WAG Reasonable time to get a meet schedule. VENT!

[MeetDirector]

Been to several meets run by USA Sports; top-notch. Meet Authority - ?? Bottomline - it takes a lot of dedicated volunteers to make these meets run well; without it you get mixed results at best. I have been to the biggest meets and some very small ones; you can tell where there is a dedicated group of parent volunteers. I encourage everyone to volunteer at least once and get a peek behind the current. I did and look where it got me.

 

[NMNorskie]

I don't get the whole volunteer thing at all. You have a big meet, with sponsors that are for-profit companies, for which you have collected actual dollars for entry...but it's all run by volunteers? That does not make sense to me at all. If you're a for-profit business and I am paying you for something, I expect you to hire people to run it. With dollars.

Having volunteers for holding up scorecards or selling shout-outs is just fine. But someone who is actually *running* a meet, where there are thousands of dollars in entry fees and travel costs on the line, should be a paid professional who has his/her act together. Otherwise, you have NO accountability.

If I were the owner of the host gym or one of the sponsors, I'd be very unhappy that my name and reputation was in the hands of volunteers who can't be held accountable (because what are you going to do? Fire them?). That's no way to run a business, and that's exactly why large, successful corporations don't run events this way. They pay people to do the big stuff, so they can control the outcome (and the reputation that comes with it). In the end, they make more money.

 

[cbifoja]

The problem with this is that hiring someone eats into profits. Depending on the size of the meet/gym, this could eliminate any incentive to host a meet.

 

[NMNorskie]

The problem with this is that hiring someone eats into profits. Depending on the size of the meet/gym, this could eliminate any incentive to host a meet.

You can get a temp for around $15/hour. If you had that temp work for an entire 40-hour week, you'd be spending $600 (although I think that's a very large chuck of time for someone to put together a schedule, upload it to the website, create and distribute the volunteer schedule, order food, etc.). If $600 eats the meet's entire profit, then they should scrap the meet and spend some time with a finance person instead, because that's really bad math.

I think a lot of gyms don't realize that the poor handling of the whole volunteer thing costs money. I've talked to a couple of parents recently who are seriously considering steering their kids away from gymnastics once this season is over. It's not because of the visible expense...it's because of the invisible expense of taking time off work on really short notice, having to jerk relatives around for babysitting, etc. The volunteering for the meets is a way bigger pain point for some than the actual gymnastics. Running that smoothly might seem expensive, but if you lose business, you'll more than make that up in advertising for new people...who will end up doing the same thing, because the problem isn't getting solved. It's not *that* much harder to be organized and remove the unnecessary drama.

 

[AmandaLynn]

Some of the bigger meets (not all) are actually run by booster clubs, not by a for profit company.

 

[cbifoja]

You can get a temp for around $15/hour. If you had that temp work for an entire 40-hour week, you'd be spending $600 (although I think that's a very large chuck of time for someone to put together a schedule, upload it to the website, create and distribute the volunteer schedule, order food, etc.). If $600 eats the meet's entire profit, then they should scrap the meet and spend some time with a finance person instead, because that's really bad math.

I think a lot of gyms don't realize that the poor handling of the whole volunteer thing costs money. I've talked to a couple of parents recently who are seriously considering steering their kids away from gymnastics once this season is over. It's not because of the visible expense...it's because of the invisible expense of taking time off work on really short notice, having to jerk relatives around for babysitting, etc. The volunteering for the meets is a way bigger pain point for some than the actual gymnastics. Running that smoothly might seem expensive, but if you lose business, you'll more than make that up in advertising for new people...who will end up doing the same thing, because the problem isn't getting solved. It's not *that* much harder to be organized and remove the unnecessary drama.

I would rather have parents who are vested in the success of a meet over a "temp" who may or may not know a thing about gymnastics. And no where did I say anything about a temp eating the ENTIRE profit! But for smaller gyms/booster clubs, tossing away $600 on something they can do themselves might be hard to swallow.

We have hosted state meets several times with nothing but parent volunteers and a coach acting as meet director. And we have received so many compliments on the meets that our state chair approaches our gym to bid for state. However, we can only charge so much at the door and have set expenses that we cannot minimize. So we do rely on parent volunteers and we've been fortunate to have almost total participation. Of course, we do have a few of "those" families who can't be bothered to chip in until it's time to share the money we make. Then oh yes, they are front and center to get the money applied to their kids. But for the most part, our parents have stepped up and helped out cheerfully.

