Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

Poolside chat: Calling all parents of competitive swimmers!

999 replies

Marypoppins19 · 06/04/2018 08:13

I thought it might be helpful to share our highs/lows/questions/thoughts in one place. Who’s joining me!?

OP posts:
winesolveseverything · 27/09/2019 08:40

Morning all...

Any suggestions of good snacky foods or lunch ideas for an all day meet that will survive a hot poolside?

I have a child that won't eat sandwiches and lives on salad wraps and quiche in packed lunches.. I'm not sure how well they will fare even with ice packs... (although I can see that's what he'll end up with!)

Pasta is a no go also.. 🙄

He loves fruit and I'll include some smoothies and energy drinks.

Anyone got any tried and tested ideas?

Madcats · 27/09/2019 09:56

What, no pesto pasta! No bread either.... that IS hard work. Be aware of this article: www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49448945

We have quite a bit of "kit" to keep things hot or cold. I recommend what Thermos call an "ice board" and a good insulated sandwich bag. We often leave half the food in a proper coolbox in the car if it is a long day. DD tends to graze her way through galas so I make sure she has plenty of snacks in little pots.

Houmous and carrot sticks is a favourite and I'll tend to throw in a few cherry tomatoes too. Babybels/sticks of cheese or cream cheese and breadsticks are easy to pick at.

Pop corn and the trail mixes by Graze are popular too (just watch out for the nut policy wherever you are). I'll sometimes buy some fresh coconut, otherwise I make up some pots of fruit fresh (apple/grape/pomegranate) or a semi-dry mix of apricot/apple/pineapple etc.

I did try frittata-style muffins, but they were vile (think it was the recipe I used), but I do sometimes buy mini omelettes (Unearthed make them) . DD also loves scotch eggs, but they are most definitely kept away from poolside because of the smell! Those picnic eggs can go poolside.

We also buy those pouches of grain/pulse mixes and use those as a base of a salad (Merchant Gourmet and Jamie Oliver do some). Throw in some chopped tomato and a cheese like feta, cubes of diced roasted sweet potato/butternut squash/beetroot etc with a bit of dressing.

DD often has thick chunky soup to which I add a bit more chicken (the sort of thing they sell in the chiller aisle). If you put it in the thermos bowl almost boiling it will keep warm. Or maybe chilli and couscous.
Some of her friends have baked sweet potatoes.

Banana and chia seed muffins are quite filling if you find a recipe with wholemeal flour (I probably throw chia seeds into a lot of her milkshakes/smoothies etc.). Then there are flapjacks.....

Good luck this weekend.

winesolveseverything · 27/09/2019 10:45

@Madcats

Wow, thank you for such a comprehensive list- this is great. I wouldn't have thought of half of these things as don't generally buy them on a day to day basis...

I was planning on making flapjacks and he's agreed to mini sausages with some ketchup dip. This is progress 😬

He's not generally fussy and would devour a roast dinner with tons of veg in no time- however as soon as we talk picnic type food, he's just not keen!!

Think I left things in the car last year for the all dayer- since then though it's been evening galas with no food allowed on poolside (which makes my life easier)..

Will get freezing the ice packs!!

QueenofLouisiana · 28/09/2019 08:47

@Madcats also thanking you for all those ideas! I’m off to google ice boards.

Good results last weekend, DS came away feeling that the new regimen is having an impact. He really enjoyed the level of feedback he was given, even when the race wasn’t great.

However, he broke his finger this week! Poor DS and I spent a long evening in A&E (although I realise we are lucky to have only waited a few hours!). So very little training this week, as one day was too sore and another was the day after the long A&E trip and he needed an early night. Swimming has been ok-ed by the doctor, but no contact sports or ball sports.

Local league this weekend, evening only thank goodness!

estherfrewen · 28/09/2019 09:08

Oh no! We had a broken finger for one of our swimmers this week - swum right into the wall! Good to here he’s feeling happy under the new regime though.

Some great food ideas, @Madcats . Mine doesn’t tend to eat a lot poolside but does like mini breadsticks and plain chicken fridge raiders!

Madcats · 28/09/2019 09:22

Back from morning training. DD's friends are doing an open meet, but we couldn't face the journey and didn't think we'd get any useful PB's so early in the season to justify the cost/day away. So it is a school fixture day for us (DH and I are resisting the urge to watch in the pouring rain and are going to have a lunch date!).

Poor DS, Queen. DD's friend had a trip to A&E a fortnight ago, having whacked her thumb in backstroke training. And here I am always worrying silently about hockey.

WidowTwonky · 28/09/2019 09:39

Anyone at Leeds this weekend for the Yorks winters? 👋🏻

estherfrewen · 28/09/2019 11:44

Our club little ones are. Club doesn’t usually do this as a gala but they are this year.

