Orinda Aquatics JO Surveys Question #1: Do you like the new single age format for Prelims and Finals? Swimmers: 14 Yes 3 No 2 No Opinion Coaches: 29 Yes 3 No 1 No Opinion Officials: 13 Yes 0 No 2 No Opinion Parents: 6 Yes 0 No 0 No Opinion Question #2: Do you think having preliminaries sessions about 4 hours is beneficial to the swimmers? Swimmers: 9 Yes 3 No 8 No Opinion Coaches: 22 Yes 5 No 6 No Opinion Officials: 12 Yes 0 No 3 No Opinion Parents: 3 Yes 1 No 2 No Opinion Question #3: Do you like having relays during the Finals session? Swimmers: 9 Yes 7 No 3 No Opinion Coaches: 22 Yes 3 No 8 No Opinion Officials: 9 Yes 3 No 2 No Opinion Parents: 4 Yes 1 No 1 No Opinion
Coaches Surveys Question #1: Do you like the new single age format for Prelims and Finals? 29 Yes 3 No No Opinion More kids get a chance to final Includes more kids, especially those that just aged up. More opportunities for swimmers to attend this meet More opportunities for the younger kids Swimmer at the bottom of age group have chance to make finals Gives more kids an opportunity to make finals It gives the younger swimmers a chance to swim prelims and finals Promotes fairness in competition by age Allows transition in aging up; more opportunities to final It makes sense It is nice for "bottom" age groupers to have finals Competition is better with two ages. Rather see 2 heats finals but combined Age Group More opportunities for finalists 9 year old bracket should be added Better motivation Seems appropriate and approx. same number of athletes as a consol-champ format. The "down year" swimmers have more motivation - the split age group keeps them interested and allows them to set achievable goals. Great for development Except - why aren't there 9&U and 10 s? I'm a traditionalist. 11's and 13's should have to race older kids. Highest priority to keep this. But only for 11-14 ages.
Officials Surveys Question #1: Do you like the new single age format for Prelims and Finals? 13 Yes 0 No No Opinion More opportunity for kids Gave the swimmers who aged up a chance at a final Seems better for the athletes Kids on the team Makes the "odd" years relevant for the swimmers
Parents Surveys Question #1: Do you like the new single age format for Prelims and Finals? 6 Yes 0 No No Opinion Gives the younger swimmers a chance to final.
Swimmers Surveys Question #1: Do you like the new single age format for Prelims and Finals? 14 Yes 3 No No Opinion Because it gives more of a chance Gives slower 14 year olds a chance It gives those who just aged up a chance for finals The JO's are more reasonable for the age group It takes too long to have separate It makes it fairer for the younger half of the age group Allows people at bottom of age group to get to finals Easier to make finals I wouldn't be here without it Easier to win events Separating the ages for finals takes too long to do
Coaches Surveys Question #2: Do you think having preliminaries sessions about 4 hours is beneficial to the swimmers? 22 Yes 5 No No Opinion More rest before finals Shorter would be fine too If possible Anything longer would tire out swimmers by the last day or sooner. More time to rest between (esp. for parents who we must keep relatively happy so they keep their kids in the sport) It's not 4 hours, but nice try. 9 am - 3 pm = 6 hours Not if it keeps JO qualifiers out of the meet Gives athletes time to recover before finals Maybe add a 4th day? If not, current format is fine. Should be shorter, with 4 hour max. Distance events should not be exempt. When distance runs all day up until warmup for finals, the meet is too big! No good for our sport. No longer than 4 hours, though!!! I think everyone should get to swim. I also think there should be more rest between age group events. Not over 4 As long as it's not longer, we could probably be shorter. Over 4 hours too long Prelims and Finals is part of swimming; the younger swimmers need exposure to the format. I would like 3 hours. But it might not be realistic to get this. As long as strokes and distances are spread out over days.
Officials Surveys Question #2: Do you think having preliminaries sessions about 4 hours is beneficial to the swimmers? 12 Yes 0 No No Opinion Benefits the younger swimmers And to the officials as well Gives the swimmers a chance to rest For the younger athletes Of course we didn't get there Like the combined age group prelims - much smoother than Spring Jos Whatever it takes
Parents Surveys Question #2: Do you think having preliminaries sessions about 4 hours is beneficial to the swimmers? 3 Yes 1 No No Opinion No Comments
Swimmers Surveys Question #2: Do you think having preliminaries sessions about 4 hours is beneficial to the swimmers? 9 Yes 3 No No Opinion Just cuz Good because there's a lot of time for warmup/down. Bad because it's long. It's not too long and not too short I like to hang out with my friends Yes because it gives us time before our next race No, because in 4 hours parents yell at kids to warm up too much. Yes, gives swimmers rest in between.
