Survey Input from Swim Members 2006

1. Rules should be posted and followed.

2. Need more supervision of the deep end

3. Put a divider in the deep end so some kids can swim there while others are using the diving board

4. Post rules for the diving area

5. Enforce lap lane discipline. Kids ran into me several times, and the guards did nothing.

6. Lifeguards need better & more consistent training. Need to be serious about their job and enforce the rules. Need more lifeguards who have a clear chain of command. Should have open advertising for lifeguard positions – not special privileges or treatment for the pool manager’s favorites. Members should be able to get private swim lessons from other than "select" lifeguards.

7. Want mature, friendly lifeguards who have completed and passed a full Red Cross life saving course.

8. New lifeguards!

9. Need better standards of conduct for lifeguards, instructors and staff.

10. Would like to have more swim classes offered.

11. Swim lessons should be made more available and should be limited to 5 children per instructor.

Equipment purchases needed:

1. Get new umbrellas with more shade (many said this)

2. Replace some of the chairs with weakened or missing straps

3. Buy chairs and tables for the pavilion

4. Get new shower curtains and changing alcove curtains

5. Want better picnic tables & trash cans (would Rubbermaid ones be better so they’re not so loud when they’re being dragged or the lids are being put on?)

6. Want promised pavilion completed.

7. We need new chairs around the pool

8. Get the pavilion built for parties and social gatherings

1. Need cleaner restrooms

2. Need rodent control

3. Why can’t someone spray around the periphery every so often (as needed) to get rid of the many ants?

4. Need pool deck to be cleaner; no trash, no lost towels hanging over the fence, no pile of lost articles piled in corner by the soda machine.

5. Keep soda machine better stocked

6. Please serve the families who have memberships! Need more safety, clean bathrooms, more lockers.

1. Why can’t the pool open before noon once swim team is over for the season?

2. Publicize that the pool opens at 10:00 a.m. on Saturdays; people still assume it’s noon

3. Open the baby pool during swim team practice. The lifeguards don’t staff it anyway, and the young children could enjoy it under parent supervision before the heat of the day and/or nap time.

4. Open pool at 11am on Saturdays and Sundays.

5. Have pool open on weekends through end of September.

6. Open the pool as soon as swim team practice ends every day to accommodate non-swim team families who want to use the pool before afternoon heat.

7. We would like to be able to have our family swim in the morning. Even if there are only a few days every week we believe that morning hours can be split with swim team practice to keep it fair for everyone.

8. If there is a swim meet in the evening, then the pool should be open extra hours in the morning. This is a community pool, and we pay a lot of money to be able to swim.

9. The pool was built for the community; not for the swim team. We pay too much money, and the swim team is always using it.

1. Do an orientation/greeting for new families. Maybe a pool manual with FAQ’s, communicate through the newsletter, computer, bulletin board.

2. Have a suggestion/comment area bulletin board. People are more likely to speak up when they know others feel the same way they do about things.

3. Suggestion Box needed!

1. Be friendly and welcoming!

2. The new manager should be from the area so they can be called on short notice and be available. Changes should be made that will not affect the cost of the membership. A new pool manager may be hard to find at the salary we pay. Keeping the pool open for a longer season may be difficult because the lifeguards are usually a mix of high school and college students. Mr. Peterson worked around this so that he had a larger group of lifeguards available. Lastly, I believe a mix of members should be on the swim committee. There should be older members, newer ones and stockholders.

3. Swim committee was not sought; therefore efforts given by a few were not appreciated.

4. Hire member-oriented club employees.

5. Pay the lifeguards more to attract veterans and older guards

1. Promote food delivery from the clubhouse. Assign a teenager to a golf cart during peak times and get food down to the pool area so everyone isn’t having to drive to McD.’s before coming to the pool or have pizza delivered every time. Brainstorm with Mary Lou on what she would like to offer up as pool menu items & get people used to the option of having their food delivered from the clubhouse. It would increase revenue & keep food profits for the club instead of giving them to the fast food joints in town. Put in a phone line or fax machine directly from the pool house to the snack bar (like some golf courses have at the 9^th hole so you can call your order in and pick it up at the turn) to enable the clubhouse staff to process orders quickly and allow us to enjoy the food & drink from the clubhouse on a take-out basis. We currently don’t get any benefit from the clubhouse since only smokers can comfortably breathe in there, and this would allow us to finally make use of the facility.

2. Have more adult activities like water exercise classes in late evenings or weekend mornings

1. Host pizza nights, taco nights, play basketball, ping pong, have music, games, etc. for more social gatherings at the pool.

