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!?

Absolutely no swimming pools open for us here in Scotland until the 14th of September at the earliest. It’s pretty devastating. Pity DD swimmer wasn’t old enough to the pub or bingo... I know we all are fighting for our clubs but if you could spare those of us in Scotland a second and sign this petition we would be so thankful.

www.change.org/p/first-minister-open-scotland-s-pools/psf/share?source_location=signed_interrupt

@mondaywine - will definitely sign. That is just ridiculous. Hope you get an earlier opening.

Signed and shared

Thank you.

Done. I got pissy when she refused zoom/google meets etc as a means to continue teaching at start of pandemic (I know there are safe guarding challenges but not insurmountable).

Hope you get a positive outcome Mondaywine

Mondaywine signed and shared. I wonder what their logic is? Don't all your schools go back in a fortnight?

I’m a teacher. I’ll be back in the classroom on the 10th of August and our schools will be back from the 12th. No part time, no bubbles, no social distancing and masks at your own discretion. Our club have a back to the water plan. The council are happy to work with it and the club to make it work. Yet the science apparently says it’s too risky. This science isn’t being shared widely however.

We’re back in the pool! Not our regular pools as none of them show signs of reopening, but the lido and school pool totalling 6 hours per week.
So I have a very happy and aching DS

We’ve been told to expect club time trials only for this year with competition (hopefully) start of next

DD was back yesterday and also swam this evening. There’s been lots of movement and planning over lockdown and she’s been moved up a squad, so she will actually be swimming more hours than before the pools shut.

It’s been great to see how happy she is coming out of the pool, but I’d really enjoyed not driving her back and forth every day! I must say that the club have been great and their procedures for getting the children in and out safely have been excellent.

Just checking in to see how everybody is getting on (and hoping that junior Mondaywine can benefit from the pools reopening this coming week)?

DD's club is managing to get them all 2 hours/week of pool time, which is about to be increased to.....2 1/2 hours! She used to have 9 hours for about the same price.

Luckily we bought DD a wetsuit at the start of lockdown and she is really really enjoying open-water swimming. The coach reckons they'll be able to swim until October (so I hope this cold snap ends soon).

She has a real bounce in her step now she is out swimming with her friends.

Keeping our fingers and toes crossed that the return to school (and, for us, 20k students turning up for Uni shortly after) won't lead to a local lockdown.

Hi @Madcats and everyone else. We are managing about 8 hours a week but that will drop once schools return as we are using an alternative pool as well that won’t be available then. I think we will end up with six hours until half term and then no idea really. DS doing quite a lot of gym work now and is starting to look a bit Peaty-esque in the shoulders! I’ve heard a rumour time trials may happen before Xmas which will be valid for Counties next year but that’s all a bit pie in the sky at the moment I think. We’ve lost our first swimmer from top squad who has decided to retire at 15. I doubt they will be the last sadly.

We’ve been very fortunate to have been offered 6 swim sessions for national squad, other clubs have not been so lucky with pools remaining closed. I know it is only a matter of time before it gets shut down if things get worse again, but god has it been good for DD to get back into it.

Fingers crossed Scottish pools successfully open for you Mondaywine and teaching back at school is going well too!

We are back to almost usual, with potential extra time as the waterpolo club has closed due to Covid. Other local clubs have lost pool time and put costs up, so we have an influx of new high performance swimmers. DD isn't pleased with the competition!
School and early morning sessions started from today. Am sure I'll get used to the early start again...

We're back to the normal timetable, starting this week. We're going to lose some pool time in November as one our pools is becoming a leisure centre but they're hoping to be able to start using a pool that has been out of use for a couple of years whilst the council and school on whose grounds it is, argued about who was responsible for it! There's talk of time trials at club level to qualify for Counties.

Glad you are more or less back to normal. We are now back at normal amounts of training this month after reduced hours last month, but still not a normal timetable.
Interesting about your counties, I heard a suggestion a couple of months back that ours might be based on rankings, but it’s hard at the moment to imagine counties happening at all in a few months when they can’t even use the blocks or swim full fly in training, let alone race

Sounds promising for many clubs.
We’re really struggling with Ponds Forge remaining shut. We have pool time elsewhere but not as many hours and not the same standard. Realise how spoilt we were to have a LC pool

We are still nowhere near normal levels. Back to 4 5 hours at least until half term if not longer. Should be doing 12! Did take 3 seconds off 50 back in training though so must be doing a lot of sprints... we have been told club time trials to qualify for counties. Still find it hard to believe that will happen. @WidowTwonky - gutted re Ponds Forge. Between that and Sunderland we are now left with John Charles for lc comps - just can't see how that is feasible for regionals. We generally do 3 comps minimum at PF a year. Am currently sat in pool car park under blanket since 5.15 as not worth going home and no spectators. Things you do

WidowTwonky and estherfrewen that's such a shame about Ponds Forge, I can't believe that they will be allowed to keep it closed. We're a couple of hours south but usually attend one LC gala there a year. It's such a fantastic pool. We have one LC pool in the county but its not as good as PF.

I am in awe of clubs managing to get all those hours. Pools round here just aren't paying staff for long opening hours.

By the end of the month DD will be up to 31/2 hours (paying £4-6/hour in a volunteer run club).

I'd be amazed if Counties happen..... and regionals will probably just be for kids from the elite clubs/schools.

At least there hasn't been any news of an outbreak at a pool/leisure centre.... let's hope it stays that way!

@Madcats- yes feeling your pain! No way will our club kids be able to compete on a level playing field (or swimming pool) with their usual rivals when our lot are doing between 2 and 4.5 hours a week - all really early too, no evening hours at all. I think we will see more dropping out as schools round here start back this week. No showers or changing at pool and some have to swim and go straight to school where there are also no changing rooms! My DS did say yesterday he kind of wished he was going to swimming boarding school but the Frewen bank won't pay for that!!!

Whilst our club is normal hours, they don’t do that many to begin with, my 11 year old does 3 hours, I think the top squad is about 8.
I think it helps too that almost all the club’s sessions are at one pool.

I agree though Madcats that it is good news that I haven’t heard of any outbreaks linked to pools/leisure centres/gyms, I just hope with infections rising they aren’t closed again as a casualty of trying to get things under control

How are you and your swimmers all getting on? I had to scrape ice off the car before training this morning for the first time in ages and it made me think of this thread.

Here in Ireland we are attempting "virtual" development and qualifying galas for an actual real life Regional short course championship before Christmas. So that will be interesting as virtual means in club races. Regional events have a elite sport exemption, but anything below that has to meet normal Covid training rules.

It has turned chilly! We are all self isolating as DS tested positive last Tuesday so swimming has gone from v little to none at all!

Oh no! Hope its a mild case and doesn't spread round the whole family.