Parent Volunteer Jobs

Below are descriptions of the jobs available at swim meets. 
If there are questions around a given job’s requirements, it is your responsibility to reach out to the Swim Team Admin or any of our Session Coordiators to learn the job prior to the event date.

Fall/Winter Season

Practice Group        Required Points

*Families with multiple swimmers: add 2 points to your highest point value (Fall/Winter only)

Spring Season

Practice Group        Required Points

*Friday Night Distance Series and Distance sessions at home or away meets - timing for your own swimmer does not earn points.

50/50 (1 point)
Stand/sit near the entrance and sell 50/50 tickets. Will also walk around the upper bleachers to sell 50/50. Picks a winning ticket about half way through the meet.

Awards (1 point)
Labels, organizes and sorts ribbons and medals for teams as events conclude. At select meets will also hang up printed results sheets on the wall. Stickers will be picked up from the timing stand and placed on medals or ribbons then placed in team bags.

Check In (0.5-1 point)
Stationed at a table near the pool deck entrance. Checks in OCY parents who are working the meet by highlighting the name on the check in list. Hands out job lanyards and neon yellow/green vest to OCY volunteers who are working Security/Safety Marshal jobs. Collects lanyards and vests at the conclusion of the session. May also check in coaches and officials by checking their credentials.

Head Timer/Runner (2-2.5 points)
Check in all timers from all teams before timers meeting, give lanyards and watches as they check in if they are the first person timing. Team timing assignments will be on a Head Timer clipboard as well as displayed by the timing table.  After each event, collect the timer sheets from lanes and put them in order with Lane 1 at the top and Lane 8, 9 or 10 at the bottom, hand to timing stand staff in the booth. Collect all stopwatches and clipboards, either put away or set up for next session. 

Hospitality (1 point)
Set up, maintain and restock hospitality room for coaches and officials. Ensure only coaches and officials enter. Set up or clean up depending on the session.

Hot Heat Bag (0.5-1 point)
Assemble the candy prize bags during the week leading up to the meet.

Hot Heat DJ (1 point)
Plays music during hot heats. Must connect phone to bluetooth speaker.

Hot Heat Prize Distributor (1 point)
Hand out prizes to the winner of the hot heats after the exit the pool.

Lane Timer (1-2 points)
Uses a stopwatch to record the time of each heat that swims in their assigned lane. This is an important backup measure in the event the electronic timing system fails.
After checking in at the check in table go to the Head Timer/Runner to check in and get lane assignment. There is a timer's meeting prior to the start of every session (typically 20-30 minutes the start). Make sure to be on time for the meeting!

Official (3 points)
Must be a YMCA or USA Swimming trained and certified official. Officials are one of the most vital jobs at every meet. Officiating is one the best ways to support your swimmer and get involved with the OCY Swim Team. Those interested in becoming an official should contact the Officials Coordinator.

Official Shadow (1 point)
Will shadow OCY officials at select home meets to gain a better understanding of what officiating entails. This is a good first step to take before making the decision to become a certified official.

Parking (1-3 points)
Directs traffic flow and swimmer dropoff for vehicles entering the parking lot. Only needed for select meets. This is an outside job - dress accordingly!

Security (2 points)
Monitors safety of swimmers and controls access to pool deck. See below for stations:

(1) Deep End of Pool: During the meet, stand under the scoreboard ensuring warm up lanes are only entered from the shallow end and swimmers should be moving at all times - no horseplay, playing around, etc. No one is to be using the blocks in warm down lanes after warmup ends. If the doors are open, ensure no one is going in and out of the doors.

(2) Shallow End of Pool: During warm up, stand at the corner by the garage door. During the meet, remain in the same location to ensure warm up lanes are only entered from the shallow end, swimmers must go in the pool feet first and should be moving at all times - no horseplay, playing around, etc. If the doors are open, ensure no one is going in and out of the doors.

(3) Girls Locker Room/Hallway: Stand/sit outside the Ladies locker room door with a view of the bathroom hallway. No spectators allowed in and the door is only used as an exit. To enter locker rooms swimmers should go from the pool deck. Ensure swimmers are not using the bathrooms in the hallway as they are for spectators, coaches and officials only. Keep the entry area clear as it is a fire hazard.

(4) Locker Room: Stand/sit between locker rooms listening for horseplay or kids misbehaving. If you hear potential problems, horseplay, etc. occuring in the locker room or notice swimmers have been in there for a long period of time, call into the locker room to stop misbehaving and exit the locker room. If problems persist, find a Session Coordinator or OCY coach and two adults of the appropriate gender will enter the locker room to assess the situation. Never enter the locker rooms without the approval from the Session Coordinator, OCY Coach, Meet Ref, or Meet Director. Ensure only swimmers are entering the locker rooms and that no swim meet participants are using the doors to access the gym. Ensure no adults enter the locker room from the pool deck or from the gym. Assist in clearing the locker rooms for cleaning and keep swimmers out during cleaning.

(5) Entry to Pool Deck: Stand between the check in table and 50/50 table. Keep spectators off the stairs. Ensure ONLY swimmers, coaches, and officials gain entry to the pool deck. Keep the entry area clear as it is a fire hazard.

(6) Top of Stairs (Near Swim Office): Stand/sit at the top of stairs near the swim office. Make sure spectators stay off the steps and remain seated and do not lean over the railing.

(7) Top of Stairs (Near Timing Stand): Stand/sit at top of stairs closest to the timing stand. Ensure spectators do not get on deck unless they are timers during a distance session. Please make sure they are walking to the blocks and not to the swimmers. Make sure spectators remain seated and do not lean over the railing.

(8) Bottom of Stairs (Timing Stand): Stand/sit at the bottom of the stairs closest to the timing stand. Ensure spectators do not get on deck unless they are timers during a distance session. Please make sure they are walking to the blocks and not to the swimmers.

(9) As needed and determined by Session Coordinator.

Session Coordinator (3 points)
Coordinates and supports all volunteers at swim meets. The session coordinator is the lead volunteer that all other volunteers report to and seek out for help, guidance or conflict resolution. This position requires special in-house training. Those interested in becoming a session coordinator should contact the our Meet Coordinators.

Session Coordinator Shadow (1 point)
Will shadow and assist OCY Session Coordinators at select home meets to gain a better understanding of what Session Coordinators do. This is a good first step to take before making the decision to pursue Session Coordinator training.

Relief (1 point)
Must have experience in all jobs as you will rotate to give volunteers a break, including Head Timer/Runner, Lane Timers, Safety Marshals, Security, etc.