Family Service Requirement
Number of hours required
Prorating service hours
Opportunities to volunteer
Friendly tips
Other volunteering opportunities
LAMVAC relies on parent volunteers. That's why the club has a service requirement. Here is what you need to know about that requirement. All hours must be completed during the swim year, which is September to August. Be advised that there are few, if any, opportunities to earn hours over the summer months.
Number of hours required by swim team level
Beginner Tadpoles
Families with Beginner Tadpoles do not need to complete service hours.
Advanced Tadpoles
A family with a swimmer at this level is required to complete a minimum of 10 service hours per swim year.
Piranhas, Tiger Sharks, Juniors and Seniors
A family with a swimmer at one of these levels is required to complete a minimum of 20 service hours per swim year.
If a family has two or more swimmers with the club, the family must complete the number of service hours for that of the higher-level swimmer.
For example, if a family has an Advanced Tadpole swimmer and a Tiger Shark swimmer, the family would need to complete the service requirement for the Tiger Shark swimmer, which is 20 service hours per year.
Prorating service hours
How hours are prorated at club entry
If a swimmer joins after February, LAMVAC will require only half the normal service hours from the family.
If a swimmer joins in the summer months, from June through August, the club will not require any service hours until the following swim year.
How hours are prorated at club departure
If a swimmer leaves the club at any time, the family is still expected to fulfill service hours. If your swimmer swims with LAMVAC only 6 months of the swim year or less amount of time, the club will reduce your service-hour requirement by one half. The service hours will not be prorated more than that.
Unfulfilled Service Hours
At the end of the swim year, family accounts will be charged $25 for each unfulfilled volunteer hour.
Opportunities to volunteer and earn service hours
To earn volunteer hours, you can sign up at any team function or swim meet where job signups are posted on the club's website.
At Team Functions
Team Functions are generally events organized by the club for members, such as
- Swimsuit-sizing day
- the Eagle Park Pool hot cocoa stand
- the annual picnic
- the winter party
- home meets
The Home Meets
The two most important team functions are the two home meets LAMVAC hosts: the March Madness swim meet held annually at Eagle Park Pool and the Mayhem swim meet held in May at Foothill College Pool. LAMVAC relies on all families with swimmers above the Beginner Tadpole level to help at both meets.
Please note that the Mayhem Meet represents the final big opportunity to earn hours for the swim year. There will be almost no other opportunities to earn hours after that.
Here is a sample of the volunteer job descriptions at these events:
- announcer
- check-in
- clerk
- coordinator-hospitality
- snack bar
- desk
- food donation
- head marshal
- head timer
- hospitality
- intermediary judge (timing judge)
- marshal
- computer operation
- runner
- setup
- tear-down
- snack bar
Volunteering Signup Limits for Food and Donations
For donations of food, drinks or ice, each family is limited to no more than 2 of the same item and no more than 3 categories (such as chips, gatorade or bagels).
Acquiring Service Hours
To acquire the service hours, the volunteer must:
- Personally check in/out with the volunteer coordinator at the front desk of the event.
- Check in 10 minutes prior to your time obligation.
If the volunteer does not complete check-in and check-out, the service hours will not count.
At Swim Meets from Other Clubs
Many swim meets take place throughout the season. Once your swimmer has signed up to attend a meet, the club will ask if you can contribute to LAMVAC’s volunteer commitment at that meet. This service may involve bringing LAMVAC canopies to and from the meet; setting up and tearing down canopies/tents; and serving as a timer for the meet.
Note that volunteering positions for meets sponsored by other clubs are often announced as late as two or three days prior to the meet. Be sure to check your email inbox.
Also note that canopies must be picked up from Eagle Park pool the Thursday before the meet and returned to Eagle Park pool the following Monday.
Friendly tips
- Try to do your volunteer job at meets in which your swimmer participates.
- Try to get your volunteering hours done by the end of May, as there will few, if any, opportunities for volunteering during the summer.
- Try to save some of your volunteer hours for LAMVAC’s March and May home meets. Many volunteers are needed for the two home meets.
- Block your family calendar in advance with the dates of these meets. You can find the dates at the Meets tab on the home page, under Team Events.
Other volunteering opportunities
Here are other opportunities to help out the club and earn service hours:
Board members
As a parent-run club, LAMVAC needs parents to step up into Board positions, as well. Please read more about the Board positions; which ones are open; and what such a commitment would entail.
Swim officials
As a swim club with swimmers taking part in competition, LAMVAC must provide meet officials to the different meets. Here is what one meet official, Evan Bigall, has to say:
Represent LAMVAC as a Pacific Swimming Official. Becoming an official is easy, doesn't require any experience and is a great way to get better connected to your child's swimming. Once you have been certified, the hours you work at meets count towards your volunteer hours commitment to the team.
Officials get many perks at meets, such as deck access, free or preferred parking and lunch and snacks. At meets in LAMVAC's zone (Zone 1 North), your children's meet entry fees can be waived. In addition, you help the team meet its commitments (the team is required to provide one certified official per 25 athletes entered in the session).
