Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 19:52     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
We should age up on our birthday that’s literally the only way to make it fair. For a 8yr old turning 9 going from 25m to 50m is not a big deal. What’s the rationale this hasn’t been the rule?


Great idea. Now explain what happens to kids that have a birthday between Divisionals and Allstars? What about the kids that have a birthday between Divisional Relays and All Star Relays? Are you going to force them to swim at their new age? How does that work for kids who turn 9 and only have 25 times?


Happens in winter swim when minis age up. It doesn't matter what you swam a week ago: if it's a new meet, you're a new age and you have to swim events accordingly.
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 18:17     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why not make the cutoff July 31 or whenever divisionals/all stars will finally be done?

But seriously, the cutoff has to be somewhere. It doesn't really matter where - just make the cutoff. My kid plays baseball and he has a horrible birthday for little league but a great birthday for travel.


Why would that be more fair? It would just mean that the same kids are disadvantaged as in other sports.

My late July birthday played 2 sports with July 31 cut offs, and 2 which went by grade. He was the youngest in all of them. And he got to be the older kid for 6 weeks of summer swim every other year.


It doesn't make it more fair. But it does make it so that you don't have kids older than the age they're competing in for each age bracket.

I did say that the cutoff has to be somewhere and I don't really care that much. Two of my kids have summer birthdays and they're advantaged for summer swim. But I really don't care that much. Again, my summer birthday oldest has been disadvantaged (youngest in his grade, youngest for little league in which he plays EVERY SINGLE game a year older than he actually is) and rarely advantaged (summer swim and travel baseball). But such is life.


Why would forcing 8 year olds to swim as 9-10 because they have a “bad” birthday be more fair than having 11 year olds swimming as 9-10 year olds because they have a “good birthday”?


A lot of people apparently struggle with the concept of the 8 and under group really being a July 31, 2016 or younger age group or whatever. I’m guessing renaming the age groups to set dates would solve this problem and lead to no more complaining.


This. It's a bracket of kids that are within two years of each other.
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 18:02     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Anonymous wrote:
We should age up on our birthday that’s literally the only way to make it fair. For a 8yr old turning 9 going from 25m to 50m is not a big deal. What’s the rationale this hasn’t been the rule?


Great idea. Now explain what happens to kids that have a birthday between Divisionals and Allstars? What about the kids that have a birthday between Divisional Relays and All Star Relays? Are you going to force them to swim at their new age? How does that work for kids who turn 9 and only have 25 times?
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 18:01     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why not make the cutoff July 31 or whenever divisionals/all stars will finally be done?

But seriously, the cutoff has to be somewhere. It doesn't really matter where - just make the cutoff. My kid plays baseball and he has a horrible birthday for little league but a great birthday for travel.


Why would that be more fair? It would just mean that the same kids are disadvantaged as in other sports.

My late July birthday played 2 sports with July 31 cut offs, and 2 which went by grade. He was the youngest in all of them. And he got to be the older kid for 6 weeks of summer swim every other year.


It doesn't make it more fair. But it does make it so that you don't have kids older than the age they're competing in for each age bracket.

I did say that the cutoff has to be somewhere and I don't really care that much. Two of my kids have summer birthdays and they're advantaged for summer swim. But I really don't care that much. Again, my summer birthday oldest has been disadvantaged (youngest in his grade, youngest for little league in which he plays EVERY SINGLE game a year older than he actually is) and rarely advantaged (summer swim and travel baseball). But such is life.


Why would forcing 8 year olds to swim as 9-10 because they have a “bad” birthday be more fair than having 11 year olds swimming as 9-10 year olds because they have a “good birthday”?


A lot of people apparently struggle with the concept of the 8 and under group really being a July 31, 2016 or younger age group or whatever. I’m guessing renaming the age groups to set dates would solve this problem and lead to no more complaining.
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 17:33     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Anonymous wrote:I was wondering this too. There is a 9yr old in our 8 and under that’s over a foot taller than anyone else.

We should age up on our birthday that’s literally the only way to make it fair. For a 8yr old turning 9 going from 25m to 50m is not a big deal. What’s the rationale this hasn’t been the rule?

Cutoff date of June 1 makes no sense. Either the date or divisionals or the actual date makes the most sense.


It was a big deal for my kid who turned 9 during the first week of summer swim practice. No one had ever worked with them on flip turns because they spent the whole winter season as an 8 and under in that practice group. They had won divisionals in 25 free the year before as they just turned 8 year old. I can only imagine how well they would’ve done if their a birthday was a couple days later and had an extra summer of 25s. It is what it is, but it’s pretty easy to see the advantage of an early June birthday compared to a late May birthday. Puberty tends to even things out later.
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 17:27     Subject: Summer Swim Age
I was wondering this too. There is a 9yr old in our 8 and under that’s over a foot taller than anyone else.

