Anonymous wrote:Dear Pandemic on Facebook has a page today about outdoor transmission and unvaccinated kids. You all may want to review it.

I assume most of you posting here are okay with your kids getting COVID. It’s pretty easy to avoid with distance or masking, and we don’t know what it looks like long term, so I am not personally okay taking that risk for my kids who are too young to be vaccinated. If a little mask or stepping back from a team area diminishes the risk, they are happy with that and so am I. For us, this is a better long term plan.

And for the person who said my kids couldn’t do sports unless I got okay with close contact unmasked kids - gfy, seriously.

If you are not willing to take any risk that your child will contract covid, even if it is very small, why would you allow your child to swim at a crowded B meet. You're welcome to make that decision for your kids, but you have to recognize that most parents weigh the benefits of sports and a more normal summer of swim to the very small risk they will catch covid outdoors. You're not going to change the minds of anyone on this board who is OK with return to normal A and B meets, but you should understand that putting your kid on a huge swim team is going to put them in contact with a lot of kids. Expecting those kids to mask and distance in these circumstances isn't really reasonable.

Dear Pandemic on Facebook has a page today about outdoor transmission and unvaccinated kids. You all may want to review it.

I assume most of you posting here are okay with your kids getting COVID. It’s pretty easy to avoid with distance or masking, and we don’t know what it looks like long term, so I am not personally okay taking that risk for my kids who are too young to be vaccinated. If a little mask or stepping back from a team area diminishes the risk, they are happy with that and so am I. For us, this is a better long term plan.

And for the person who said my kids couldn’t do sports unless I got okay with close contact unmasked kids - gfy, seriously.

in this area, for every 100,000 people there is .4 cases. e.g. in a crowd of 200,000 people, you might have 1 person who has covid. It is time to move on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Being outside is not some sort of magic shield if the kids are on top of each other. 3 feet is fine. Hell, even 2 feet is probably fine outside. But at least at our meet, it was 6-12 inches and that was a little too close for comfort. Our team also doesn’t require 12+ to mask and I don’t really know if all of them rushed right out to get vaccinated - so they are still also at risk (and a population more likely to transmit). Idk, my children love to swim, so we make it work, but it’s not “normal”, at least for us.

Our team does not require any swimmers to mask and almost none do. They are on top of each other for hours. It is normal! And that is what is so amazing about it! Kids are so happy to be with their friends. The cases of covid are extremely low, outside transmission is rare and Covid risk to most kids is low. They are in dugouts, playing basketball and on soccer sidelines without masks now, too. Your kids can choose to wear masks, but if they want to continue in sports you should get used to other kids not wearing masks.

It’s going to take a long time for this paranoid area to move on. I get it. But the reality is that, good or bad, children in other parts of this country were living like this LAST summer. Kids in this area, particularly in public school, were punished for longer than others and its now time to let them have life back for now.

Anonymous wrote: Being outside is not some sort of magic shield if the kids are on top of each other. 3 feet is fine. Hell, even 2 feet is probably fine outside. But at least at our meet, it was 6-12 inches and that was a little too close for comfort. Our team also doesn’t require 12+ to mask and I don’t really know if all of them rushed right out to get vaccinated - so they are still also at risk (and a population more likely to transmit). Idk, my children love to swim, so we make it work, but it’s not “normal”, at least for us.

Our team does not require any swimmers to mask and almost none do. They are on top of each other for hours. It is normal! And that is what is so amazing about it! Kids are so happy to be with their friends. The cases of covid are extremely low, outside transmission is rare and Covid risk to most kids is low. They are in dugouts, playing basketball and on soccer sidelines without masks now, too. Your kids can choose to wear masks, but if they want to continue in sports you should get used to other kids not wearing masks.

Being outside is not some sort of magic shield if the kids are on top of each other. 3 feet is fine. Hell, even 2 feet is probably fine outside. But at least at our meet, it was 6-12 inches and that was a little too close for comfort. Our team also doesn’t require 12+ to mask and I don’t really know if all of them rushed right out to get vaccinated - so they are still also at risk (and a population more likely to transmit). Idk, my children love to swim, so we make it work, but it’s not “normal”, at least for us.

I have 3 kids and one is choosing to mask outside. I believe it is due to some anxiety. I’m fine with it, but I think it is not necessary due to the low cases and being outside.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I expect masks for kids who can’t distance and aren’t swimming. Pretty simple. I felt bad for the kids who wanted to mask and there wasn’t a way for them to keep it on.

No need to pity my kids. They masked, they swam, and they had a great night.

your first line makes no sense. kids who wanted to mask and their wasn't a way for them to keep it on? Was someone yanking masks from kids faces? Or do you mean that your team wasn't willing to indulge in the theater of carrying masks around the pool when they were actually swimming?

COVID is nearly non-existent in NOVA. Outdoor transmission is extraordinarily rare. Its hot and humid. I have no interest in my unvaccinated children wearing a mask at a swim meet outdoors. They will continue to mask in buildings...

Maybe they mean the peer pressure? I see the one or two kids in masks and are they actually CHOOSING this or being forced by parents? If it’s by force, it must feel weird and out of place to be the only kid on your team wearing a mask.

Anonymous wrote:I expect masks for kids who can’t distance and aren’t swimming. Pretty simple. I felt bad for the kids who wanted to mask and there wasn’t a way for them to keep it on.

No need to pity my kids. They masked, they swam, and they had a great night.

your first line makes no sense. kids who wanted to mask and their wasn't a way for them to keep it on? Was someone yanking masks from kids faces? Or do you mean that your team wasn't willing to indulge in the theater of carrying masks around the pool when they were actually swimming?

COVID is nearly non-existent in NOVA. Outdoor transmission is extraordinarily rare. Its hot and humid. I have no interest in my unvaccinated children wearing a mask at a swim meet outdoors. They will continue to mask in buildings...

Anonymous wrote:I expect masks for kids who can’t distance and aren’t swimming. Pretty simple. I felt bad for the kids who wanted to mask and there wasn’t a way for them to keep it on.

No need to pity my kids. They masked, they swam, and they had a great night.

We had 350 swimmers at our B meet last night. Only a handful of masks. Zero distancing. Mob scene cheers by both teams. It was a glorious night! Kids had so much fun! Looking forward to next Monday!

Anonymous wrote:I expect masks for kids who can’t distance and aren’t swimming. Pretty simple. I felt bad for the kids who wanted to mask and there wasn’t a way for them to keep it on.

No need to pity my kids. They masked, they swam, and they had a great night.

haha That was far from the case at ours. I saw about 5 or 6 swimmers with masks out of 200+.

I personally don't care. Our kids don't mask anymore. But, swim life was certainly back to normal last night.

I expect masks for kids who can’t distance and aren’t swimming. Pretty simple. I felt bad for the kids who wanted to mask and there wasn’t a way for them to keep it on.

No need to pity my kids. They masked, they swam, and they had a great night.

What did you expect at a B meet? They are always crowded and no one is wearing masks if they aren’t required. If it bothers you, stay home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah B meets wouldn’t happened if any restrictions still existed. 🤣🤣 Ours was super crowded, no masks or distancing.

Agreed…our b meet tonight was a mob scene. My kids had a fantastic night but I pulled them out of the team area due to crowding and absolutely no masking. There is a line. It was crossed.

Sad for your kids. See you next summer, I guess.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah B meets wouldn’t happened if any restrictions still existed. 🤣🤣 Ours was super crowded, no masks or distancing.

Agreed…our b meet tonight was a mob scene. My kids had a fantastic night but I pulled them out of the team area due to crowding and absolutely no masking. There is a line. It was crossed.