Parent Committee Volunteer Opportunities
NJST relies on a volunteer committee structure, requiring every NJST family to join at least one volunteer committee. There are three reasons NJST needs a strong parent committee program:
- It takes an enormous amount of work to operate a top-tier swim club. A strong volunteer program keeps our coaches focused on coaching, and
- It helps keep club fees as low as possible
- It keeps our coaches focused on coaching swimmers
The parent committee structure is an essential element of the board’s vision to create the best swim club in Colorado. Being an active parent is fun and incredibly rewarding. Strong involvement by our parents creates an inclusive and welcoming environment and is the best way to support our swimmers and NJST.
Click Here for the NJST Parent Committee Sign Up Form
Below are brief descriptions of the parent committees. An asterisk (*) by a committee indicates that based on the time commitment required to serve, committee members may qualify for credit on club fees. For more information about a committee, including information about club fee credits, contact the committee chair.
Meet Committees
Meet Entry/Director*
Chair: Maegen Tracy | [email protected]
Responsible for processing team entries, building financial reports, getting meet programs printed, collecting team fees, communicating with participating entry contacts for each team. Requires training that could take an entire year to accomplish. Volunteer credit will be provided during the training period. The Meet Entry Chair Apprentice works with current entry chair(s) and Meet Director over several meets to learn the role. It requires computer access to Meet Manager 6.0 and basic knowledge of Meet Manager. This apprentice will communicate with coaches and reports to the current Entry Chair(s) and Meet Director.
Administrative Official*
Co-Chairs: Bard Barber & Joanne Compton | [email protected]
The Administrative Official (AO) runs the “dry” side of the swim meet and is responsible for the administrative duties. The AO primary goal is to make sure the athlete’s official times are entered and scored correctly while providing the athletes with an excellent competitive environment. The AO position is an important job as the athlete’s swim times may have a significant impact for swimmers personal and team goals. The Administrative Official must be ready to work with the head referee, deck referees, meet director, swim coaches, head timer, lane timers, and timing console personnel. When problems arise, the AO must remain calm and work through the issues with the other AO team members to resolve them.
Meet Officials*
Chair: Mike Countryman | [email protected]
Officials require training and certification. All fees paid by NJST. Credit on club fees will be applied for all sessions worked at home meets (as a trainee or certified official). Becoming an official is one of the best ways to learn about your child's sport and support them. A number of officials are required on deck to certify times at meets. Without these volunteer parents there would be no official times. Becoming an official is a process, but one which the team will guide and assist you through and pay all fees that are incurred with becoming an official. Please contact the Meet Officials Chair to start the process and become a part of Team USA!
Timing Console*
Co-Chairs: Lindsay King & Jennifer Wherry | [email protected]
Responsible for running the timing system during a meet session, setting pads and plugging in pickles. Requires training that could take an entire season to accomplish. Volunteer credit will be provided during the training period. Must arrive 30 min early for the morning sessions. Apprentices will work under the direct supervision of currently trained timing console operators to learn the basics and in depth knowledge. This training will include the timing console as well as basic troubleshooting for the timing equipment (i.e. pads, harness, pickles).
Timers
Co-Chairs: Colleen Dowling & Elise McQuitty | [email protected]
Head Timer: Organizes clipboards, lane timer sheets and dolphin watches. Distributes watches and clipboards. Changes batteries in dolphins. The head timer starts and clears all lane timer watches. A 5 second delay after the last swimmer in each heat is required before clearing and sending times to the computer. The head timer can complete all tasks during warm up.
Lane Timer: Times each heat with a stop watch and pickle. Writes down times on lane timer sheets. Hands out heat winner coupons or ribbons when applicable. Lane timers must be 11 or older, 11 year olds must be paired with a parent.
Place Picker: To alleviate stress on the officials and referees running the meet and used to verify discrepancies in recorded times. The people in this role record on a heat sheet the order in which the swimmers finish. Easier to do in pairs where one person lists the lanes in order of finish and the other person writes the order down. The more accurate the better but in the case of 50s free and the like, many times only the first 2-3 and last 2-3 may be recorded.
Relief Timer & Runner: Is available to lane timers in case they need a bathroom break, etc. Collects lane timer sheets after each event and delivers to the AO table. If awards are presented, may be required to sort them. May be required to post meet results by the computer personnel.
Meet Operations
Helps to set up and tear down for each meet, including tables, chairs, timing equipment, video equipment, PA system and more.
Concessions
Chair: Jerry Blackburn | [email protected]
Responsible for preparation and sale of concessions items. Must arrive 30 minutes before warm up for morning sessions.
Hospitality
Chair: TIffany Pham | [email protected]
Responsible for arranging, planning, and presenting food, beverages and snacks for coaches, officials and volunteers at the meet. The hospitality personnel must arrive 30 minutes early for the morning sessions. There may be some clean up required at the end of each session.
Non-Meet Committees
Communications
Chair: Heather Torpey | [email protected]
Our goal is to keep our swimmers and families well informed, with easy access to the information they need most, and to promote our team to attract new swimmers to NJST. The Communications Committee is responsible for creating and updating all communications solutions across multiple channels – both digital and non-digital. The Communications Committee will work on simple, easy to read, informative, and creative assets that showcase the incredible training, coaching, events, and community of swimmers and families here at NJST. We will work with the Board of Directors, coaches, all other committees, and our families to get the right information to the right person at the right time.
Ambassadors
Co-Chairs: Lindsay King & Stephanie Sung | [email protected]
Ambassadors will plan events and other opportunities for parent involvement outside of meets and practice. The goal of the committee is to be inclusive and create a strong community among NJST parents and swimmers.
College Recruiting
Chair: Dan Sung | [email protected]
Committee members will develop and implement a new program to assist NJST swimmers and families navigate the college recruiting process.
