Parent Volunteers
The Wahoos Swim Team is 100% reliant and grateful for our parent and family volunteers to ensure our meets run smoothly and successfully.
Volunteer Pledge
Each Wahoo Family is required to volunteer for at least 4 shifts during the swim season. Failure to do so will result in the cashing of the $100 volunteer check.
- 1 shift = half a meet (about 2 - 2½ hours)
- ½ shift = short task (no more than 1 hour)
Volunteer Positions
SETUP (EQUALS 1 SHIFT)
* Home Meets Only
* 7:30 - 9 PM Friday night before meet
Along with Board Members, unload and setup all things needed to host a swim meet, including, but not limited to: rope off perimeter of pool, move chairs, tables & shade tents, setup parking, Clerk of Course, coach areas, hang banners & signs.
ANNOUNCER (EQUALS 1 SHIFT PER HALF)
* Home Meets Only
* 6:45 AM Setup
- Hook up speakers & mixer. The Meet Setup team has moved everything needed to the balcony, but it's the Announcer's responsibility to plug everything in.
- Play appropriate music from your own phone throughout the meet
- Announce event numbers that are to report to the Clerk of Course (simply reading from a whiteboard)
- Act as MC for the whole meet - Announcements, National Anthem, Reminders, Parking Issues, Concessions Updates, Senior Speeches, etc.
- Responsible for packing up all equipment and returning the to shed after the meet
CONCESSIONS (EQUALS 1 SHIFT PER HALF)
* Home Meets Only
* 6:30 AM setup
- Help behind the table with our concessions underneath the balcony
- 2nd half volunteers must stay for tear down
CONCESSIONS: PIZZA RUNNER (EQUALS 1/2 SHIFT)
* Home Meets Only
- Drive to local spots to grab about 20 boxes of pizzas.
- Has a designated parking spot at the entrance of the pool, to make transporting easy
STARTER & REFEREE (EQUALS 1 SHIFT PER HALF)
* Home Meet Only
* Requires pre-season FSSL Training (1-hr online). Should have at least 3 seasons of Stroke & Turn Official experience
- The Referee is the Highest Official, with the most seniority on deck & settles any disputes that may arise.
- Announces & starts the events with the buzzer/light device on the pool deck
- Runs the Timers & Stroke/Turn Judges prior to the start of the meet to review the rules and ensure everything is set up in compliance with FSSL rules.
SAFETY MARSHALL (EQUALS 1 SHIFT PER HALF)
* Home Meet Only
- FSSL mandatory position
- Wears a safety vest (provided) and walks the pool deck, checks restrooms, walks spectator areas, etc. to ensure all conduct rules are followed.
- Reports any safety concerns to FSSL Team Reps.
- Can report concerns about any swimmer, family, spectators, etc.
HEAT SHEET RUNNER (EQUALS 1 SHIFT PER HALF)
* Home Meet Only
- Collects heat sheets and DQ slips from timers and S&T judges after each event.
- Place heat sheets in order, by lane, and deliver to IT (in the clubhouse).
- This role requires moving quickly around the pool deck
- Post final results print outs, provided by IT team
HEAT WINNER RIBBON (EQUALS 1 SHIFT PER HALF)
* Home Meet Only
- Distribute Heat Winner ribbon to the winner of each heat (or race)
- Check with the timers for winner
TEAR DOWN (EQUALS 1 SHIFT)
* Home Meet Only
* Immediately after meet ends, usually lasts 30-45 minutes
- Breakdown & store items inside shed (shade tents, tables, pick up trash, remove signs, etc.)
- Get pool grounds back to excellent condition
CLERK OF COURSE (EQUALS 1 SHIFT PER HALF)
- Use Meet Program (provided) to verify swimmer’s event/heat/lane assignments
- Facilitates swimmers moving from Clerk of Course to the starting lanes
- Write the event numbers on the white board for the Announcer to see and call out the upcoming events
- Remind swimmers to stay “quiet at the start” of each race
- 1 “Block Clerk” monitors the lane chairs to ensure the swimmers on deck stay in correct lane chairs
RIBBONS WRITER (EQUALS 1 SHIFT PER HALF)
- Sits with IT Team
- Applies stickers to corresponding ribbons for each Wahoo swimmer
- Organize ribbons in the appropriate family folder
- 2nd half volunteers may have to stay for an extra 30 minutes to finish
IT HELP / SCORER (EQUALS 1 SHIFT PER HALF)
- Sits with IT Team and assists with any of the following tasks: validating or inputting times, sign timer sheets, etc.
TIME DROP TABLET OPERATOR (EQUALS 1 SHIFT PER HALF)
- Stands next to the Starter and marks scratches/no-shows on the Time Drops Tablet
- Flips the “Event / Heat” display sign for every race
TIMERS (EQUALS 1 SHIFT PER HALF)
All timers (1st & 2nd half) attend the Timers Meeting before the meet - the Referee will identify the Head Timer and walk through the rules.
“Head Timer”
- Starts 2 stopwatches for every race
- Trades stopwatch with any lane timer whose watch has malfunctioned
“Lane Timer”
- 3 timers to a lane
- 1 person records all 3 times on the provided sheets
STROKE & TURN OFFICIALS (EQUALS 1 SHIFT PER HALF)
* Requires pre-season FSSL Training (1-hr online)
* New S&T Officials must shadow during Time Trials
- 2 officials are supplied by each team
- Responsible for ensuring swimmers comply with the rules regarding strokes, turns, and finishes, making calls for any rule violations within their assigned jurisdiction
- You will know your schedule of volunteering before the season even starts!
HAND WRITERS (EQUALS 1/2 SHIFT)
* 7 AM arrival
- Using Meet Programs & sharpies (provided), write each swimmer's event details on their arm
