Poolside chat: Calling all parents of competitive swimmers!

[Marypoppins19]

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

Ours is Council pools, am surprised we kept going until yesterday to be honest. Been for a walk this morning and now DS is personally training me. Just had a run. I'm a physically unfit person, so hoping this will do us both good! He seems happier now there is a definitive answer to GCSEs. He misses the pool though!

Yep,we are resorting to running too. 4K this morning but will be hard to replicate all the pool time. Club have announced they are delivering an online training programme as of tomorrow.And the Jazz Carlin online workouts look good too.Not a substitute for the water but the best compromise for now

Our club have asked us to do the Joe Wicks PE!

What’s each of your clubs doing about monthly fees? Radio silence from ours so far

Ours are frozen for April and May and then they will take another look

We'll get a refund after they've taken into account their operational costs, so not sure what it will be but we did also get an email from the club treasurer reminding everyone that the club is a charity, what their terms are and basically saying it wasn't worth swimmers trying to cancel their membership! I doubt we'll get much back.

A (fairly) long time lurker here.

Our club has asked everyone to cancel their standing orders before April fees are taken, and will assess once we have a better idea of how long this will go on for. Also asked people not to look for a refund for March.

I know we have decent reserves built up, which the club had been deciding how to use, so can cover coaches wages with that in the short term. Longer term the aim is to cover those salaries. How that’s done is the subject of some debate- if people have nothing coming in then even asking for a small retainer could be too much

The other concern is how much membership will drop off once people realise what it’s like to get their evenings and early mornings back- especially lower down the club.

We pay 10 instalments from 1 April so I am not out of pocket (saving money on food too). Our volunteer coach has retired and the committee and coaches were just about to advertise for a ££ one, so we are very lucky that we'd hadn't progressed this very far. I hope GLL will waive pool hire fees now that they are closed - they were threatening us with a hefty fee increase (I think our club is the only thing that makes the place viable). No council-subsidised fees round here!

Anyway, I though I would share a couple of things I have found. This one from Adam Peaty is a weighty download (weird style, but worth a look - find it on apraceclinics.com/covid19

In it he stresses the importance of swim buddies and parents keeping in touch, which is fair enough. DD is a huge fan of the Houseparty app at the moment when she isn't doing her lessons. Jazz Carlin has put together an exercise snakes and ladders which I think the kids could all just about play remotely.
twitter.com/JazzCarlin/status/1241691025724379136/photo/1
www.swimwithjazz.co.uk is worth a look.

I hope we continue to be allowed out. I think the police 'copter was out and about today, but it was too sunny(!) to see for sure.

I'm quite enjoying the leisurely family mealtimes - wholemeal pasta and rags is barely getting look in.

Our club are doing loads to keep everyone in touch and motivated. Honestly it's a bit much for me at the moment as I'm an accountant and this might be one of my most stressful week's ever, even worse then january! They've done online meetings so everyone can have a chat, there's daily challenges like tidy their bedroom, make a poster to support NHS, not forgetting the Joe Wicks workout in the morning and doing 10k steps a day! I am enjoying the not rushing about and lack of school runs and more time with the kids but can't wait for this to be over.

Everyone coping?

My DS is struggling a bit. He's enjoying time on the computer!! But missing swimming like crazy, especially with the sunshine coming as he loves swimming in the summer.

He's been asking 'mummy when am I going swimming again?' and in his school diary (I'm a key worker so he's still been going), he wrote 'i wanted to go swimming but I couldn't. Maybe tomorrow coronavirus will be gone and I can go swimming again'

The club have been great (the coaches are so so lovely, thank you to then), keeping everyone in touch and exercising. But DS isn't too bothered about the exercises. He swims because he loves being in the pool, not for any other reason, and there just simply is no pool time :(

If we weren't moving I actually think I might buy a pool! (On some kind of crazy overdraft, re-mortguage or massive bank loan!!)

Hi, @MonsterMunchAndHoolaHoops - bit of a slog really. Mine is much older - 16 - so am just hoping he will still want to get back in the pool after all this. Although compared to the drama of GCSE cancellations etc swimming is coming a poor second in his thinking. Club are putting up morning and evening exercise plans and coaches are keeping in touch via Facebook. DS doesn't enjoy running on tarmac much (although he loves cross country and athletics) so his morning routine has been a long (for him) cycle ride - approx. 1 1/4 each day and then doing afternoon inside exercise and stretching, but that can't compensate for all the pool sessions missed. He had cut down to 4 sessions because of exams, so wasn't super fit at the moment, but he is much more crotchety when he can't swim, even though he probably doesn't realise it. As he says, he can't remember a time before squad (he started when he was 6) so this is really hard to get his head round. On the plus side, when they can go back he won't have to combine it with GCSEs so can go straight into full training. That's going to hurt I feel ... The rest of the time he is either doing A level bridging work for September or PS4/PC gaming with friends. I do wish we had a pool though ...!!

