Help me explain why youth swimming is important

Dear posters-- My boys swim on a YMCA swim team. Unfortunately the aquatics director is a clueless fool who is hostile to youth swimming. We have a great coach, but the team's ability to grow is severely handicapped because the aquatics director will only allow three lanes in the afternoon for the team. Apparently the Y has a policy to always keep lanes open for lap swimmers. Worse, the YMCA in the neighboring town had to shut down their pool, which left over a hundred boys and girls with no place to swim. Believe it or not, my YMCA (which is independent of Y national) refused to expand its team to accommodate these kids. I am working on a letter to the board of my YMCA asking them to change their policy. I'd like to bring up points related to: --the benefits of youth swimming --what's unique about youth swimming compared to other sports --why a small team (25) diminishes the team experience (relays, etc.) --any other thoughts The whole situation is ridiculous and hopefully we can make a persuasive case to the board to change its policy. Thanks so much. Oh, and in case you're wondering, no, my Y does not have any organized masters swimming program.