Coaches Surveys Question #3: Do you like having relays during the Finals session? 22 Yes 3 No No Opinion Relays at the finish of finals is good I want more swimmers to share the finals experience Possibly starting finals with relays, instead of at end of finals. But choice on Sunday The meet is so long that I never bring relays. Small team - not enough swimmers/age group It'd be great to place them after prelims. Great energy Relays should be at the end. I think it is a lot of fun at the end of the day. I would prefer starting finals with relays. Lots of energy! Put only the FASTEST heat of relays in Finals, the others at the end of Prelims. At end is best I like limiting to A & B I like it Relays equal fun for the kids. Relays should be team scored (like all other levels of swimming). But I don't like the 2 per team restriction Why aren't we scoring relays? Good energy Adds to excitement at END of finals!
Officials Surveys Question #3: Do you like having relays during the Finals session? 9 Yes 3 No No Opinion It is exciting for the swimmers and allows swimmers who may not make finals the opportunity to experience that. Nice way to cap off the days - gives more kids the opportunity to swim in JOs that wouldn't have been here otherwise. As an official, I'm ready to go home but the athletes love them. Kids love it. They can only swim relays a couple times a year. Early take-off judging is too hard at the end of the day. Brings more kids back for finals, to cheer teammates. Prefer at start of finals
Parents Surveys Question #3: Do you like having relays during the Finals session? 4 Yes 1 No No Opinion I want it during prelims
Swimmers Surveys Question #3: Do you like having relays during the Finals session? 9 Yes 7 No No Opinion I think it would be better in the middle We got home late, fall asleep later, then have to wake up early, plus traffic was horrible on Friday afternoon Takes away space and attention from finalists No because it takes up all of the room for finalists and relays aren't part of finals I want it during prelims My team doesn't have enough people anyway They should give swimmers more time to warmup People don't have to stay at prelims as long. You get to stay longer They should separate final and relays so it can give relays kids more time in between finals and relays.
Coaches Surveys Additional Comments Make qualifying times faster so timeline is shorter or dual venue or 3-1/2 or 4 day meet While a 3-day format makes for longer days, I would prefer 3 over 4 days as the 4th day adds expense to teams like mine who need to stay in hotels for this meet. I would also support adding 15 and over to this meet - as a single age group. Great meet, a lot of steps in the right direction, striking a better balance between including more kids and appropriate timeline. Keep up the good work! I would like to see JO's being held 2 weeks before Far Westerns again. This should be the last chance to qualify, not a B/A+ meet. Make time standards/qualifying times FASTER(!) resulting in fewer swimmers and a more manageable time line. Championships should reward hard working swimmers with a break in afternoon in LCM. I miss having a place for my 15-18 (JO only) swimmers to race in the summer. If this was dual venue, I hope you'd let them back in. BUT NOT if it's single venue (the meet would be too long & crowded). I appreciate all the volunteers who step up to make these meets run (especially officials)! Warm-up needs to be extended or split into team assignments so 700 swimmers aren't warming up in a 600 person capacity pool. *maybe just a LCM problem? Dual venues work best. I realize that is a problem with volunteers, but it's a fact that it gives more kids an opportunity to final and swim again, make times, etc. Shorten the 8:45 am coaches' meeting! "Only coaches" at the meet miss swimmers in first heats! (I did!) If you are going to swim single age group, they should be swum that way during prelims. The fastest 11 or 13 year olds should be able to be circle seeded in prelims with their age group. Saturday warm-up restricted to one pool because a club team was practicing at the same time creating a huge safety issue and dicey warmup for JO swimmers. Pacific Swimming may want to consider a North and South JOs. Travel and expenses for my families makes JOs not an option. Our team services a predominately minority, working class community. (Most parents are involved in Ag industry, parking sheds and field workers). It takes us 3+ hours with traffic to get to a swim meet this far north, requiring hotel stays. Would like to see Pacific Swimming acknowledge diversity and the economically disadvantaged in considering Championship Meet location selection or divide the LSC N and S. 15 & Ups, especially those who are late bloomers could use a meet like JO's
Coaches Surveys Additional Comments I think we should try to make this meet either a dual venue or a 4-day program. The distance swimmers at this meet have been put at a big disadvantage if they also make finals. They are here all day with very little break. Obviously the parking was a mess! PacSwim will hopefully do a better job selecting the host team in the future. I consider the warmup situation at this facility for this meet to be unsafe. We are probably in violation of the pool's capacity and arrangements should have been made to open up the other pool. Instead OA ran a practice in the warm up pool. I feel like it should be the host team's RESPONSIBILITY to make sure there are enough lifeguards and marshalls on deck for a SAFE warmup. I also think that it is PacSwim's responsibility to not allow teams to host meets like this in the future if they demonstrate the inability to plan and provide the meet with a safe