One thing I do wonder though is how many kids we will lose with the closure, once they realise there is more to life than getting up at 4am and giving up their entire social life (am thinking more the 13+ swimmers than the little ones). PBs are hard enough to come by age 16 without a long lay off. I do think our top squad will lose a few.

My DS is the same munster , he doesn't do any other sport and loves swimming so has struggled. Our club have fortunately ditched the Joe Wicks workout and are now doing their own including skipping workouts and juggling! We're also having a weekly pub quiz which has been fun.
I'm actually missing the whole swimming thing which is something I never thought I'd say though I am enjoying the relaxing weekends!
esther I think you'll be right. It's going to be so difficult for them all initially and for some it'll be a case of why bother getting back to full fitness.

So we wandered around in PJ's at 7, prepped pizza and focaccia, read the newspapers, went to the farmers' market, did a bit of neighbourly WhatsApping.

My calendar alerts tell me I should be at Regionals for the next fortnight.

DD misses the water, but has great swim-buddies.

Hope you are all keeping sane and positive.

Hi @Madcats - glad you’re keeping sane!

Sounds like a nice day but not exactly what was planned...

Our regionals are May but DS should have been doing GCSEs so a double whammy of disappointment. He is missing swimming badly. Doing home stretches and exercise and cycling everyday along with A level prep. He was hoping Home Nations would be on but that’s clearly not going to happen now. He doesn’t remember a time before squads as was 6 when he started so this has been very difficult for him. Hopefully he will still have two years left before Uni and at least he now knows he definitely wants to swim and it isn’t just habit!

Hope everyone is okay and we are all back poolside soon.

Obviously no dates as yet as to when this will happen but thought this article was interesting on how the return can be managed :
www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/safe-return-to-pool/

If all goes well here DD will be back in the pool in Jul and land training may move outdoors and be back even sooner. She'll be thrilled to get back to the pool as is really missing the team and the exercise. But all the LC season has been cancelled and our SC winter season is mainly for the over 15s so she's got a long wait before competing. But on the plus side has plenty of time to regain form and will be going back in on the eldest side of her 13/14 age group.

I get the feeling that a nearby(ish) boarding school, famous for its swimming, is thinking of reopening their pool and getting swimmers to sign disclaimers.

I suspect there has been a lot of heated discussion behind the scenes with many 'elite' clubs.

DD trained at a local council pool and a Uni pool, so I think she has minimal chance of swimming any time soon.

Hope everybody is fit and well. More importantly I am looking forward to moaning about packed lunches, early starts and the aroma of chlorine!

We are at Council pool too. We haven’t had to pay April and May subs so am waiting to hear if we will pay for June. I think council will want us back as soon as as they will need the money!

Does anyone know about these elastic bands, any good?
SWIMBANDS™ - ULTIMATE SWIM RESISTANCE BANDS W/ PADDLESs

They chase me round Facebook. But having been burnt by a solo tennis trainer and a football trainer thing, neither which were any good, I'm reluctant to pay for more useless training aids!

Well....delivery end of June, early July, so no thanks

I am proud to announce that the swim paddle ads have arrived on my Facebook feed! It makes a change from "period pants" and the more recent ads for local food companies offering deliveries.

DD loves the turbo trainer (DH has his bike attached, so we can all jump on thanks to an elderly IKEA bathroom booster step). I'm doing "elderly ballet" too.

Whispers that our INTEX 3x2m pool is on its way (for tether swim training).

How is everyone? Our club are starting the assessments for starting back, hoping that the pools will be able to open in July. They're not going to take the normal summer break this year. It's going to be very strange. Changing rooms won't be in use, swimmers will need to wear face masks to and from the pool, go home in wet gear, no car sharing.

We are by the sea so the club has been doing open water training for the last few weeks. DD beyond delighted to be back, but hates wetsuits, the sea and jellyfish and seals!
One of our pools has a reopening plan, the other isn't responding and committee members are concerned. Was so hard to get the pool time in the first place, them going back on the schedule would be a nightmare.