Volunteers
Swim Meets require volunteers
We quite literally can’t do it without you. During registration we asked each family to commit to helping with at least ½ of each swim meet your children participate in because our swim meets are staffed with parent volunteers. I spend most of the swim season emailing parents begging them to sign up for volunteer positions.
We use Swimtopia to manage volunteer sign up. Each week you are asked to declare whether or not your swimmer is available to swim in the swim meet that week. If your swimmer is able to swim you are expected to sign up for a volunteer position.
There are instructions on how to declare your swimmers here https://cbdolphins.swimtopia.com/signup-instructions
There are two types of positions, those that require training from the RSL and those that do not.
This year all the training for trained positions is online virtual training classes. This means you may do it any time in the next week. Check out the available trainings here https://rsl.swimtopia.com/training
Please, please, please consider completing an online training. Once you complete the training there is a link for you to complete so that your training is recorded and then you can be tagged in Swimtopia as eligible for those positions. When you go to sign up for positions you are only able to see positions that you have completed the training for or those that do not require any training.
Here are the various positions that are required to run a swim meet and whether additional training is required.
Timers - No training required and front row to all the action!
Timers are assigned a lane number and a stopwatch. Timers start their watch upon sighting the flash from the starting device. Then they stop their watch immediately when any part of the competitor’s body touches the end wall. Promptly report the time listed on their watch to the lane recorder and if asked, present the watch for inspection. Don’t clear any time from their stopwatch until after all times from their respective lane have been recorded on the timer sheets. Make sure to verify the competitor's name is correct and matches the timer slip by asking the competitor for their name. For a swim meet with 6 lanes we need 9 timers from each team.
Head Timer - RSL Training required
The head timer helps coordinate the timers for each lane and makes sure that there is a recorder designated in each lane. The head timer signals to the referee that all timers are ready to proceed to the next heat. The head timer starts a stopwatch (or two) each start to be used in case of a malfunction with one of the regular lane timers. If a lane timer realizes that their stopwatch did not start they raise their hand and the head timer brings them one of their backup stop watches. The head timer is from the home swim team.
Stroke & Turn Judge - RSL Training required
The stroke & turn judges observe the competitors in their assigned area to ensure all applicable rules pertaining to the stroke being swum are performed. If they see a violation, they immediately raise a hand to signal the infraction. The Stroke and Turn Judge will then fill out a DQ slip and present it to the Referee for concurrence. There are 2 stroke & turn judges from each team for each half of the meet.
Referee - RSL Training required, Stroke & Turn Judge training also required.
The referee has full authority over all officials and shall assign and instruct them prior and during the meet. The Referee shall have authority to decide any questions relating to the actual conduct of the meet, unless otherwise specified by RSL rules. The referee signs off on all DQ slips and signals to the starter to begin each heat. The referee is from the home swim team. Sometimes you will see a position called “Admin Referee ''. This is like an assistant referee who helps keep the swim meet moving.
Starter - RSL Training required
After the Referee’s series of short whistles signaling the commencement of the heat, the starter uses the starting system (think loud speaker with a light attached) to announce the EVENT NUMBER, HEAT NUMBER, BOYS/GIRLS, DISTANCE and STROKE. They wait for the Referee’s long whistle then get to say, Take your Marks and press the button to start the event.
Clerk of Course - RSL Training required
Clerk of Course Assistant - No training required
Each Team will provide one trained Clerk of the Course and at least one assistant. Assistants do not need to be trained. Clerk of Course volunteers work to make sure that swimmers are lined up in the correct order in the correct lanes for each event. For the younger events this is a tiny bit like herding cats but it gets easier each event as the swimmers get older.
Scorekeeper - RSL Training is Required
Assistant Scorekeeper - No training required
Each Team will provide one trained head scorekeeper and at least one assistant scorekeeper. The four volunteers who work at scoring are divided up between computer operators and data checkers. Fun fact these jobs involve sitting and are often in a cooler sometimes air conditioned area!
Awards Clerk - No training required
This is a second half position. The awards clerk puts labels on ribbons and if there is time, alphabetizes the ribbons to make them easier to hand out the next morning. It is a sit down position that is usually located at or near scoring (see note above about possible air conditioning).
Announcer - No training required
The announcer reads the RSL script at the start of the meet and announces the score several times throughout the meet. The announcer also makes announcements to help us locate swimmers who have wandered off and are not at Clerk of Course on time. The announcer helps us with playing the National Anthem at the start, don’t worry you don’t have to sing and can play music during breaks in the meet.
Runner - No training required.
Just like it sounds. The runner takes the completed timer sheets from the timers to the score keeping table.
Safety Marshall - No training required
This is a position required in the RSL rules but let’s be honest we haven’t had enough volunteers to staff a safety marshall the past few years. If we did, the safety marshall is responsible for making sure teams follow all the rules during warm-ups.
Concessions - No training required
We count on concession sales to help fund the swim team. We sell concessions at our home swim meets but in order to sell these items we need volunteers to work the concession stand. Folks fill orders, work the cash register (iPad) or man the grill.
