Note that they want to focus on their strengths. I wonder if they consider a Swim Team that has won the state championship for 5 years running a strength?
The second letter came from -- I think -- the person in charge at West (Paul). Note that it is NOT signed either by the President/CEO nor by the Chair of the Board. So I wonder who is driving this decision.
Read through the two letters with a healthy degree of cynicism, knowing that they've relegated the High School swimmers to a 5:15 AM time slot. Then consider the core values of the Y: caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. Is it honest to accept a swim family's money in September, knowing that these changes are coming in November, and that their child, rather than swimming at night, will be swimming at 5:15 AM -- if they can get there? That's before buses run. That's before a kid with CDL can drive.
So a family is left with two choices. Get the kid there at 5:15 (and let me tell you, getting my teenager up at 4:45 to be somewhere at 5:15 is on impossible), or quit the team. But because they waited until late November to announce this, a YDC swimmer cannot transfer to, and compete for, a different team. Even if there is room at, say, BAC for a swimmer, USA Swimming rules says the swimmer must compete unattached at USA State in March. So if you cannot find a team with room, a parent must now navigate the process of signing up a swimmer to be unattached at a State-level meet. Or, they can compete for the Y, without practicing.
What a disgraceful set of choices to throw at parents midway through the season. Take my money, and then change every parameter of the service that I have paid for.
My interactions with one of the YMCA Board members leads me to believe that the Board Members were not informed of the scope of these changes. Of course, I don't know that for certain as I am only interpreting an email.
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