribbles, 3 seconds etc, must be called. Play with 10 ft hoops on full sized courts...play soccer on full fields, full rosters, with regular goals and the offsides rule. The swim folks have explained it.... ALL RULES MUST BE STRICTLY ADHERED TO BY 6yr OLDS OR THEY"LL NEVER LEARN. Please tell your kid's teachers this as well. Little Timmy misspelled a word on a test in 1st grade.....well, if we don't give him an F, he'll never learn.

Way to grow your sport....or is keeping it small the point?

If you'd been able to make a team in another sport, you'd have understood the officiating analogy. But hey, at least you had swimming.

Just remember. The S&T judge doesnt DQ, the kids DQ themselves.