2. Want more social functions; pizza nights, pot luck dinners, etc.

3. Would love to see social gatherings offered at extended hours; movie nights, adult-only events, etc.

1. Kids should not get ribbons unless a parent has volunteered in some capacity

2. Rotate Volunteer Coordinator position – have it be a different person for each meet so no one gets tagged as the mean guy or gal

3. Assign each family something & it is their responsibility to find a sub if they cannot do it.

4. Don’t assign duties to families who fail to sign up. How could the volunteer coordinator know the family’s dynamics and needs?

5. At sign ups each family should sign up for 5 (committee determines number) volunteer spots for the season. They are expected to work those spots or find a sub to trade with. Some people could list themselves as last minute subs 3 or 4 times during the season to be available for whatever is needed. Maybe these folks get to sign up for less commitments since they’re offering themselves as flexible fill-in’s.

6. Give families a chance to fill out volunteer requests first.

7. I always have small children or one spouse out of town but would be happy to do my share. Give more options, please. Lack of volunteering is due to lack of support of the swim team – this should improve now.

8. If the parent is unable to volunteer the child should be unable to swim.

9. Parents need to be reminded that volunteers are necessary to run a successful swim team. Unfortunately, you always have the parents that don’t volunteer. It would be a shame if a child can’t be on the team because of a parent not volunteering. This is a sensitive area and needs to be handled carefully. We could assign every family a slot/position and let them find a replacement or exchange with another family.

10. The parents have an obligation to volunteer. It may sound harsh – if they won’t volunteer, maybe their child shouldn’t be allowed to swim.

11. Seems like the same people are always volunteering.

12. This is why we quite swim team. I had to do everything while some parents used it as a babysitting service.

1. Institute email communications with parents & post important info (directions to away meets, schedules, practice cancellations, etc.) on website & encourage parents to use it

2. Continue with the No-Show book – it was a great idea this year!

3. There was no buddy list this year; reinstitute it for next year.

4. I thought the Coaches’ Age Group was for the slower swimmers, but it seems like everyone who wants to attend does. Please communicate what it and the Carnival at Elks are for and who should be invited.

5. Where is the swim team policy? We should start the year with a well publicized parent meeting. On the flyer it would be helpful to list what topics will be covered. The parent meeting will address volunteers & where to sign up. The book to sign up was not widely publicized – it was more word of mouth.

6. Post a Swim Team Record board for all to see!

7. Communication between coaches and parents needs to be improved. We didn’t even know when the team picture was being taken.

1. Small fee per clinic would be acceptable (most people said this)

2. Members already pay enough & shouldn’t have to pay for clinics (one person said this)

3. Stroke instruction/drills should be part of a well designed swim practice. Kids that need to work on certain things who are still not getting it right in the group instruction can be pulled individually or small group to the diving area to work w/a coach. But coaches have to be paying attention to the swimmers to see who needs extra help.

4. Stroke clinics used to be available at no extra charge. The older swim team members should support the team by helping to teach the younger ones; they could earn community service hours. If that is not possible, then the swim coaches should help those children. The coaches should be paid the normal, hourly rate for the clinics.

1. Almost everyone said that giving money up front would be a lot easier, but some people said they enjoy eating the homemade goodies.

2. Should we have a donation box for the lifeguards? Is this where the money goes? (need more communication on what the concession stand revenue is used for)

3. Health Dept. doesn’t allow homemade food at sporting events without a permit to operate a food stand.

4. The parents of the swimmers should be involved in their children’s activities. Donated items are pure profit for our swim team. The monies collected go back to our children’s team. It never seemed to be a problem getting donated items in the past. A list of what we would like to sell and what is not good (i.e. gum) should be given to the parents at sign-up.

1. Sing the National Anthem before each meet!

2. Have coordinator assigned to the children’s tent at each meet so that at least some children will have something organized to keep busy & stay out of trouble

3. Give out best time ribbons consistently throughout the season

4. Anyone should be able to join the team; don’t have try-outs (everyone said this)

5. Possibly limit events to 2 per swimmer per meet to shorten meets.

6. Establish relay teams and have them actually practice together.

7. Find a way for the 12 & up kids to practice every day.

8. Make the swim team fun but instructional.

9. Need better time management at the meets; start promptly & maximize pool time. Kids should sign themselves in and forget the lengthy roll call.

10. Give Best Time ribbons after each individual meet; not at the end of the season!

11. Have swim coaches be enthusiastic with the kids.

12. Have sign-in sheet at the meets instead of lengthy roll call.

13. Accept all swimmers but have 2 teams; beginner & advanced

14. Break down the swimmers by ability and speed. The slower half swims Coaches’ Age Group. The faster half swims at the Invitational – make it a TRUE invitational – kids must attain a certain time to be invited.