THE POWER OF TEAMWORK
Supporting Our Team, One Volunteer at a Time
Anyone who has been to even one swim meet knows that it takes much effort on the part of parent volunteers to make it happen. NFS will be looking for help from every family during the course of the season, and we’re sure that every parent can find a meet job that he/she enjoys doing. A description of the meet jobs is provided below.
MEET VOLUNTEER ROLES
Find Your Role at the Meet
Timer
This is the most popular meet job among both new and experienced swim parents. You use a stopwatch to time the swimmer in your assigned lane. There are typically two timers per lane, and the median of the times is used as the official time (or as backup for electronic timing systems). You get a great view of the action.
Runner
After each race, the runner collects the times from the timers in each lane, and takes them to the scoring table. You stay on the move throughout the meet, so it's great exercise.
Announcer
This is a great job for someone with a strong voice and an ability to correctly pronounce names. You announce the names of the swimmers in each event, and work with the Starter/Referee to keep the meet moving quickly and smoothly.
Concessions
Concessions is an important fund raiser for the team, as we raise money for end-of-the-season awards and other extras this way. You get to interact a lot with both kids and parents.
Hospitality
We as meet hosts make sure that the coaches and officials are happy and want to come back. We provide them with meals, snacks and drinks in a room, and run drinks out to the deck.
Set Up/Tear Down
This a very important volunteer position that helps us to make sure we are organized and ready!
Clerk of Course/Meet Operations
This volunteer checks in coaches, and works with the officials. They make sure the meet is running smoothly.
Marshal
Marshals keep the deck safe, and the area behind the blocks clear.
USA Swimming Officials
The following positions require USA Swimming certification
Administrative Official
These officials work "behind the scenes" operating any computerized timing systems and entering swim meet data into the computer system.
Stroke & Turn Judge
These judges determine whether a swimmer touched the end of the pool during a turn and whether the technical aspects of the swimming stroke were legal. It requires knowledge of the US Swimming stroke regulations, and a willingness to fairly disqualify swimmers when appropriate.
Starter/Referee
This is the most technically demanding job. The Starter/Ref runs the events in the meet by ensuring that the swimmers start simultaneously and oversees all the other meet officials. This is a leadership position that requires experience and a take-charge personality. It is up to the Starter to keep the meet moving.