Meet info sheet said: “ Spectator seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, provided that all required volunteer positions are filled to run the
meet.” Volunteers were not used at finals so seating should have been open allowing parents to show their pass. If it meant some shared a pass, well then it saved the host team from sitting and scanning and it would probably be very few who scammed the system.

Seems pretty simple.

Also if you hated this meet, boy do I have bad news about what the long course version is gonna look like.

I dont really understand the consternation about the meet this year and not last year. This meet was pretty much the Jr/Sr Champs combined. The boys cuts seemed a bit harder than last year’s Jr Champs and the girls were about the same. Felt like the same number of kids. Same number of final heats.

Did it feel better somehow to have certain heats tagged Junior instead?

As was pointed out, this meet is never going to be one that the top kids really aim for, so I don’t see why it is problematic that the meet isn’t geared towards the elite swimmers. The sessions weren’t any longer than last year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The finals were fine. They were short and moved fast. I think that prelims should be tightened up a little. Oh, and something needed to be done with the warm down pool during prelims. It was an absolute zoo. It looked very dangerous and I am shocked that none of the swimmers got hurt. Kids just hanging out chatting, long wait times, swimmers sprinting when it is a warm down pool, no room, etc. Perhaps have a no standing lane? Have some lanes just for boys and some for girls? Have a lane for those coming for warm ups later in the meet and the other lanes for warm down. That was causing some issues or coaches monitoring them. It was fine for finals though.

Totally agree with you about the warm-down pool and noticed the exact same thing as it was probably the worst I’ve ever seen, but thinking about it that is likely the direct result of having to easy of cuts (girls open cuts being basically equal to 13-14 girls cuts) for this level of meet.

Before someone comes in here saying that is another elitist comment, for example we can simply move the girls 100 back cut to a 1:03.19. While it’s harder for girls to drop post puberty, they don’t stop all together and that is seen with the USA motivational times as while they don’t get faster by as much as the boys from 13-14 to 15-16, they still do get faster. 1:03.19 is the same distance from the 15-16 ‘A’ time as the 13-14 champs cut is from the 13-14 ‘A’ time. That time is still basically 4 seconds off the sectional cut in the 100 back so plenty of athletes not at that level still get a meet but it reduces the number of swimmers in that event from 233 to 137 swimmers which is absolutely plenty for an LSC CHAMPIONSHIP meet.

I marshaled one of the days and cutting the numbers slightly and policing the pool would help. there were a lot of teens just hanging out in the pool because it was warm. They should have been told to move along or get out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The finals were fine. They were short and moved fast. I think that prelims should be tightened up a little. Oh, and something needed to be done with the warm down pool during prelims. It was an absolute zoo. It looked very dangerous and I am shocked that none of the swimmers got hurt. Kids just hanging out chatting, long wait times, swimmers sprinting when it is a warm down pool, no room, etc. Perhaps have a no standing lane? Have some lanes just for boys and some for girls? Have a lane for those coming for warm ups later in the meet and the other lanes for warm down. That was causing some issues or coaches monitoring them. It was fine for finals though.

Totally agree with you about the warm-down pool and noticed the exact same thing as it was probably the worst I’ve ever seen, but thinking about it that is likely the direct result of having to easy of cuts (girls open cuts being basically equal to 13-14 girls cuts) for this level of meet.

Before someone comes in here saying that is another elitist comment, for example we can simply move the girls 100 back cut to a 1:03.19. While it’s harder for girls to drop post puberty, they don’t stop all together and that is seen with the USA motivational times as while they don’t get faster by as much as the boys from 13-14 to 15-16, they still do get faster. 1:03.19 is the same distance from the 15-16 ‘A’ time as the 13-14 champs cut is from the 13-14 ‘A’ time. That time is still basically 4 seconds off the sectional cut in the 100 back so plenty of athletes not at that level still get a meet but it reduces the number of swimmers in that event from 233 to 137 swimmers which is absolutely plenty for an LSC CHAMPIONSHIP meet.

+1, the situation in the cool down pool can only be rectified by having fewer swimmers at the meet, which means tightening up some of the qualifying standards. I agree they should use the 15-16 motivational standards to set the cuts. None of the cuts should be below an A 15-16 standard.

Anonymous wrote:
The finals were fine. They were short and moved fast. I think that prelims should be tightened up a little. Oh, and something needed to be done with the warm down pool during prelims. It was an absolute zoo. It looked very dangerous and I am shocked that none of the swimmers got hurt. Kids just hanging out chatting, long wait times, swimmers sprinting when it is a warm down pool, no room, etc. Perhaps have a no standing lane? Have some lanes just for boys and some for girls? Have a lane for those coming for warm ups later in the meet and the other lanes for warm down. That was causing some issues or coaches monitoring them. It was fine for finals though.

Totally agree with you about the warm-down pool and noticed the exact same thing as it was probably the worst I’ve ever seen, but thinking about it that is likely the direct result of having to easy of cuts (girls open cuts being basically equal to 13-14 girls cuts) for this level of meet.

