AJRitz
DIS DAD #420
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2010
- Messages
- 2,853
ClearScreen said:I need some advice from the Dad's out there. I'm going to have an issue when my 8-year old daughter finds out tomorrow about the swim team. We belong to a local swim club and my daughter was trying to make the A-team for competitive swim meets - last year she only competed in the B events.
Last week, they had the time trials and she won her heat in both the Freestyle and Backstroke time-trials. All the parents sitting by the end of the pool, including me, congratulated her on winning those two events.
An hour ago, the swim coach sent an E-mail with the lineups for this week's A-meet and my daughter's name was not listed. However, the girl who was in the lane next to her during the time-trials was listed as competing for the A team in both freestyle and backstroke events although my daughter beat her (and knows she did) in both events. I e-mailed the coach and he said, understandably, that he has to go by the timekeepers and admits they are not perfect. He says that she finished second in freestyle by 2 hundredths of a second (she actually won by half a body length) and had no comment on the backstroke. I am not going to make a bigger issue out of this with him, so my daughter will just compete in the B meet until the next time trial. He also said he is going to time her at the B meet to see if her times have improved (I have a feeling they will).
However, when my daughter finds out, she will be very upset. I must admit I am still annoyed. Anyone out there ever encounter a similar situation? What do you tell your daughter? She won the race fair and square and she knows it. I always encourage her to do her best and I'm proud of her because she did. Unfortunately, to put a not-so-fine point on it, she got screwed.
I'm probably going to tell her that the timekeepers made a mistake, but I'm not sure if that is the best thing to do.
Help.
ClearScreen
Human error is a part of every sport - sometimes on the part of participants and sometimes on the part of officials. The only way to deal with human error is to consistently improve both your skills and your knowledge of the rules of your game, so that you have a better chance of overcoming human error the next time. And remember, there's ALWAYS a next time.