Now, we don't just let any old anyone do whatever job they want. The experienced parents take the lead roles while the newer parents assist and take on less important responsibilities. But after a couple of meets, those parents are ready for bigger roles and mostly have been eager to help. Thankfully we've never had a problem using parent volunteers.

 

[cbifoja]

I've talked to a couple of parents recently who are seriously considering steering their kids away from gymnastics once this season is over. It's not because of the visible expense...it's because of the invisible expense of taking time off work on really short notice, having to jerk relatives around for babysitting, etc. The volunteering for the meets is a way bigger pain point for some than the actual gymnastics.

At our gym, we have an orientation for new parents where all aspects of what it means to be on team is explained and part of that is volunteering for meets. It is part of it....just like paying those god awful amounts of money for leotards and travel and camps. If volunteering is expected, it seems a little strange to agree to be a part of the team and then resent that someone asks you to fulfill what you said you would do.

There is a gym in our state that I know I could never be a part of because they lay out all expectations on their website. And because I don't think I could successfully meet their expectations, I wouldn't have DD try out for their team, accept a spot, and then resent when the gym actually asked me to meet their parental requirements. But maybe I'm odd that way. I grew up in a military family and doing your duty was expected with no whining!

 

[cbifoja]

Been to several meets run by USA Sports; top-notch. Meet Authority - ?? Bottomline - it takes a lot of dedicated volunteers to make these meets run well; without it you get mixed results at best. I have been to the biggest meets and some very small ones; you can tell where there is a dedicated group of parent volunteers. I encourage everyone to volunteer at least once and get a peek behind the current. I did and look where it got me.

I love the years we host meets because I get to know my fellow team parents even better. Plus there is this whole camaraderie after working so hard for so many hours on a common goal. I think most of our parents truly work their tails off to host a good meet and put pride in the work they do. I agree with you that everyone should volunteer at least once. It is amazing to see how meets run on the "other" side of the bleachers!

 

[skschlag]

We are the same way. Our gym hosts 3-4 meets a year. the owner/hc acts as director and the rest is run by parents. it always goes very well! (Except for the year that one gym read the schedule incorrectly and brought the wrong levels to the wrong times. sigh. But we went with it!)

 

[Deleted member 18037]

It really doesn't matter who does the schedule, it just needs to be done timely.

You know you have a yearly meet, you know pretty much what time of the year it is (really all those New Year Blast/Party meets, new flash they happen in Jan). You know when the deadlines are. So whoever is doing the schedule (parent, coach, HS kid, temp), knows when it needs to be worked on.

There is no reason on earth not publish it on a timely basis.

Seriously if you can have a deadline on when my freaking entry fee is due. You should have a deadline on when that schedule needs to be published. The door should be swinging both ways.

I will say, 4 yrs into meets, it is better now then it was 4 yrs ago. And there are still gyms that stink at details and getting information out and and lots of other things that are not cool. We tend not to do those meets once we have a bad experience. Which I am sure accounts for why it is better now. As a gym we know which meets we will never go to again.

So the reality is if you have a well run meet, word gets out.

You have a meet that is badly run, word gets out.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

We have a meet a couple months out.

First is one weekend, then another, then back to the original. Now coach just says leave both weekends opens

WTH. Really my family has no life. Leaving the whole weekend open is bad enough. But half the weekends in the month.

Thank goodness it is less then 2 hours away.

 

[MILgymFAM]

We have a meet a couple months out.

First is one weekend, then another, then back to the original. Now coach just says leave both weekends opens

WTH. Really my family has no life. Leaving the whole weekend open is bad enough. But half the weekends in the month.

Thank goodness it is less then 2 hours away.

Ok, that's just weird to me. Out here the meets have to be submitted so far in advance to the state. Our board submitted the proposal for our home optional meet last April, for this February- and didn't even get the weekend they wanted. Does your state not regulate the calendar?