Before someone comes in here saying that is another elitist comment, for example we can simply move the girls 100 back cut to a 1:03.19. While it’s harder for girls to drop post puberty, they don’t stop all together and that is seen with the USA motivational times as while they don’t get faster by as much as the boys from 13-14 to 15-16, they still do get faster. 1:03.19 is the same distance from the 15-16 ‘A’ time as the 13-14 champs cut is from the 13-14 ‘A’ time. That time is still basically 4 seconds off the sectional cut in the 100 back so plenty of athletes not at that level still get a meet but it reduces the number of swimmers in that event from 233 to 137 swimmers which is absolutely plenty for an LSC CHAMPIONSHIP meet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This meet had a lot of issues. Not allowing parents who paid to enter the bleachers because the host pool’s people failed to come to scan the codes so parents were standing in line for an hour at finals tonight was the worst one.

Standing an hour? Tonight? Not true.

This was one of the better meets I have attended. It was very well run. Certainly better than IMX a few months ago.

Please do not respond just to respond when you are completely wrong and have no idea what you’re talking about. A very long line of parents waited an hour to enter the pool. It was about 6 minutes before it began when the host team’s two scanners slowly walked up. You could not have been there to answer this or else you’re purposefully lying. Which is it?

Why were you waiting an hour? Serious question. Doors opened at 4:30.

You even said they were there scanning before it began. Did you miss your kid's event? So you were just standing around for what reason?

Serious question: why is someone saying something (no one waited an hour) emphatically when they knew they were lying?

Because we had a grandparent in town who has never seen my senior swim before, is ill, and will likely never see them swim again. This grandparent wanted to get a good seat. So I waited in line while grandparent waited at a bench. Is that okay? Perhaps you saw the person sitting there? Wth…

Last year the mile events did NOT open on time. Parents waited outside the closed doors and the meet was going on.

This meet always has issues. To charge entry this year and still have entry issues is ridiculous.

I just hope they upload results to Swimcloud promptly!

Thought the meet was run pretty well..not sure why people are complaining.

Anonymous wrote:The scary thing is that you throw up less in your mouth the more competitive a meet becomes. This isn't about the swimmers; it's about the parents' behavior and a mature understanding of reality.

Are you suggesting that a mature understanding of reality includes a swimmer dropping the sport because they’re not fast enough?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, even if that is accurate, the person is saying find a new sport to someone making their first final over the age of 14. They also didn’t specify boys/girls. Should this sport only be for high level swimmers or is it allowed that swimmers who are late bloomers find some joy in their achievements? Maybe just don’t be so elitist

You’re throwing around elitist as though it’s an insult, but this is a champs meet not the November Open so there is a level of “elitism” built in 🙄 I don’t agree that people need to find a new sport, swimming is a sport for life which is part of what makes it awesome, but there is something off about a senior champs meet with the low standards this one has.

But the person PP is referring to didn’t say “if you haven’t made a final by the time you’re 14, maybe it’s time to stop swimming at championship meets”. They said to “find a new sport”. As in give up the sport you love and have been training for for years because you’re not going to the Olympics. If you read that comment and didn’t throw up in your mouth a little, you are the reason why all the joy has been sucked out of sports in the DMV.

+ 1 I have a Futures kid and a kid that has never come close to an A time, nor a champs cut or final. Never in a million years would it occur to me to tell kid #2 they should just stop swimming. It’s okay to swim competitively for the sake of it, even if you’re not fast. All that to say, I do wonder if PVS Open Champs is trying to be too many different kinds of meets at once (although the session lengths weren’t at all unreasonable). Overall, the meet was efficient and well run.

I have several kids and they run the gamut on swim. So I am in your camp and believe that all of my kids need opportunities and use swim for different reasons.

For the most part, this was a great meet. The hosts did a great job and better than most meets that I have attended. They tried to apportion the volunteer roles by the teams. Being held from entering because your team did not put up its volunteers is a way of life. Most of the families complaining on here, do not volunteer. They want to sit in the stands, video their swimmer (with commentary! wth) and complain. If you cared about your swimmer you would work the meet.

I do like the idea of volunteers getting an all access band. That is brilliant and they should be allowed in first and not wait in line for the rest of the meet. This should be seriously considered.

The officials running all of finals was AMAZING. THANK YOU. I don't think parents realize what a treat that is at a finals meet. I have been at meets where they started the finals (i.e. boys pool while waiting on timers for girls pool) and held parents outside until it happened. If it matters to you, then you should be part of the solution.

The only critcism to the meet dealt with bonus events. Either do not allow them or have a minimum entry time for them - particularly on the 100s and 200s. But I lean towards just not having bonus events like 14&Unders. You get in what you get in on. I was fine with generous cuts for the 50s, those events move so fast it was not bad at all. But the longer events should be tougher to get in on, even my swimmer commented that there were some really slow times on 100 fly for the girls that were swimming. I assume that was all bonus event entries, I did not look at the cut time.

