Volunteer Jobs
Each meet requires a large number of parent volunteers in order to run the meet smoothly and on time. We need to fill approximately 170 shifts over the course of the season. In order to register, your family will sign up for a variety of jobs, with each family needing to earn 4-5 "points" (each job is one point, with the exception of Clerk of the Course which is worth two).The roles listed below are needed for meets. It is important that you are on time or early to your position to ensure a smooth meet. Should you be unable to fulfill your commitment, it is your responsibility to find your own replacement.
Changing Jobs:
We know that family schedules change and you may be waiting on vacation or other sports schedules to be announced. Your volunteer jobs may be edited/swapped, just as long as you are still fulfilling the point requirement.
To change a job after registration:
- E-mail the Volunteer Coordinator about your specific job that you need to change. Please note that on meet days, we may not be monitoring our e-mail account or be able to respond quickly. Please use the phone numbers listed in the volunteer e-mail sent out in advance for that specific meet.
- Identify which meet you are able to do to replace the job you are changing. We will edit the existing job and fill you in for the new job in its place. In many cases, you can work more than one job per meet.
You can see a summary of ALL jobs for your account at any time by hovering over your name in the upper right corner and clicking on "My Account." Then click on the name for volunteers.
Please let us know if you have any questions about this or the process to edit a job. We are happy to help!
Parents work either the 1st and/or 2nd half of meets at a designated job (i.e. timer, concessions, scoring table, etc.). You will still be able to see your child swim. Workers change at the completion of the Backstroke event. Most of these jobs are fairly simple and you can be trained the night of the meet. If you find that you cannot work a shift that you signed up for, please contact the team as soon as possible so that we may help place you in a different slot/meet to maintain your 4 points.
Certified Jobs
Requires training. Please inquire if interested in one of these. Our team is currently seeking parents interested in these roles. The more officials we have as a team, the more the roles can be shared throughout the season. Training is simple, but does require attending specific training events and a background check. Additionally, these roles give you the front row seat to see each race. Please e-mail the Board at for more info!
Referee (Home only) Must complete training, test and class. Must have 2 years experience as Starter prior to working as Referee. This is the full authority official for the meet.
Starter (Home only) Must complete training, test and class. Must have 2 years experience as Stroke Judge prior to working as Starter. Announces the event and starts each heat. Assures a fair start for each heat is achieved.
Stroke & Turn Judge (Home and Away) Must complete training, test and class. This official monitors the stroke techniques of all swimmers.
Computer Official (Home only) Computer worker requires special training and must be approved by the board prior to filling. This job involves entering the race results into the computer for final scoring. Computer worker works directly with the table workers.
Why become an official?
- Support an excellent sport for children and promote a healthy lifestyle for children.
- You will gain a more thorough understanding of competitive swimming.
- Fulfill your volunteer obligations.
- Get closer to the action; know what’s happening on deck with the “best seat” at the pool.
- Get mentally and physically engaged during the meet rather than merely “spectating.”
- Receive free admission and great hospitality during sessions officiated.
- CLICK HERE FOR OFFICIAL CERTIFICATION INFORMATION
All Other Jobs
Easy to learn, minimum training involved.
Timer (Home and Away) One of the easiest jobs, and also one of the most essential. Stands at blocks. Starts stopwatch at the signal and stops the watch when swimmer touches the wall.
Back-Up Timer (Home and Away) This person will have 2 watches to activate and will wait for a possible SOS call from timer with malfunctioning watch.
Timer Recorder (2020 only) This person will be teamed with a group of timers. You will record the times for each swimmer onto the timer sheets and hand them off to the Runner. Good penmanship is a bonus!
Across-the-Board (Home and Away) Is seated at the finish of each race, perpendicular to the wall in order to see each lane's finish placement. Works with the volunteer from the opposing team to mark a sheet with lane finish order and hands it to the runner.
Balloter (Home and Away) Acts as the middle part of the relay of scores/times between the timers and the Computer Official. You will receive timing slips, filled out by the timers. Each swimmer will have three recorded times and your role is to find and circle the middle time, or average two times if one is missing. (Example: a swimmer is timed by three timers with finishes of: 35.64 seconds, 35.78 seconds and 35.81 seconds. You would circle 35.78) You will also ensure that the order of finish from the timers matches the order of finish from the Across-the-Board volunteers. The role will be explained in person, but this should give a good idea of the work.