environment to warmup and compete along with adequate parking. Swimmers missing the 15-18 age group at JO's. Time standards should not fluctuate year to year. I think 15-year olds should be included. For boys the physical gap from 15-16 can still be huge. I also think consolation finals should be an option. I would aim for 3.5 day meet with distance. I also think 10&U should have their own meet and not do JO's. Pac Swimming does a fantastic job organizing and executing meets and isn't afraid to listen to what works and what doesn't. I am proud to be a part of it! I think it is time to better define the purpose and function of JO's (a mission statement). The meet cannot be "all things". If we have a true purpose, the timeline, warmup space would be easier to plan. Need a Senior Champs meet the week after JO's. No FW "Q" swimmers at JO's. Better lunches and dinners for coaches at JO's. Meet is running fine with just 1 venue, not sure why it keeps getting bid as 2. Since 14&U, no need for 2 venues. Timelines have been fine. Split 10&U to 10 and 9&U, or 10, 9, 8&U. Tighten up 13-14 standards. Split relays and only do 200 relays. To cut down on time, have all age groups swimming the same events swim together in prelims. Then split them out in finals. I like format but they need to look at having distance (400+ - 1500) events at a dual venue on the same weekend or weekend after. Most team have 2 coaches. SCFW had all distance 9 am - 11:30 am. Majority of swimmers didn't get to race until 2.5 hours after warmup. Then split revenue between 2 venues. Distance will have less swimmers of course. I don't like easing of some cuts of the (almost) year to year fluctuations. I have boys in this meet (champ. Meet) w/ "BB" times. "A" should be the minimum. I'm FINE with 15+ ages not being included. P.S. I loved Carson City.
Coaches Surveys Additional Comments We've lost the "swim TEAM" factor. Individual high point awards are given at 10 & Under Champs and JO's, yet relays count for nothing. Teams don't need awards, but value needs to be created to encourage team atmosphere and pride within Pacific Swimming. Our team entered minimal relays at JO's (spring and summer). For our team, the entry fees not paid from these relays was $600-$1100. The split age group time standards are awesome for the kids. However, we need to find time standards and keep the SET for 2-year increments. swimmers need to have times to strive for in advance. I understand that finding a time standard to make everyone happy is difficult (if not impossible). We just need standards that are steady, allow swimmers to goal set, and work towards over time. 3-1/2 day meet. Either 400's on Thursday or distance. In the event of a No Show, would like the officials to try to get swimmers into an open lane if possible. Remember the goal of this meet is to give swimmers opportunity. There are way too many 13-14 year olds so clearly their times are too easy. The 11-12 boys and the 9-10 boys are under represented. This meet should be at 1 venue. The events should be standardized across JO's. Pacific should set the event line up. Not the individual clubs. Coming from a developing program, this format gives more of our swimmers a chance and opportunity to get exposed to championship-style meets. All 3 JO meets should have the same/similar format. Scoring, Team Awards, Individual Awards, etc. The current format is the best it's been in years. My highest priorities in order: 1) Single age time standards and finals; 2) Single site; 3) Keeping 15-18 year olds out of meet. Take care of 14 and unders first and don't worry about other ages.
Officials Surveys Additional Comments I thought the meet ran very well. The biggest disappointment was the hospitality. It was awful! On two of the hottest days of the summer, we had no cold water, the lunches and dinners were almost like afterthoughts. In the future if a team cannot adequately provide hospitality, they should not be allowed to host the meet. Hospitality was sub par. Not enough protein or fresh options. No Gatorade or hydrating fluids other than water. Too hot to not have Gatorade. Too many carbs! The parking issue was a pain in the rear. Leo always runs a good meet from my perspective. Been working as stroke and turn and enjoyed the meet. Move distance to its own day. Steps have been made in the correct direction with this meet. Hope we continue to follow this format. I am pleased to say that I find the meet ref to be wonderful. :) Would like to see the facility take care of roping off the walking area for the officials. Thanks! Better food please Would prefer not so short a break between prelims to finals - need at least 1 hour off before returning for warmups & meeting. Distance causes this issue. Loved not having 15-17 year olds - they scratch finals, etc. So much more efficient with easy work flow without them.
Parents Surveys Additional Comments Parking needs to be addressed. Venues should be able to accommodate parking if they are awarded this meet. *Bathroom safety is a PRIORITY. Having a man clean the girls' bathroom without clearing it is NEVER acceptable and this happened at least 2 times on Friday.* This event was really well run. Great JOB! I'm in favor of continuing with single age group for JO's and other meets that have prelims and finals.
Swimmers Surveys Additional Comments I really enjoyed the meet Make FW age groups split The jump from a 13 year old JO to a 13-14 Far Western is very big. JO's shouldn't be only 14 and under I think the chase heats shouldn't be too back to back because the previous heat should have more time to get out of the pool. None JO's are a good way for kids to go to meets. It helps kids get more exercise and fun with friends and coaches.