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 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.

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 five 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 [email protected] 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.

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.

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 - requires pre-meet training (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.

Computer Data Entry (Home and Away) These are the volunteers 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 near the Clerk of the Course/starting blocks 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! Be sure you have the SwimTopia app installed on your phone, and charge your phone.

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 (Home only) This role sells heat sheets (supplied by the team) during the first half of the meet.

Facilities (Home only) This role ensures that pool grounds are in working order: pool lights turned on when it gets dark, regularly checks during the meet to ensure restrooms have toilet paper, trash cans (on deck and outside) are not overflowing, etc. etc). Will receive info from volunteer check in about where to find refills for TP and trash bags. This volunteer will also help the concession team with tear down.

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 90th Street, moving trash to the dumpster, taking down flags, lane lines, etc.