Our team doesn’t work without an army of volunteers. Each year, we ask family members to sign-up for jobs to help with meet operations. Descriptions of each job can be found below.
Make sure to register for a volunteer position after you finalize your swimmer’s registration.
The announcer is responsible for announcing each event before it begins with a simple bull horn. It is typically best for the announcer to remain in the same location throughout the meet. We have found the southeast corner of the pool is most convenient for the clerks, coaches, and spectators to hear the announcements. There is usually a handout with a few announcements or clarifications that are read right at the beginning of the meet. Afterward each event is announced from a provided schedule of events prior to its beginning.
The clerks of course are more like child coordinators. Before the beginning of the meet, the clerks of course will receive clipboards from the timing tent containing all of the heat sheets for the meet. During the meet, the clerks will stand near the entrance to the swimmer area, and they will gather BST swimmers for their upcoming events. There is a small flip chart which displays event numbers to aid in gathering swimmers. Once swimmers have been assembled, the clerks are responsible for getting them in the correct position on deck and ready for their event.
Clerking is most important for the younger swimmers (6U, 8U, 10U). Once swimmers reach the 12 & Under age group, they typically take care of themselves.
There are three (3) computer positions.
The first position is responsible for operating the timing system. What may seem complex is actually a very simple task of pushing the same four buttons after each event. This process records the times from the timers’ plungers and forwards them to the computer.
The second and third positions are more complex. The Meet Manager software must be operated on the computer. This includes recording times received from the timing system, checking them against place judge sheets, scoring each event, printing labels for ribbons, and printing reports to show meet results. One of these individuals is also responsible for operating Team Manager and Meet Manager software throughout the season to set up and prepare event lists for each meet.
This individual is responsible for starting each event. Equipment is relatively easy to set up. There is a push-to-talk (PTT) button on a microphone attached to a speaker with a starting horn/tone button. The PTT is depressed at the start of each event followed by “Swimmers Take Your Mark” . . . then the horn/tone button is depressed. This whole procedure needs to be kept in a like rhythm throughout the meet to keep considerable consistency for each event.
The stroke judge is responsible for ensuring the swimmers are executing the strokes correctly. Before the beginning of the meet, the stroke judge will receive a clipboard from the timing tent containing all of the heat sheets for the meet and disqualification forms.The stroke judge will fill these out when a stroke is swam incorrectly resulting in a disqualification of the swimmer. The stroke judge position is more demanding as it requires prior knowledge of swimming.
Since our home pool is 40-yards, we have a rope set at 25-yards for our younger athletes (all 8 and unders) as a marker to stop their race.
This rope needs to be added and removed throughout the course of the meet depending on the event being run. Two individuals will be needed to watch the meet and ensure the rope is in place when necessary.
The runner is responsible for retrieving paperwork from the place judge, stroke judge, and timers, then delivering items to the timing tent. The runner will often provide water for the other volunteers who are unable to leave their position.
The Set up and Tear Down position is all about getting the pool ready for competition and returning the pool back to it’s recreational state before and after a meet.
Setting up the pool starts at 4:00 (so we can be ready to swim starting at 5:00pm for warm-up). This includes:
Tear down generally includes removing outside lane lanes and most of the starting blocks, although in most cases we will leave the inner lane lines and blocks for practice the next morning.
The timer position is the most common volunteer position. Before the beginning of the meet, there will be a timers meeting where timers will receive a clipboard containing all of the heat sheets for the meet, a stopwatch, a pencil, and verbal instructions.
There are two timers per lane and one back up timer for a total of thirteen timers. Our home meets will have events that finish at each end of the pool, and the timers will need to move from one end of the pool to the other to accommodate. The 25, 40, and 200 yard events finish in the shallow end, and the 80 and 160 yard events finish in the deep end.
There will be two timing system plungers for each lane at both ends. One timer will hold a plunger and a stopwatch, and the other timer will hold a plunger and a clipboard. When a race starts, you will see a flash from the starting device, start your stopwatch, don’t push the plunger.
When the swimmer in your lane finishes, push BOTH timing system plungers AND stop your stopwatch. Record the stopwatch time next to your swimmer’s name on the heat sheet, and reset your stopwatch for the next event. If you forget to start your stopwatch or it malfunctions for any reason, hold up your hand, and a back up timer will walk over and give you their stopwatch.
Your timing system plungers will automatically start, and they will automatically reset. You ONLY have to push the plungers when your swimmer touches the wall.
If you do not have a swimmer in your lane, do not hit the plunger. If you have a swimmer in your lane that is not on your heat sheet, please continue timing as normal, and ask their name when they exit the pool. There will be a runner who collects your sheets periodically.
In conjunction with the Computer person, this role sits at the head table and keeps the meet moving forward by resetting the timing console in between heats, and moving the meet to the next heat or event.
While it seems intimidating, this position is fairly laid back.