Anyone have kids on swim team? A WWYD...

[lindberg99]

My DD had a meet today. She was the #2 swimmer in a relay, the #3 swimmer cannot dive and just sort of falls off the blocks, almost in like a crawling position. Me, the people timing and one of the officials thought the #3 girl fell on DD, which fortunately she didn't. This girl is 12, so a pretty big kid. One of the other parents said I should talk to the coach (who arranges the relays) about not having this girl go after others. It does seem like it would make more sense for her to go first.

But I hate to go up and complain about someone else's kid. On the other hand, it does seem like it could be a safety issue? What do you think??

ETA - The coach who arranges the relays isn't the same coach my DD and this other girl have so I'm not completely sure if he knows how this girl dives.

[confustication]

First, yes I'd speak with the coach. Second, at 12 I would expect her to learn to dive safely and effectively. A decent start off the blocks is essential in a relay to ensuring safety for all. If she can't do that, she needs to start or not do relay events.

[JessicaS]

She needs to learn to dive or do backstroke. It isn't safe to just fall into the water while her teamates are in the water.

[Yooper]

Do they have to launch off of a block or the side of the pool? I was that kid who could not dive....however I was much younger. I was on the swim team for many years but at age 7 and 8, I was not skilled enough at diving to do it off the block into 3.5 foot water (a requirement at that time). I participated in many relays and the "fix" was to have non-divers jump off the side of the pool on one side of the block while the returning swimmer touched on the other side of the block, preventing collision. I would not hesitate to speak to the coach about your concern. It would be easy enough to either put that swimmer first, have her do the backstroke leg (which is first in a medley relay anyway), or to work out a "system" to prevent injury without the kid even knowing.

[lindberg99]

OK, I'll talk to him about it. Maybe he can find someone to work 1:1 with her on diving to help her figure it out.

Yooper - I don't think they have to use the blocks but everyone does except the 8 and unders who are on the opposite side of the pool in 100 relays or 25 yd races.

[Yooper]

Originally Posted by lindberg99

OK, I'll talk to him about it. Maybe he can find someone to work 1:1 with her on diving to help her figure it out.

Yooper - I don't think they have to use the blocks but everyone does except the 8 and unders who are on the opposite side of the pool in 100 relays or 25 yd races.

How deep is the water that they are supposed to dive in? The reason I would not dive, even though I knew how to dive, was because I was afraid that I did not have enough skill to keep my dive shallow enough to not bust my head open or that the very least scrape up my hands. The water was quite shallow and I wondered, even at that age, how it could possibly be a good idea to have beginner divers attempting to dive off those things. I have noticed in the pool we live near now, the blocks are on the deep end.

Were there any other non-divers at the meet? if so, what did they do?

[lindberg99]

The water beneath the blocks is at least 6 feet 8 in.

The other kids who can't dive are in the 8 and unders and I didn't watch their relays. So I'm not sure what their coach has them do if they can't dive. For their individual races, they just jump in off the blocks or the side if they don't dive well.