We should age up on our birthday that’s literally the only way to make it fair. For a 8yr old turning 9 going from 25m to 50m is not a big deal. What’s the rationale this hasn’t been the rule?

Cutoff date of June 1 makes no sense. Either the date or divisionals or the actual date makes the most sense.
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 17:22     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Most of the kids with summer birthdays on our team are also redshirted at school, too. So the "they don't get an advantage " is not accurate.



Well my kid with a summer birthday is not redshirted at school AND is small for her age. But she's a fast swimmer. Get over it.


I'm happy for you and her, truly.
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 17:10     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Anonymous wrote:Most of the kids with summer birthdays on our team are also redshirted at school, too. So the "they don't get an advantage " is not accurate.



Well my kid with a summer birthday is not redshirted at school AND is small for her age. But she's a fast swimmer. Get over it.
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 17:07     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Most of the kids with summer birthdays on our team are also redshirted at school, too. So the "they don't get an advantage " is not accurate.

Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 17:05     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Meh there's always going to be this issue somehow.

There are three or four kids on our team of 150 where it seems this advantages them. A couple are 11 year old girls swimming in 9-10 age group who are into puberty so a lot bigger than the younger kids and a couple of boys in the same boat. I am guessing as they get older that advantage fades.
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 16:57     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why not make the cutoff July 31 or whenever divisionals/all stars will finally be done?

But seriously, the cutoff has to be somewhere. It doesn't really matter where - just make the cutoff. My kid plays baseball and he has a horrible birthday for little league but a great birthday for travel.


Why would that be more fair? It would just mean that the same kids are disadvantaged as in other sports.

My late July birthday played 2 sports with July 31 cut offs, and 2 which went by grade. He was the youngest in all of them. And he got to be the older kid for 6 weeks of summer swim every other year.


It doesn't make it more fair. But it does make it so that you don't have kids older than the age they're competing in for each age bracket.

I did say that the cutoff has to be somewhere and I don't really care that much. Two of my kids have summer birthdays and they're advantaged for summer swim. But I really don't care that much. Again, my summer birthday oldest has been disadvantaged (youngest in his grade, youngest for little league in which he plays EVERY SINGLE game a year older than he actually is) and rarely advantaged (summer swim and travel baseball). But such is life.


Why would forcing 8 year olds to swim as 9-10 because they have a “bad” birthday be more fair than having 11 year olds swimming as 9-10 year olds because they have a “good birthday”?
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 16:51     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Until we shift to events by birth year and month plus star sign, it doesn't matter where you place the cutoff. There are always kids born the day before and the day after.

At least keeping it constant for decades means that records aren't in doubt.
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 16:28     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Anonymous wrote:Late June birthday kid.
Summer swim is literally the only sport where she has any kind of age advantage. Most activities are organized by grade and she’s always one of the youngest. Please let it go.


This, summer birthday kids usually get screwed on age cut offs, summer swim is the rare situation where it's a mild advantage. Let it go.

BTW, my kid would still have an advantage under OP's rule because her birthday comes right after summer swim ends. So she'd be the oldest kid in her group during transitional years. Is it fair? I guess not. But it's also not fair that she's generally the youngest kid in her class. Oh well.
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 16:18     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Anonymous wrote:Right on time. This weekend marks the annual tradition of a bunch of 11-year-olds dominating the 10 and under events at NVSL Divisionals.


In addition to age cutoffs, we should have height and weight cutoffs too. It isn't fair that your kid hit puberty before mine did and will dominate. And socio-economic cutoffs for the parents who can't or won't buy fancy kneeskins for $100. And ban club swimmers because they get more practice time and that isn't fair. And a separate category for redheads just because.
Anonymous
Post 07/14/2025 16:11     Subject: Summer Swim Age
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why not make the cutoff July 31 or whenever divisionals/all stars will finally be done?

But seriously, the cutoff has to be somewhere. It doesn't really matter where - just make the cutoff. My kid plays baseball and he has a horrible birthday for little league but a great birthday for travel.


Why would that be more fair? It would just mean that the same kids are disadvantaged as in other sports.

My late July birthday played 2 sports with July 31 cut offs, and 2 which went by grade. He was the youngest in all of them. And he got to be the older kid for 6 weeks of summer swim every other year.


It doesn't make it more fair. But it does make it so that you don't have kids older than the age they're competing in for each age bracket.

I did say that the cutoff has to be somewhere and I don't really care that much. Two of my kids have summer birthdays and they're advantaged for summer swim. But I really don't care that much. Again, my summer birthday oldest has been disadvantaged (youngest in his grade, youngest for little league in which he plays EVERY SINGLE game a year older than he actually is) and rarely advantaged (summer swim and travel baseball). But such is life.