2013: The second email

The next day, we received the following email.  Apparently, there has been considerable push-back.  Here the further bombshell is that Michael Hanson is out (I suspect he went out protesting the changes for his swimmers).  The rather mangled syntax of the letter makes me think it was written in haste.

Note the quick offer of money -- only a day after this change has been introduced!   (Take this money and shut up, is how I read it.)  My opinion is that this is a contingency that was planned for.  There was considerable planning put forth into this schedule change that will effectively kill the swim team, including contingencies on how to deal with the inevitable backlash.

In three weeks, the Dane County Y Swim Team is hosting a very large prelim/finals meet.  Most of the people running this meet (the officials in charge) have High School Swimmers.  If Senior parents are pushed out (and it really does seem to me like they are trying to show us the door), who will be running the meets in the future?

News Title:	Additional Swim Team Changes
News Date:	11/26/2013
Description:	Attention YDC Swim Team Parents: We appreciate all the concerns that you have passed along in the past day as it relates to the new swim team practice schedule changes.  We also appreciate you understanding that the YMCA needed to make this business decisions based on meeting the needs of all of our 9,000 members.   That said we have heard you concern and will be delaying the new practice schedule to the week of January 6, 2014 to hopefully better assist you in this transition.  We are also informing you today that along with the swim team practice schedule changewe have had to make some difficult staffing changes and reductions.  We have developed a new position titled Youth Development Director of Swim that is all inclusive to our safety and risk, swim lessons, and our YDC swim team.  With the consolidation of these areas within this position we have had to make a decision to eliminate our Swim Team Coach, which for west Michael Hanson currently is no longer working for the YMCA.  Michael Rudie will now be relocated to West as the Youth Development Director of Swim.  Robin Berg will the Youth Development Director of Swim located at East.  Becky Whiting will be the Youth Development Director of Swim located at North East.  We will arrange a meeting for all YDC Parents to discuss these matters further. The time and date will be forthcoming. We understand that these changes may be an inconvenience to you and your family.  We hope that you will consider continuing on with our Swim Team,  but based off the feedback that we have received thus far we understand that ultimately this may not work for you and your family.  If this is the case we will be happy to reimburse you for the remainder of the swim team season. We will be on location this evening for practice with our Youth Development Director of Swim. Thanks Paul VanderVelde                            Gunna Middleton Senior Executive Director               Senior Director of Operations