 

[munchkin3]

We have our schedule.....it only gives general session times, and we were told which session to show up at.
Some girls are in the wrong levels.....wrong sessions.....but hey, I'm sure it's fine. Right?????
I'm sure it will all be sorted out by next week....meet is next weekend....

 

[Yuenling]

My daughter's gym and level (8) was on the first revision of the schedule of a huge meet. Somehow, it doesn't show up in any of the "updated" revisions of the schedule. The meet is Jan. 30th. I've asked my DD's coach about it every time I see the schedule has been "updated", but never got a reply. I know that she is in touch with the meet director because she is very on-the-ball. I was just hoping she would assure me that I don't need to be worried, since I already booked my flight and hotel.

The other levels are still on the schedule. In the session we are supposed to be in, our girls would bring the total count to 69. The other two sessions have about 71 girls in the session, so I am assuming there is still room for us. Could I stop worrying?

 

[Yuenling]

I talked to the coach yesterday and she said the meet director has been ignoring her email. She said that eventually the director will be sending over a roster and she will be able to confirm the level 8's are still competing.

Is this true that there will always be a meet roster sent to the coaches even though it may not be posted online?

The session we were supposed to be in have 71 girls now, but the other has 76. What is the max number of girls per session?

 

[MeetDirector]

Yuenling -

If the meet director is on top of their game and wants to avoid last minute changes, they will send out rosters for confirmation. Not everyone does that.

As to the numbers per session, there are a lot of factors (level, type of meet, compulsory/optional mix, Xcel/JO mix, etc) that determine the number of gymnasts allowed in a session to discuss here. Allow me to refer you to the USAG Rules and Policies, page 99 for that answer.

 

[Yuenling]

@MeetDirector, thanks for your reference!

From what the coach has told me, the meet director is not much on top of the game. The worrisome part is that we have already booked nonrefundable flights and hotel with the information from the first revision of the schedule. There are three sessions of level 8, and our flight would accommodate any of the 3 sessions, but my biggest concern is that they turn us away. =( I wish I could contact the meet director directly, but I know that is not proper etiquette. The meet is coming up in 3 weeks.

The first session for our gym starts the day before. Hopefully, when we are at the meet, the director will be able to work everything out.

@MeetDirector - what are the chances that we'll fly all the way there and be turned away due to the meet director dropping us from the roster accidentally? We've already paid for everything. There are 4 of us.

 

[wandrewsjr]

@MeetDirector, thanks for your reference!

From what the coach has told me, the meet director is not much on top of the game. The worrisome part is that we have already booked nonrefundable flights and hotel with the information from the first revision of the schedule. There are three sessions of level 8, and our flight would accommodate any of the 3 sessions, but my biggest concern is that they turn us away. =( I wish I could contact the meet director directly, but I know that is not proper etiquette. The meet is coming up in 3 weeks.

The first session for our gym starts the day before. Hopefully, when we are at the meet, the director will be able to work everything out.

@MeetDirector - what are the chances that we'll fly all the way there and be turned away due to the meet director dropping us from the roster accidentally? We've already paid for everything. There are 4 of us.

I can't imagine a scenario where you would actually be turned away from this meet. Worst case scenario, if the level 8 sessions are full to the number allowed by their sanction, they would have some of the level 8's compete in another level session(with the 9's or 7's). I have seen this happen once or twice in my time, but in these cases the host team's girls were moved to another session so as not to inconvenience any other teams.

 

[MeetDirector]

If you have already paid the meet entry fees, I would say there is very little chance that you will be turned away. This sounds to me like something has fallen thru the cracks and it is being compounded by some very poor communication between the host club and your head coach. Frankly, e-mail is too easy to ignore; there are times when picking up the phone is the only way to go; I would encourage you to get your head coach and get to the bottom of it voice-to-voice.

 

[gymdog]

I can't imagine a scenario where you would actually be turned away from this meet. Worst case scenario, if the level 8 sessions are full to the number allowed by their sanction, they would have some of the level 8's compete in another level session(with the 9's or 7's). I have seen this happen once or twice in my time, but in these cases the host team's girls were moved to another session so as not to inconvenience any other teams.

Plus there are last minute scratches all the time in optionals. If you were a team of 29 it would be much more difficult, but 4 level 8s isn't really that hard to fit in, so I doubt you'll be turned away if you paid and the check cleared.