A Complete Guide To The Most Common Volunteer Positions For Swim Parents
Volunteering is an essential part of executing a successful swim meet. Without volunteers, clubs and organizations can not hold meets. Aside from being essential, volunteering is often required as a condition of membership and is a vital component of generating revenue for the club.
Below, you will find brief descriptions of typical volunteer positions that need to be filled for every swim meet. None of these roles are particularly challenging, and clubs/organizations will provide the necessary training for each position.
Note: Some positions do require special training sessions and are better suited for more experienced swim parents. If you haven’t volunteered before, ask your club’s swim meet director for more information.
To sign up for positions, you can usually find the JOB SIGNUP link for each event if your team uses SportsEngine Motion / TeamUnify / OnDeck.
Announcer
The announcer coordinates with the Meet Referee to control the flow of a meet. The announcer uses the PA System for announcing the events, heats, and sometimes swimmer names throughout the meet. Also, the announcer is responsible for general announcements and conveying any information necessary according to the officials or meet host.
Awards Table / Ribbons
Awards table volunteers are responsible for placing printed labels on ribbons and sorting them into swim team file folders. This is a seated position that typically gets busier towards the middle to end of the session due to the need for completed events and printed results pages.
Check-in / Welcome Table
The welcome table volunteer has a variety of jobs. The check-in table is situated strategically to ensure that swimmers, coaches, officials, volunteers, and spectators are directed to the correct location. This is a seated position and is busiest at the beginning of each session.
Here is a list of potential duties:
- Collect spectator charges
- Direct attendees to their locations
- Ensure officials, coaches, and volunteers sign in
- Check coach and official credentials
- Answer general questions for participants, swimmers, coaches, and officials
* THIS ROLE REQUIRES PRIOR VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE AND A KNOWLEDGE OF MEET OPERATIONS
Clean-up
The clean-up crew does just what the title implies…clean up. This job is performed after the meet has concluded and the spectators and swimmers have left.
This can include:
- Dismantling and transporting the timing system
- Folding and storing the chairs and tables
- Boxing and transporting food, drinks, or sales items
- Taking down signs and postings
Concessions
Most hosted meets rely on concessions to generate revenue for their club or organization. Sometimes volunteering for concessions means that you are responsible for gathering items to sell but this typically is handled by those setting up the meet. Typically your role will be to stand at the concessions area for the assigned period and help the other volunteers take food orders, prepare food items, and handle money.
Concessions Manager
The concessions manager coordinates the refreshments for the swim meet. Responsibilities may include:
- Purchasing food before the event
- Working with the Club board members to establish a budget
- Meet day preparation and setup
- Pricing
- Volunteer management
Hospitality
At every hosted meet, it is customary to create a space for meet officials and sometimes coaches to congregate and relax. Food is provided as a thank you for volunteering. Volunteering for hospitality means that you will be stationed in that room to take care of the officials.
Hospitality Manager
The hospitality manager coordinated refreshments for coaches and volunteers. Prior to the event, the manager purchases food within the allotted budget, coordinates the setup and takedown of the hospitality area, and manages the hospitality volunteers.
* THIS IS A SPECIALIZED ROLE AND REQUIRES PRIOR MEET EXPERIENCE AND HOSPITALITY KNOWLEDGE.
Lane Timers
Each lane requires the presence of a timer to be a backup to the touchpad system. Equipt with a stopwatch and a clipboard, the timer records the start and finish of each heat, and records those times as a backup. There are typically two timers per lane who are required to be present at each event and heat. One time is typically also in charge of “the pickle,” a device that records the stop the finish time for each lane. This volunteer position requires standing for long periods and is more physically demanding. Fill-in timers are available if the assigned timer needs a break during the meet.
Marshall
This is a very important volunteer position. Marshalls are responsible for the safety of everyone, especially the swimmers, during the meet. There is a set number of required marshalls and the head marshall will place volunteers at strategic positions to ensure adequate coverage. Each marshall is responsible for their area, looking out for potentially dangerous situations and using good judgment to prevent problems. Marshalls can be identified by their orange or yellow vests.
Photographer
Some meets may have asked for a parent to volunteer as the photographer for the meet. This position would allow the volunteer access to the pool deck to take fun pictures of the meet and the swimmers for use in promotions, social media feeds, or to show during season-ending banquets or parties.
Because of the stringent rules set forth by USA Swimming, the photographer must be aware of the limitations and rules regarding taking photographs during a meet.
Parking
If the venue is a school, parking attendants are occasionally needed to accommodate the requirements of the school. Parking may be limited due to multiple events being hosted on the same day. Parking attendants must be provided by the hosting organization to ensure a positive relationship with the venue administrators.
Since this is an outdoor position, be sure to dress accordingly!
Runner
A runner is responsible for obtaining completed event cards and DQ (disqualification) forms from timers and referee and delivering them to the scoring table. This is an on-deck position that involves a lot of walking and time on your feet, so wear comfortable shoes!
Safety Manager (Head Marshall)
The safety manager is responsible for training and managing the marshalls. This role requires advanced knowledge of USA Swimming’s Safe Sport rules and ensures that those rules are enforced by the volunteer marshalls during the event.
* THIS ROLE REQUIRES ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE AND PRIOR MEET EXPERIENCE
Sales
Nearly all clubs and organizations will use sales of products to generate much-needed revenue. Generally, sales is part of the concessions team and report to the concessions manager. Volunteers may be assigned to support their club or organization by selling various items such as:
- Meet Apparel
- Spirit wear / Team gear
- Baked Goods
- Motivational Gifts (ducks, pins, messages, etc.)
- Candygrams
- Raffle & 50/50 Tickets
- General Merchandise
Scorer’s Table / Computer Operator
This is one of the more technical volunteer positions and requires some training prior to meet day. The scorer marks official times, records finishes, and verifies computer results. Most pools use a DAK Timing System and prior certification is typically needed before volunteering for this position.
* PRIOR MEET KNOWLEDGE IS NECESSARY FOR THIS POSITION
Set up
Volunteers are usually needed the day before the meet to ensure the pool is ready the next day. This can include:
- Transporting items to the venue
- Setting up tables and chairs
- Hanging signs
- Setting up the timing system