Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 18:02     Subject: Paper plate award horror
Our team has almost 200 swimmers. Every year the coaches make about 10-15 paper plates and all of them are funny things kids have said/done. Yes they present them at the banquet. The kids are bummed when they don’t get one, but the stories are usually quite entertaining and I can’t imagine asking the coaches to churn out 200 of these.

Our banquet is super long already. I can’t imagine making it longer
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 17:46     Subject: Paper plate award horror
Who are these teams that give Team Reps this level of power. They are supposed to work out any meet related issues with the guest or host team, not oversee coaches. That's rediculous that they have that authority.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 17:03     Subject: Paper plate award horror
....Wut?
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 16:39     Subject: Paper plate award horror
I can see it might be disappointing but with the thread title of horror I was filling expecting something like some girl got a “Bloody Mary” paper award for getting her period unexpectedly or something like that.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 16:34     Subject: Paper plate award horror
What is a paper plate award?
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 16:33     Subject: Paper plate award horror
This thread is so disappointing. I was hoping for a hilarious mishap in the actual awards like biggest butt or something like that.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 16:01     Subject: Paper plate award horror
You guys are such whiners. We loved the paper plate awards. Ours aren’t super specific. There things like “explorer award” “smiley” “always on time” “pirate award”.

The very specific awards were given by head coach and were related to performance
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 15:59     Subject: Paper plate award horror
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Huge team. No paper plate awards thank goodness. As a team rep, I wish parents would spend less time complaining about trivial things and more time joining the board and help running the team. Plan the banquet if you don’t like how it is run. But for the love of God stop complaining about the dumbest things.


I wish! The board and team rep only choose their friends to volunteer and help them, and are mean to the rest.


And removing a team tradition that kids cherish is not a trivial thing.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 15:58     Subject: Paper plate award horror
Anonymous wrote:Huge team. No paper plate awards thank goodness. As a team rep, I wish parents would spend less time complaining about trivial things and more time joining the board and help running the team. Plan the banquet if you don’t like how it is run. But for the love of God stop complaining about the dumbest things.


I wish! The board and team rep only choose their friends to volunteer and help them, and are mean to the rest.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 15:26     Subject: Paper plate award horror
Huge team. No paper plate awards thank goodness. As a team rep, I wish parents would spend less time complaining about trivial things and more time joining the board and help running the team. Plan the banquet if you don’t like how it is run. But for the love of God stop complaining about the dumbest things.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 11:59     Subject: Paper plate award horror
This is totally not a thing on our (very large) team and I am so grateful. All of our kids get their names called and a participation medal, but none of the drama or wasted effort (and banquet time) of mock awards.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 11:36     Subject: Paper plate award horror
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Horror would be a completely inappropriate plate or leaving just one kid out completely.


I’m still angry about my paper plate award I received in 1986. So embarrassing.

Relax, Mom.


Parents and swimmers alike have a right to be annoyed at inappropriate paper plates awards. Coaches should know better, but it's often done by team reps who are passive aggressive and are gunning for the swimmer's parents. The family is often gone from the team the next summer (which was the intent). In one case, the kid joined another summer team, started club swim, and ended up becoming a top club swimmer.

Adults who act this way towards kids are disgusting.


Seriously? You think team reps have the time to put together mean paper plate awards just to get at another family. The amount of perceived and/or actual "someone is out to get me (or my kid(s)" drama on summer swim is incredible.


I’ve seen this too. The passive aggressive adult behavior may not be from the team rep volunteer, but other volunteers in charge. It’s not drama or made up. There are plenty of adult volunteers who are doing this in summer swim.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 11:34     Subject: Paper plate award horror
These are so dumb op get a life
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 11:34     Subject: Paper plate award horror
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We just hang them for all to see and then kids collect them at the end of the night. Two hundred kids on the team it would be a nightmare if we talked about each one.


We have 200 kids and our banquet went from 6-8:30, even with 6+ seniors. Everyone got a plate. Kids who weren’t there got plates and if a sibling / cousin was there to accept it, they read it. It’s not a whole story. Just a quick sentence per kid. Some are obviously inside jokes and you can ask your kid to explain if you care .


That’s wonderful! Sounds like a well-run team.
Anonymous
Post 07/21/2025 11:18     Subject: Paper plate award horror
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Horror would be a completely inappropriate plate or leaving just one kid out completely.


I’m still angry about my paper plate award I received in 1986. So embarrassing.

Relax, Mom.


Parents and swimmers alike have a right to be annoyed at inappropriate paper plates awards. Coaches should know better, but it's often done by team reps who are passive aggressive and are gunning for the swimmer's parents. The family is often gone from the team the next summer (which was the intent). In one case, the kid joined another summer team, started club swim, and ended up becoming a top club swimmer.

Adults who act this way towards kids are disgusting.


Seriously? You think team reps have the time to put together mean paper plate awards just to get at another family. The amount of perceived and/or actual "someone is out to get me (or my kid(s)" drama on summer swim is incredible.


In years past, the team reps approved all paper plate awards and would make the coaches redo them if they were inappropriate.


This is insanity, all of it. What is wrong with so many of you. Team reps using paper plate awards to drive out families they don't like is like a bad SNL script.