Ribbons (Home and Away- second half of meet only) Works with the Computer Official to attach stickers to the back of ribbons for the place finishers as the meet progresses and organizes them for the two teams to distribute.
Time Reader (Home and Away)Time Readers are the persons who assist the Computer Official to read swimmers' finish times for recording into the computer by the Official. Brief training will be provided prior to the meet.
Volunteer Check-In (Home Only) This person works to check in volunteers to ensure that they have the proper instruction and equipment for their roles. The Volunteer Coordinator will work closely with this person. The bulk of this work comes before the meet/at the start of the meet and then again just before second half. (Second Half volunteer will need to report before the end of the first half)
Clerk of the Course - 2 points! (Home Only) This is a challenging job and takes an authoritative person, thus the increased point value! This person works with the swimmers to line them up in heats and to get them to the starting blocks for upcoming races. Our team plans to enlist two adults for this role each half-meet. You will also work with a Clerk of the Course from the other team. If you work with children as a teacher or coach or youth group leader, you would be perfect for this role!
Assistant Clerk of the Course - 2 points! (Away Only) This person will assist the host team's Clerk(s) of the Course. This is a challenging job and takes an authoritative person, thus the increased point value. This person works with the swimmers to line them up in heats and to get them to the starting blocks for upcoming races. Perfect for a teacher, coach or youth group leader!
Concessions (Home only) Three people for each half to assist with concessions. We will need three people to work with our Concessions Chair to take and serve orders and handle cash.
Event Counter Sign Duty (Home only) Man the event counter sign. You'll have a heat sheet and stand upstairs and turn the counter to the next number to display the event # that is currently in the water. Attention to detail is important, but you will also have the perk of seeing every heat!
Runner (Home only) Relays the time sheets from the Timers, lane finish sheets from the Balloters and any DQ slips from the judges to the Computer Official's table.
Safety Marshal (Home only) Needs to be able to arrive by 4-4:15, as swimmers cannot enter the water until the Marshal is in place. Ensures that all safety standards are enforced on the pool deck- by swimmers and spectators. Makes sure that swimmers and spectators behave in a safe manner (no running, unruly behavior, etc). We will give you a snazzy orange vest for this job!
Heat Sheet Sales/Janitorial (Home only) This role sells heat sheets (supplied by the team) during the first half of the meet and occasionally checks to ensure paper towels/toilet paper are stocked in the restrooms. During the second half, the volunteer ensures that bathrooms are stocked and also monitors the trash cans around the meet and empties to the dumpster as needed.
Parking Assistant (Home only) Ensures that parking rules for 90th Street and Manning are being observed as cars arrive for the meet. Needs to be assertive and prepared for plenty of walking. This job begins at 3:30pm (setting out No Parking signs and cones, then manning the streets as cars arrive for warm up) and will end after the start of the meet.
Heat Ribbons (Home only)Heat ribbon worker awards heat ribbons to the winners of each heat for the 8 & Under and 9-10 age groups. Must pay close attention to the meet and be on deck when these age groups are swimming.
Hospitality (Home only) This role provides drinks (supplied by our concessions tent) to other volunteers during the meet. You will be moving about quite a bit, possibly pulling a rolling cooler.
Announcer (Home only) This job involves setting up and working with the PA system at the pool. Some working knowledge of how a swim meet runs would be helpful. The announcer is responsible for informing the crowd of which swim races are coming up, scores and concession information, etc.
Set-Up (Home only) Must be able to arrive at approximately 3-3:30pm on meet days. Involves putting up starting blocks, ropes, flags, moving chairs, arranging tables and supplies. Some heavy lifting is required for this job.
Tear Down (Home only) Makes sure the pool is cleaned up immediately after the meet. [Note: Sections of our team will be assigned to each home meet to help with large-scale tear down, such as moving deck chairs. This can be done quickly if everyone pitches in.] These specific job volunteers will be responsible for tasks such as taking down lights, removing "no parking" signs from the street, moving trash to the dumpster, taking down flags, lane lines, etc.
