Evening Swimming

[CiaranL]

As someone that can’t make morning pool sessions I wondered if a second evening session will be added back this year? I used to attend the Sunday evening session last year before they ended. It’s great to see some many members at the Monday night session the last few weeks but with 16-20 per lane it’s pretty manic for everyone!! I presume member numbers are up on last year and that a 2nd evening/night session would be better attended also

Ciarán

[stevenmoody]

Hi Ciaran

The committee is actively monitoring levels of attendance during the various swim sessions to ensure we are offering the best options for members within our budgetary constraints.

At present – we are happy with the current offering being the optimal solution for the majority of members, especially when you take into account the “seasonal” nature of our demand curve i.e. we do not expect the Monday night lane to be as full going forward.

So in relation to your question – no there is no current plan to increase night options for the club but we will review this stance over the next few months based on the attendance levels/options we have.

SM

[sheridan.simon]

Good idea!
I’d definitely be interested in more evening swimms in WW!

[Paul Mooney]

Sometimes its not the numbers, it’s just positioning correctly in order of ability and making sure everyone is aware of the set and going off at correct times i.e. giving someone 5 seconds gap not 2 or 10 haha….

I agree with Steve, January see’s an influx of members and the new training plan has been set up now to cater for different abilities, so people are just finding their feet.

[stevenmoody]

Besides lads – evenings are for running and cycling … everyone knows that ….

So that will be the end of this chat about more evening swims…. the committee is monitoring demand/supply aswell as the price of crude oil and we will see you right …

Nothing else to see here citizens … move along…. move along….

[CiaranL]

Second week of Jan and numbers are up again, 23 or 24 in my lane and similar in the other.
At a time when membership is due for renewal it’s reasonable to ask if the same number of swim sessions will be maintained as last year, rather than reduced, especially if membership is growing. Many people, both members and potential members, would swim a second evening if available. What about another evening swim until open water sessions start? Furthermore, 5 second spacing translates to a max of 19 per lane for sets over 100m!
Lastly, in terms of cycling in the evening – very few of us (and virtually no beginners) have turbo trainers to do this at this time of year.

[stevenmoody]

Hi Ciaran – as per my last post – we are monitoring numbers of all the swim sessions and will make the best call for the members based on our big picture view of the situation (including our deep experience of the annual demand on such evening sessions and the budgetary constraints that we face)

However, your feedback is welcomed and will be discussed at the appropriate meeting.

As an aside I would strongly recommend investing in a turbo (can get good deals this time of year) as with the poor winter weather – it will give you options when weekend cycles may have to be pushed and also allows you take advantage of another excellent club session on Thursday nights

If you have anymore direct feedback – please feel free to PM me directly on the site and we can discuss in person

Steven

[AnthonyM]

Hi Guys,

I can see that the lanes are crowded these days and both Steven and Paul have highlighted the causes and problems we face in solving them.

One area I would like to highlight is that the Monday evening swim is open to improver and intermediate swimmers only. We implemented this measure to manage capacity. If there are advanced swimmers attending Monday evening sessions then they are contributing to the congestion. Therefore we would ask that advanced swimmers do not attend on Mondays.

Likewise, the Thursday morning session is for intermediate and advanced swimmers only.

The Sunday evening swim session was very poorly attended last year and it was dropped for this reason. Once the training committee have had a chance to meet and see where we have reached a critical mass we will decide whether we need extra lanes and when we will put them on.

Cheers,

Anthony

[Niall Doyle]

Hi , don’t want to go all Milton Friedman on the topic here but why don’t the committee try some Sunday evening swim sessions and let the free market decide what works . Niall .

[stevenmoody]

Dear Milton/Niall

Thanks for your input and congrats on your Nobel prize victory in 1976 – whilst from a very different school of thought I appreciate the academic rigour required to achieve such recognition.

However, I feel it necessary to highlight certain factors that render your proposed Lassiez Faire approach to the evening pool session capacity issue inappropriate.

Firstly, there is an availability/booking constraint – as in we cannot simply take a Sunday lane/coach for a couple of “goes” to see how that works – as you can imagine WW/coaches will have minimum expectations from a club when booking a lane to allow them do their internal planning.

Secondly, there are other macro considerations to be taken into account – as in the current swim programme is part of the overall training programme that has been designed with the head coaching team (in consultation with club members) to accommodate the needs of the majority of members. From experience we know we will not get it right for everyone but as long as the majority have a structure they can work with – the committee is doing its job admirably.

Thirdly, as referenced before, there are budgetary considerations to be taken into account – as we do not work with an infinitive pot of money and need to balance the budget, trade offs need to be made – so if a morning lane is sacrificed – what do you expect to happen in this instance? In fact, from your Monetarist background Milton – even you must recognise the importance of the supply of money in this instance.

Fourthly, from a demand viewpoint, we know for a fact that once the new year revolutionaries calm down, the numbers in Jan dip to more manageable levels. It would be foolhardy to make any knee jerk changes reactions before this cyclical abnormality has rectified itself in the natural course of events.

Finally, from a supply viewpoint, we offer the best suite of swim options than any other club, 6 in total [including an evening, Sat and southside option].
If you check any of the other Dublin clubs, you will not find anything comparable. In this – I would ask for members to be flexible in terms of selecting their sessions from the wide options at their disposal for their level – eg for those who weekday mornings do not suit – well then a Mon evening and a Sat morning are still excellent options.

Having said all that – I re-iterate my point that we are monitoring the situation and will take the best course of action we believe is correct for the majority of the club at the right time.

In the short term, Anthony has identified that Advanced swimmers should not be attending the Mon sessions (as per the master programme) and we will enforce this going forward – this should improve matters somewhat.

Plus if people are desperate for another evening session in WestWood – Eastern Bay masters do a pay as you go session on a Weds evening for €7 a session (you would need to call WW to confirm the details) which is an excellent supplementary session you can tag onto your own training.

Lots of love and with your very best interests at heart

John Maynard Keynes

[lindaclarke]

Hey!

Just to butt in on this thread.

I’ve been to the Wednesday night Eastern Bay WW session in the past and can highly recommend it.

Secondly, for the benefit of any newer members, about 4 years ago Piranha brought in a Sunday night WW swim session which was abandoned within a year due to poor attendance. A Sunday night session was then brought back in 2013/2014 which again was cancelled due to poor attendance. Therefore, I don’t see why a third try at this time would meet with any different success. Maybe there is Sunday demand in Jan/Feb but possibly not consistent demand throughout the whole year.

Thirdly, to anyone unhappy with how the club structures its sessions, I would recommend volunteering for the committee or discipline captain role at the next opportunity, where one can have more of a direct input into the organisation of the club.

[Niall Doyle]

Hi JMK . Thanks for the reply , some interesting points particularily concerning the potential demand drop off.The Eastern Bay thing may solve all my gripes anyway!!!! Ps just glad I didn’t go after you using an argument from the Austrian school !!! Regards Niall .

[pauly]

I too would like to see Sunday evening swims return, even if not for the entire year. I was a regular at them last year.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by pauly.

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