WidowTwonky · 28/09/2019 13:35

Don’t blame them. It’s always rammed, not pleasant

estherfrewen · 28/09/2019 13:53

Yes heard from a friend today who said it was crazily busy

itsgettingweird · 28/09/2019 21:23

You know the swimming season has started again when the only answer you have to the to the question

"What are you doing this evening/ at the weekend"

Is

"Taking ds training/ to an open meet" Grin

Ds has his first OM of the season tomorrow. LC and is an hour and a half away.

Not holding out much hope of it being great for him as he's been full of cold all week and is still a little chesty.

Oh well! He loves doing them.

ealingwestmum · 29/09/2019 15:25

My DD now wants Madcats as her new swim mom Grin

Hope your DS's finger heals quickly Queen

itsgettingweird · 29/09/2019 20:05

Not the best day for ds! Considering Friday he couldn't get out of bed with a temp of 39°+ I was impressed he even decided to race.
First time in 15yo age group.

LC pb in 200 free. 50 Fly pretty much his pb and 50 free nearly a second out! Didn't help he sneezed halfway down the length Grin

QueenofLouisiana · 29/09/2019 22:20

@itsgettingweird at least it was free, no worrying about the sneeze effecting his arm synchronicity! I’m impressed that he was still up to competing, so well done to him!

The broken finger wasn’t linked to swimming, it was a PE incident with a ball 🙄.

estherfrewen · 30/09/2019 08:14

@itsgettingweird, that’s pretty impressive with a temperature like that! Especially lc. With a sneeze!

winesolveseverything · 30/09/2019 09:27

Hours out of the house- 10
Seconds in the pool- 176

Remind me why we do this again?!
We got 3 PBs and some lovely turns, got some work to do on starts next..

Hope everyone else had a successful weekend... Smile

Madcats · 30/09/2019 09:34

Well done to @itsgettingweird. Sometimes I think the kids do benefit from a proper rest and no training. It sounds like he is over his fever anyway with results like that!

(is it a belated 'welcome to this thread' too?)

itsgettingweird · 04/10/2019 16:53

Queen he did somehow manage to rip his finger open on lane rope as he sneezed Confused think his arm kinda sprayed outwards.

itsgettingweird · 04/10/2019 16:55

I've name changed. I am above as kidding! Sorry should have said!

I like this thread. Competitive swimming is something you can only understand when you live it!

I laughed at the hours out of house V no of hours racing! I say that a lot! Plus £6.50 and he was only in the pool for a minute including the overhead starts Grin

itsgettingweird · 11/10/2019 20:56

How's everyone's week of training been? Anyone at competitions this weekend? We have club champs on Sunday (part 2!). Did part 1 last week and ds managed to pb on 200 and 50 free. (He only did those!). 50/100 fly and 100 free this weekend. He's aiming for a hatrick Grin

ealingwestmum · 12/10/2019 14:08

Just had a few days here itsgettingweird. 2 weeks off training due to school trip. That's the problem, it's always 2 steps forward, 3 back, but she's got nearly 3 weeks to prepare for her winter regionals; first comp of the season but qualified for a decent spread of events.

Madcats · 12/10/2019 14:32

We're limbering up to start getting some Regional times (hopefully) at the end of the month. At this time of year I'm just trying to make sure DD doesn't pick up a chesty cold.

We're not doing Junior or Arena League this year, either, so we seem to be playing a lot more hockey at weekends, rather than swimming (we've swapped 'hot and wet' for 'cold and wet'!). Oh and going to birthday parties!

Good luck with the club champs weird.

itsgettingweird · 12/10/2019 15:27

Gosh your kids are good! Ds doesn't even have county times (0.5-1.5 secs out for his best strokes) let alone regionals! He does make the relay teams though!
He doesn't qualify for winter regionals either - but can qualify for some in the region to west of us and competitions only an hour away. (So is our regions!) I've considered entering him?

Ds isn't slow but all accounts (I don't think!) - he's just not that second or 2 quicker that puts him in the 'good' category. His current target in a sub 29 50m free. He's not even 1/2 a second off it - it just seems to be alluding him 😂

QueenofLouisiana · 12/10/2019 18:50

I cane on to find out joe Arena league had gone for your swimmers, but it looks like none of us are swimming them!

LC training for us today, first of the season. It’s the first time DS has swim LC since nationals, so I think he’ll ache in the morning!

@itsgettingweird how did he get on?
@Madcats we are focusing on regional times in 200 everything (except breaststroke!!). Those are the ones he needs to target in the next few meets.

ealingwestmum · 12/10/2019 19:31

Apologies if I've missed how old your DS is itsgettingweird. My DD didn't hit her first county time until she was 13.

Mixture of jet lag and faster swimmers in the 15+ category renders DD obsolete for NAL now Queen!

Swipe left for the next trending thread