Willow Fork Gators Swim Team
Volunteer Positions
We thank all our volunteers because we could not conduct a swim meet without you!! The swimmers appreciate you so much! Please remember to contact Jana Carmichael at janacar@hotmail.com if for some reason you cannot fulfill your job assignment. Thank You!
Type in your Family ID number to review your Volunteer Duties for the swim season....
When your child signs up to join the swim team, so does the parent. This sport requires parents to be participants, not just spectators. And here is why: It takes so many people to run a swim meet that there is literally a job for everyone. Home meets require about 60 volunteers and Away meets about 45 volunteers. Training for some jobs takes only a few minutes, whereas others require attendance at clinics. None are as scary or difficult as you might think. Below is a list of volunteer positions and brief descriptions of the duties involved.
Ready Bench
(Arrive 6:30pm – until your age group finishes swimming. 6 & under approximately 9:00pm, all others approximately 10:00pm)
Each age/sex group has 2-3 ready bench volunteers. This volunteer will inform the swimmers of their events, their assigned lanes, and take the swimmers to the ready bench area when these events are called. Please make sure the swimmers are in the appropriate lane in the Ready Bench area before you leave to watch the event. You must pay particular attention to relays because there are 4 swimmers in each lane. See the Ready Bench Coordinator for particulars on setting up for relays. All swimmers participate in the Medley Relay (beginning of the meet), Individual Freestyle (early in the meet) and Freestyle Relay (end of the meet). Only 3 swimmers participate in Breaststroke, Butterfly and Backstroke. You must know where your swimmers are at all times. You will have a heat sheet to assist you, which is a list of all the events in the meet. Under each event, the swimmers have been placed into particular heats (dependant on swim times) and particular lanes. This is a great position to sign up for, although it may sound stressful, it really isn't. Most parents sign up for the age group that their own swimmers are in, so you will be close to them during the swim meet.
Judges
(All judges check in at 6:30pm, 1 st half judges officiate from approximately 7:00pm-8:30pm, 2 nd half judges officiate from approximately 8:30pm-10:00pm) (2 hour Saturday Training Required)
For each meet, we will need 2) stroke judges, 2) touch/turn judge and 6) finish judges. Half of the judges officiate the 1 st half of the meet, and the other half officiate the 2 nd half of the meet. The responsibilities for each are:
- Stroke Judges (see above)
This volunteer observes the swimmers within each heat of the meet to ensure that their strokes are legal according to the SPSC swimming rules. If they see an infraction they immediately raise their hand and report to the Meet Director for the swimmer in question. Leniency in cases of "no harm" fouls or fouls among the ten and under age groups is encouraged. There are no disqualifications in the 6 and under and the 7 - 8 age groups, unless, in the opinion of the Stroke Judge or Meet Director, the swimmer has had an unfair advantage in swimming the wrong stroke. - Touch Turn Judges (see above)
This volunteer observes the swimmers within each heat of the meet to ensure that all turns and touches are legal according to the SPSC swimming rules. They also watch for false starts on the relay takeoffs. If they see any infraction they immediately raise their hand and report to the Meet Director for the swimmer in question. - Finish Judges (see above)
The home team judges 2nd, 4th and 6th places. The visiting team judges 1st, 3rd and 5th places. The finish judges only watch for the order of the finish. They then give a "chip" to the appropriate swimmer so they can obtain their participation ribbon.
Meet Director
(Arrive 6:30pm – until meet end)
(2 hour Saturday Training Required)
This volunteer is in complete charge of the swim meet at their designated home meet. They will solve all disputes and have the final word in such disputes according to the Spring Oaks League Bylaws. They present a written report to the President on each disqualification.
Ribbons
(All volunteers check in at 6:30pm, 2 volunteers work the 1 st half of meet from approximately 7:00pm-8:30pm, 2 volunteer works the 2 nd half of meet from approximately 8:30pm-10:00pm)
These volunteers are responsible for awarding participation ribbons after each heat is swum. We have 4 volunteers per HOME meet. The swimmers hand them the "chip" that was given to them by a finish judge so the appropriate ribbon can be awarded.
Scorekeeper
(Arrive 6:30pm – until meet end)
(2 hour Saturday Training Required)
This volunteer is responsible for accurate scoring on Conference approved score sheets. They deliver all the scores to both coaches at the end of the meet. There is only one official scorer for each team.
Starter
(Arrive 6:30pm – until meet end)
(2 hour Saturday Training Required)
This volunteer signals the start of each heat.
Announcer
(Arrive 6:30pm – until meet end)
This volunteer announces all upcoming events to alert the children & ready bench volunteers. He/she also makes general announcements.
Timers
(Arrive 6:00pm – until meet end)
We need four timers at each meet. Each volunteer will be responsible for timing a Willow Fork swimming lane throughout the entire swim meet. They will be given a stopwatch and a clipboard to record each swimmer's time. They will be trained by the Timer chairperson on how to operate, read and record a time from a stopwatch. This volunteer gets a GREAT SEAT!
Deck “Set Up” and “Clean Up” Crews
(“Set Up” Arrive 4:30pm – 6:00pm, “Clean Up” – meet end for 1 hour or less)
The Deck Set Up volunteers show up early to set up the Willow Fork Deck for the swim meet. During the day the deck is set up for the use of the country club swimmers. On meet days, the club closes the pool early so we may come in and set it up to conduct a swim meet.
The Deck Clean Up volunteers return everything back to the way it was! Believe it or not, it doesn't take too long if we have enough helpers and can be a good time too.
Please see the Set-Up and Clean-Up checklists here.
Event Card Clerk
(Both volunteers arrive 6:30pm, 1 volunteer works the 1 st half of meet from approximately 7:00pm-8:30pm, 1 volunteer works the 2 nd half of meet from approximately 8:30pm-10:00pm)
This volunteer will be responsible for flipping event cards. The event cards will be on a stand and the cards will need to be turned at the start of each event. This person may be asked to sit in the lifeguard stand so the events will be visible for all swimmers, parents and spectators.
Check-In Clerk
(Arrive at Home Meets 5:15pm – 6:45pm, Arrive at Away Meets 5:45pm – 6:45pm)
This volunteer will be responsible for signing in all Willow Fork Swim Team members as they arrive for each swim meet. The check-in clerk will be close to the entrance of the pool, whether AWAY or HOME. Thirty minutes prior to the start of the meet, the Check-In Clerk will bring the sign-in sheet to the Coach and will inform him of any swimmers that did not show up for the meet.
Hospitality
(Both volunteers arrive 6:30pm, 1 volunteer works the 1 st half of meet from approximately 7:00pm-8:30pm, 1 volunteer works the 2 nd half of meet from approximately 8:30pm-10:00pm)
This volunteer will serve Water & Lemonade to all of the meet workers, home and away, throughout the meet. See the Hospitality Chairperson for details on where drinks have been setup. This volunteer will also help oversee distribution of Popsicles with the aid of the Ready Bench parents.
We provide donuts for every Friday morning practice. Plus, Friday’s tend to be a fun day with the coaches & swimmers. The kids enjoy Fridays!