Volunteer Positions & Descriptions

This information aims to give brief descriptions of the various jobs that are required to execute a swim meet successfully. We expect that all parents show up on time for your respective shift. Please be sure to communicate any conflicts well ahead of time with the team manager. A Sign-Up Genius will be sent out for parents to volunteer. Parents should expect to volunteer a minimum of 2 times during the swim season.

CHECK-IN

All volunteers must check in at the starter desk during warmups at least 15 minutes before the meet starts. Look for the folks wearing bright orange.

SETUP

These volunteers will need to have areas ready 30 minutes prior to the start of meet warm-ups. This includes: moving chairs, tables, assisting with team tent set-up, hanging sponsorship signage, setting out watches and clipboards for timers, setting out DQ slips and clipboards for judges, setting up coaches’ chairs, preparing the computer desk, etc.

MEET BREAKDOWN

To reduce the need for breakdown volunteers, please make sure that where your child sat is left tidy. We ask that you help out and pick up things that are trash even if they are not yours. There is a lot to be done at the end of a meet. Lane lines need be put away, tents need to be taken down, chairs and tables put away, etc. All parents and swimmers should ensure we leave the pool better than how we found it. This is necessary for both home and away meets.

CHAPERONE/TEAM PARENT

The parent chaperone is responsible for making sure swimmers are sitting together with their team (this is a league policy). The chaperone will sit with the team and help get them lined up for the Clerk of Course and Asst Clerk of Course before their race. Chaperones must familiarize themselves with the order of events and which heats are coming up. Swimmers should not be heading off to the bathroom prior to their heat. Chaperones will also help keep our team area tidy and ensure swimmers are not being disruptive.

CLERK OF COURSE

The Clerk of Course checks each swimmer for each event and gets them in the correct order and correct lane according to the heat sheet. Note: The heat sheets are papers that tell what swimmer is in what lane and what stroke they are swimming. We need a Clerk of Course for each meet. This is also the designated area where swimmers go to be pre-staged for the upcoming events; swimmers are usually placed on benches in the order they will swim.

ASSISTANT TO CLERK OF COURSE

Also see Clerk of Course. Helps keep the order at the Clerk of Course, helps line -up swimmers in the correct heat and lane for each event and walks each heat from the Clerk of Course to the starting blocks. Swimmers should have swim grids on their arms/legs to assist in keeping order.

STARTER

This is the person who will run the meet. They announce when the swimmers need to step up to the block. They also announce which events should report to the Clerk of Course. The Starter checks with the head timer to make sure that the timers are ready. The Starter will then start each race with a blow horn. This job is important because it sets the pace for the meet.

TIMERS

Responsible for capturing and recording times for each race using stopwatches provided by the league. The times they capture are recorded digitally but we may also request that times be written on paper time sheets. Timing is a spot that most people like and feel comfortable in and it’s front row seat to the races!

TATOO APPLIER

The tattoo applier will hand out heat winner tattoos for each boy and each girl that win their heat. Typically, there will be volunteers from other teams and the roles can be divided so that heat winners are not missed.

STROKE & TURN JUDGE

Judges make sure that swimmers are swimming the strokes correctly during the meet. It is not necessary to have a swimming background, but it helps.