The finals were fine. They were short and moved fast. I think that prelims should be tightened up a little. Oh, and something needed to be done with the warm down pool during prelims. It was an absolute zoo. It looked very dangerous and I am shocked that none of the swimmers got hurt. Kids just hanging out chatting, long wait times, swimmers sprinting when it is a warm down pool, no room, etc. Perhaps have a no standing lane? Have some lanes just for boys and some for girls? Have a lane for those coming for warm ups later in the meet and the other lanes for warm down. That was causing some issues or coaches monitoring them. It was fine for finals though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, even if that is accurate, the person is saying find a new sport to someone making their first final over the age of 14. They also didn’t specify boys/girls. Should this sport only be for high level swimmers or is it allowed that swimmers who are late bloomers find some joy in their achievements? Maybe just don’t be so elitist

You’re throwing around elitist as though it’s an insult, but this is a champs meet not the November Open so there is a level of “elitism” built in 🙄 I don’t agree that people need to find a new sport, swimming is a sport for life which is part of what makes it awesome, but there is something off about a senior champs meet with the low standards this one has.

But the person PP is referring to didn’t say “if you haven’t made a final by the time you’re 14, maybe it’s time to stop swimming at championship meets”. They said to “find a new sport”. As in give up the sport you love and have been training for for years because you’re not going to the Olympics. If you read that comment and didn’t throw up in your mouth a little, you are the reason why all the joy has been sucked out of sports in the DMV.

+ 1 I have a Futures kid and a kid that has never come close to an A time, nor a champs cut or final. Never in a million years would it occur to me to tell kid #2 they should just stop swimming. It’s okay to swim competitively for the sake of it, even if you’re not fast. All that to say, I do wonder if PVS Open Champs is trying to be too many different kinds of meets at once (although the session lengths weren’t at all unreasonable). Overall, the meet was efficient and well run.

The scary thing is that you throw up less in your mouth the more competitive a meet becomes. This isn't about the swimmers; it's about the parents' behavior and a mature understanding of reality.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, even if that is accurate, the person is saying find a new sport to someone making their first final over the age of 14. They also didn’t specify boys/girls. Should this sport only be for high level swimmers or is it allowed that swimmers who are late bloomers find some joy in their achievements? Maybe just don’t be so elitist

You’re throwing around elitist as though it’s an insult, but this is a champs meet not the November Open so there is a level of “elitism” built in 🙄 I don’t agree that people need to find a new sport, swimming is a sport for life which is part of what makes it awesome, but there is something off about a senior champs meet with the low standards this one has.

But the person PP is referring to didn’t say “if you haven’t made a final by the time you’re 14, maybe it’s time to stop swimming at championship meets”. They said to “find a new sport”. As in give up the sport you love and have been training for for years because you’re not going to the Olympics. If you read that comment and didn’t throw up in your mouth a little, you are the reason why all the joy has been sucked out of sports in the DMV.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is also because two meets were combined. JR/Sr which would attract younger teens to one and older/faster to the other. If they didn't do it then very few young kids would have the finals experience.

If you do not have finals experience by the time you are 15 then it may be time to find a new sport

Even if this were accurate, it would still be one of the most elitist things ever said on these forums. Imagine if all the late bloomers in our sport listened to this clown

For girls, this is pretty accurate. If you aren’t a high level swimmer by age 15, the chance that you will become one is extremely low. Pointing out facts is not some kind of personal affront.

My daughter and her friend fall into this category. Going from BB barely A times to AAA/AAAA times (obviously not as elite as the parent's kids on this forum). We are lucky that our clubs try to develop all swimmers or they would not be making the cuts they are making. But, yes, most girls are entering puberty earlier and I am seeing more kids flaming out earlier on the girl side. We have some friends from other clubs that are now dialing back their very talented swimmers because of the stress and anxiety of these other kids catching up and they are in a plateau phase.

Swim is a hard sport. I hate when parents are elitist and not realizing that these kids are trying to do the best they an and drop time, regardless if an BB/A kid or an AAAA kid. Every time I hear the BS I want to throw the parent in the water and say you do it. You train like they do and then see how much crap you will talk about a child. We should be proud of every single kid, they are out there doing it.

Are you saying that your kid was BB/barely A at 15 and then sometime between 15-18 became AAA/AAAA? Because that happens to an extremely small number of female swimmers. A BB/A 9-10 year old being AAA/AAAA by the time they are 15 absolutely does happen, but girls are generally not making that kind of jump after they have already gone through puberty. And yes, the girls who developed early/were very tall and strong at age 10 do have to withstand that time where the other kids start to catch up and it can be stressful when they are so used to winning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This meet had a lot of issues. Not allowing parents who paid to enter the bleachers because the host pool’s people failed to come to scan the codes so parents were standing in line for an hour at finals tonight was the worst one.

Standing an hour? Tonight? Not true.

This was one of the better meets I have attended. It was very well run. Certainly better than IMX a few months ago.

Please do not respond just to respond when you are completely wrong and have no idea what you’re talking about. A very long line of parents waited an hour to enter the pool. It was about 6 minutes before it began when the host team’s two scanners slowly walked up. You could not have been there to answer this or else you’re purposefully lying. Which is it?

Why were you waiting an hour? Serious question. Doors opened at 4:30.

You even said they were there scanning before it began. Did you miss your kid's event? So you were just standing around for what reason?

There were a lot of older parents who just really wanted to get in there and sit on their phones.