Volunteer Positions at Swim Meets
Volunteers will sign up in the same Google Sheet as where the swimmers are signed up for each meet. There are separate tabs at the bottom for swimmer entry and parent volunteers.
In order to maintain our low registration fees, parent involvement is a must! The success of our team depends upon the support of our coaching staff and the active involvement of all parents. Our swim meets are parent run. This means parents need to time, assist coaches, etc in order for these meets to run. The positions are not difficult or challenging. However, they are difficult to do with a toddler by your side. We recommend that parents switch off with each other to ensure the safety of their children or use the childcare provided by Five Seasons.
It takes more volunteers to run a home meet. Each parent should count on volunteering at least 2 of our 4 home meets and 1 of our 2 away meets
The positions and brief descriptions are as follows:
A TIMER is present at the end of each lane. Each timer uses a stopwatch to time each swimmer in his or her lane for each race. The team supplies stopwatches. There are 3 timers per lane for a swim meet. The home team provides two timers per lane and the away team provides one timer per lane.
The HEAD TIMER starts their stopwatch and if a timer in a lane should not start their stopwatch on time (they will raise their hand), the head timer will go to that lane and time the swimmer for that particular race.
AGE GROUP PARENTS are responsible for getting swimmers to their appropriate starting block! Coach TBA is the coach in charge of helping with this area for 2024. We ask the age group parents each meet to coordinate with TBA at 5:30 for all meets. Each meet, we will have specific age group parents for 6 & under, 7 & 8, and 9-10. If no parent volunteers for age group positions, swimmers will be more likely to miss events. Our biggest needs are for 8U swim parents
RIBBON Stickers assist in putting the pre-printed label on the ribbon. Each ribbon has the swimmer's name and time on it. The volunteer(s) should plan to be at practice to do this the morning after each meet.
Data Entry 1 & 2 work with the Hytek Coordinator helping with computer work, scoring, and recording the reasons for disqualifications. Each meet you will be required to input times from timer sheets. 1 person to type, and 1 person to read/organize timer sheets. Data entry will also serve as a runner for the timer sheets and DQ slips.
MEET PHOTOGRAPHER (TENTATIVE IDEA) will take photos of all Five Seasons Swimmers (all age groups) during dual meets (action photos, group photos, etc.). We suggest the person volunteering to do this has a camera capable of capturing high-speed action photos as well as stills (i.e. swimmers diving off blocks, swimming mid-heat, friends posing, etc.). A Digital SLR camera is one such camera. The Meet Photographer will then be responsible for uploading all the photos to the Official Swim Team Photo Site (still needed) for sharing with all families within 3 days of the meet's end.
OFFICIALS (*Additional training is necessary to perform these jobs. Please see a board member if you are interested in learning more about becoming an official.)
* Additional training is necessary to perform these jobs. Please see a board member if you are interested in learning more about becoming an official. Turn and Stroke judging is not as hard as it sounds and there is the added benefit of making the meets go by faster!
There MAY be officials training given by the league for those interested. More details to come.
In order to maintain our low registration fees, parent involvement is a must! The success of our team depends upon the support of our coaching staff and the active involvement of all parents. Our swim meets are parent run. This means parents need to time, assist coaches, etc in order for these meets to run. The positions are not difficult or challenging. However, they are difficult to do with a toddler by your side. We recommend that parents switch off with each other to ensure the safety of their children or use the childcare provided by Five Seasons.
It takes more volunteers to run a home meet. Each parent should count on volunteering at least 2 of our 4 home meets and 1 of our 2 away meets
The positions and brief descriptions are as follows:
A TIMER is present at the end of each lane. Each timer uses a stopwatch to time each swimmer in his or her lane for each race. The team supplies stopwatches. There are 3 timers per lane for a swim meet. The home team provides two timers per lane and the away team provides one timer per lane.
The HEAD TIMER starts their stopwatch and if a timer in a lane should not start their stopwatch on time (they will raise their hand), the head timer will go to that lane and time the swimmer for that particular race.
AGE GROUP PARENTS are responsible for getting swimmers to their appropriate starting block! Coach TBA is the coach in charge of helping with this area for 2024. We ask the age group parents each meet to coordinate with TBA at 5:30 for all meets. Each meet, we will have specific age group parents for 6 & under, 7 & 8, and 9-10. If no parent volunteers for age group positions, swimmers will be more likely to miss events. Our biggest needs are for 8U swim parents
RIBBON Stickers assist in putting the pre-printed label on the ribbon. Each ribbon has the swimmer's name and time on it. The volunteer(s) should plan to be at practice to do this the morning after each meet.
Data Entry 1 & 2 work with the Hytek Coordinator helping with computer work, scoring, and recording the reasons for disqualifications. Each meet you will be required to input times from timer sheets. 1 person to type, and 1 person to read/organize timer sheets. Data entry will also serve as a runner for the timer sheets and DQ slips.
MEET PHOTOGRAPHER (TENTATIVE IDEA) will take photos of all Five Seasons Swimmers (all age groups) during dual meets (action photos, group photos, etc.). We suggest the person volunteering to do this has a camera capable of capturing high-speed action photos as well as stills (i.e. swimmers diving off blocks, swimming mid-heat, friends posing, etc.). A Digital SLR camera is one such camera. The Meet Photographer will then be responsible for uploading all the photos to the Official Swim Team Photo Site (still needed) for sharing with all families within 3 days of the meet's end.
OFFICIALS (*Additional training is necessary to perform these jobs. Please see a board member if you are interested in learning more about becoming an official.)
- The Starter ensures that the meet is run smoothly and begins each race. Must Be certified official (USA, YMCA, or OHSAA)
- The Referee works with the Starter to run the meet. Must be certified official (USA, YMCA, or OHSAA)
- The Stroke Judge (2 per meet) ensures that the rules relating to the stroke designated for the event are being observed and shall report any violations to the referee.
- The Turn Judge (2 per meet) ensures that when turning or finishing, the swimmer complies with the turning and finishing rules applicable to the stroke used.
* Additional training is necessary to perform these jobs. Please see a board member if you are interested in learning more about becoming an official. Turn and Stroke judging is not as hard as it sounds and there is the added benefit of making the meets go by faster!
There MAY be officials training given by the league for those interested. More details to come.