Anonymous wrote:I don't really understand the focus on timers. Timing swim meets was one of the more enjoyable things I did to support my child's sports. You get to sit down, chat with other parents and every few minutes stand up and push a button. Plus you get to see excited kids pop out of the pool. I actually only timed a few meets a year because I normally worked the hated Clerk of the Course. I even enjoyed that because the vast majority of the kids were a lot of fun.

Anonymous wrote:There is a very simple solution for parents that don’t have the “bandwidth”, care, or time to volunteer. I don’t care if your kids drives themselves, or that you have a demanding business or career, or if you homeschooled your children.

Don’t sign up your kids for swim team! We all have to make choices, and maybe summer swimming isn’t right for your lifestyle.

Anonymous wrote:

the system is bloated and they should look into ways to reduce that demand

Agree. I feel like the current volunteer requirements are from 25 years ago when there were fewer 2-working-parent and single-parent households.

I'd be happy to write a check to hire part-time timers and judges. Just like soccer doesn't expect parents to ref games.

Anonymous wrote:Are there any volunteer jobs for introverts? This is stressing me out just to read about.

Anonymous wrote:

Hahaha. You know hard it is to even find paid officials for a few meets a year?!?

I stand corrected. You're right, I'm wrong.

Mental note: Don't put my kid in swim, especially summer swim league.

Hahaha. You know hard it is to even find paid officials for a few meets a year?!?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much would it cost to put in automatic timing on 6 lanes? If parents are willing to buy their way out, wouldn't that be a way to use the money?

thousands

How many thousands?

As someone scrambling to figure out how to manage timing tonight with a complicated schedule and multiple kids and people with health issues, I know I'd pay a couple hundred to have my volunteer hours cut in half. I'd bet there are at least 20 parents on my team who agree with me, including parents like me who volunteer regularly.

And you still need volunteers to install and remove the touch pads, and even more money to maintain.

Here’s the thing, there are pools that collect a few hundred dollars as a deposit. When you’ve met a minimum number of points, or sessions of volunteering, you get your money back. Time or dime. But if everyone chooses dime, a meet still can’t happen unless you’re willing to pay a lotta dimes and run a crazy payroll system for a handful of meets.

Will it take 18 professionals 5 hours to install and remove the touch pads? Or will it be an improvement?

Anonymous wrote:

the system is bloated and they should look into ways to reduce that demand

Agree. I feel like the current volunteer requirements are from 25 years ago when there were fewer 2-working-parent and single-parent households.

I'd be happy to write a check to hire part-time timers and judges. Just like soccer doesn't expect parents to ref games.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this, I'm astonished. First off, I'm gen-X, and no, we're not the ones insisting that everything be done the old way. The "old way", when we were kids, was to be dropped off at the event and picked up later. Our parents did NOT hang out at every meet or practice. If we were hungry, we had to bring our own snacks. When I saw the lists of how the meets require 36-40 volunteers per meet, there were a LOT of unnecessary things on that list. You're getting pissed off because a lot of people don't want to do all the make-work stuff and give a ribbon to every kid. If parents were too noisy, you turned around and told them to be quiet, but wait, our parents weren't there anyway.

I"m writing the check.

If you had done swim meets your parents would have been volunteering.

No. We had a functional school system with school-based extracurriculars and it was all done by the schools.

You cannot expect a school system and school to 100% meet your kids needs. You are a lazy parent. Its ok if you don't want to participate but then don't put your kids in swim. Simple.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much would it cost to put in automatic timing on 6 lanes? If parents are willing to buy their way out, wouldn't that be a way to use the money?

thousands

How many thousands?

As someone scrambling to figure out how to manage timing tonight with a complicated schedule and multiple kids and people with health issues, I know I'd pay a couple hundred to have my volunteer hours cut in half. I'd bet there are at least 20 parents on my team who agree with me, including parents like me who volunteer regularly.

And you still need volunteers to install and remove the touch pads, and even more money to maintain.

Here’s the thing, there are pools that collect a few hundred dollars as a deposit. When you’ve met a minimum number of points, or sessions of volunteering, you get your money back. Time or dime. But if everyone chooses dime, a meet still can’t happen unless you’re willing to pay a lotta dimes and run a crazy payroll system for a handful of meets.

the system is bloated and they should look into ways to reduce that demand

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much would it cost to put in automatic timing on 6 lanes? If parents are willing to buy their way out, wouldn't that be a way to use the money?

thousands

How many thousands?

As someone scrambling to figure out how to manage timing tonight with a complicated schedule and multiple kids and people with health issues, I know I'd pay a couple hundred to have my volunteer hours cut in half. I'd bet there are at least 20 parents on my team who agree with me, including parents like me who volunteer regularly.