Volunteer Duties:

Timing:

No skill needed. You will sit at the end of your designated lane. The plunging system starts automatically with the clock. When the swimmer is about 10 m from the wall on their final lap, stand up, lean over the pool, and hold the plunger in one hand. The second you see the swimmer touch the wall, press the button on the plunger with your index finger. This will stop the clock and give them a time.

There are 3 timers per lane. The official time is usually from the touch pad, however, if the swimmer doesn’t hit the touch pad hard enough, the clock will not stop. In this case, your plunger time will become their official time. So please be as accurate as possible.

At the start of each heat, double check the correct swimmer is in your lane. Also, some kids might need some help getting out of the pool, so please be willing to help them out if needed.

Coaches Lunch:

At around 11 am, check in with the coaches. Ask them to pick one restaurant. Have all the coaches order from the same restaurant. The restaurant must be approved by the head coach and must be healthy. Have each coach write down their order. You will then place the order, and either pick it up or have it delivered. The club will pay a small delivery fee. You will need to pay with your own money, but the club will reimburse you asap. Keep the receipt – and hand it over to the accountant. The accountant will write you a cheque for the amount you paid.

Manager of Volunteers:

If required by the hosting club, copy the names of the timers to the swim meet’s timer sheet posted at the hosting club signup deck during warm up in the morning.

One hour before each shift starts, check to see if every volunteer has initialed on the sign-in sheet. If not, try to find them and make sure they know of their shift by asking other parents, calling them directly, or asking the coaches. Keep an eye on the volunteer sign up sheet throughout the day.
If there is less than 30 minutes before the start of a shift, and you cannot find the person anywhere and they have not checked in, they are considered a no-show. You will then replace them with one of the spare volunteers. If more volunteers are missing, recruit replacements from the parents at the meet and update the sign up sheet accordingly.

During the last 30 minute of the morning session, make sure the manager of volunteers for the next session has signed in. If not, try to find the manager of volunteers, and contact the spare volunteer for the next shift if needed. Report the no-show volunteer to the Director of Volunteers.

Spare Volunteers:

If you are a spare volunteer, you are only required to volunteer if their is a no-show or a mistake and more volunteers are needed than planned. You will not know your shift until the day of, and you may luck out and not have a shift at all. When you arrive in the morning, please find the manager of volunteers and give him/her your cellphone or a way to find you throughout the day. Be prepared to do any shift if needed. This will still count as volunteering, even if you do not end up doing a shift.

Officials:

Officiating requires training. Officials must attend an officials training session and then complete a certain amount of shadowing before they can work as an official. The Director of Officials will decide when an official is ready to volunteer on their own. Minimum green pin required to be an official.

Clerk of the Course:

Clerk of the Course requires on-the-job training. They are responsible for the marshalling procedures, are in control of the swimmers prior to the event, and the clerk of the course has full authority to scratch swimmers who fail to report to marshalling.

Marshalling:

Some skill required. Best suited for someone with a loud and confident voice. After the swimmer has checked in with the clerk of the course, the marshellors will line them up in the correct order on the benches, and moves each bench forward after each race.

Traffic:

At some meets, we are required to control the traffic around the pool. If you are assigned this role, check in with the host team or meet manager. They will give you a safety vest and explain your role. Normally, you will be making sure no one stops in the middle of the driveways and turn around cars once the lot is full.

Safety Marshall:

The Safety Marshall supervises the warm-ups. Check in with the meet referee or meet manager. They will give you a safety vest. You will then ensure kids don’t dive onto each other, no one runs on the deck, etc.

Security/Garbage:

This role will vary depending on the meet. In some meets, when there is limited viewing seats, the security will ensure people don’t spend too long in the observation areas. Garbage collection is often combined with this role.

Office:

Some of the office roles require training. There are several roles within the office. Running of the Colorado Timing System requires official training via BCSSA. Other jobs within the office include printing results, adding swimmers names into the computer, etc.

Awards

There are a few different roles within the awards category. Some people will be assigned to printing ribbon labels and preparing the ribbons for each team. Others will be assigned medal presentation. If you are a medal presenter, you will need to be in the podium area for the entire shift. Someone will hand you the medals, and you will then place the medal around the swimmers neck. The host club or meet manager will advise you of your roll.

Food Preparation:

Our social committee is usually responsible for buying the food. If you are assigned a role in food prep, you will be helping the social committee cut up the food and serve it to all the coaches, volunteers, and deck officials.