First and foremost, ALL members are required to volunteer their time at all FAST hosted meets, as officials, timers, bullpen, concessions, etc. FAST's volunteer requirements for team hosted meets are listed below. 

 

BECOME A USA SWIMMING OFFICIAL

Have you ever considered becoming an official?  Offiicals are on the frontline of the volunteer efforts in USA Swimming and they get to play a part in the most exciting part of the sport, the swim meets!  Each team in USA Swimming is encouraged to have a pool of certified officials in order to properly play our part in supporting the volunteer needs in the sport at the local level. 

FAST is in need of more registered officials who are current members of the team.  If you are a parent of a swimmer who regularly attends swim meets, please consider the opportunity.  It is a great way to learn more about the sport and form some great friendships along the way. 

Ozark Swimming schedules clinics throughout the year for interested parties to begin the certification process.  If you are interested in becoming an official, please contact Jeff Heveroh.

 

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SUB-COMMITTEES:

Additional opportunities exist to serve as a member of the Board of Directors by contacting the FAST Nominating Committee, or you can assist with volunteer needs on any of the board directed strategic plan sub-committees.

 

Please consider supporting the team with your time and talents.  If you are interested in serving or have questions/concerns, please contact Angie Dorsey at [email protected].  

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MEET WORKER POLICY

Swim meets require parent involvement and FAST needs stroke & turn judges, timers, meet directors, hospitality staff, safety marshals and much more to operate a meet that adheres to USA Swimming guidelines and sanctions.

Each family must work these meets as listed in the “Which meets will my family be working” section.  A session is defined as one job assignment on the Event Job Sign Up page. A session is typically about 4-5 hours of work. The work requirement is not cumulative if you have multiple swimmers on the team. It is a per-family requirement.

Currently, FAST is targeting to host/co-host 4 meets for the 2023-2024 season. The tentative dates are:

 Fall FASTival, November 17-19, 2023, Pattonville High School 

FAST Last Chance, February 10-11, 2024, Pattonville High School

Senior Champs, March 1-3, 2024, Pattonville High School*

John Traube Memorial May 3-5, 2024, Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center on the campus of Edwardsville High School

 

*Senior Champs is a co-hosted meet with Seahawks.  FAST and Seahawks will be responsible for computer operators, concessions, and hospitality for the weekend only.  Timers will be provided by attending teams.  Depending on job availability, this meet can be used as a make up meet fot other FAST meets’ volunteer requirements.

 

Which meets will my family be working?

• The Fall FASTival meet will be staffed by families of swimmers who do not attend the 2023 Ozark “A” Champs meet.

  • This is a 5 session meet and will likely require 2 sessions per family.

• The FAST Last Chance meet will be staffed by families who did not work the November meet and families who have swimmers in the FAST Last Chance meet.

  • This is a 3 session meet and will likely require 1 session per family.  More sessions will be required if numbers dictate a need.

  • This means some families will work both Fall FASTival and FAST Last Chance

• The John Trauble Memorial meet will require staffing from families of swimmers in all groups with the exception of FAST Prep.

  • This is a 5 session meet and will likely require 2 sessions per family, if not 3 sessions for families with swimmers in our highest level groups.

 

The number of sessions required per family for each meet will be determined by the meet director prior to the meet according to the number of volunteer responsibilities that are needed for each meet and are therefore subject to change from what is listed in this document.

 

If a FAST family has not met their worker obligation, a $200 fine for each session not worked will be imposed. Since FAST is in need of volunteers, we would prefer families not pay to get out of working at a meet. Any family who fails to satisfy their meet worker requirement will be billed $200 per missed session on the next billing cycle after the meet.

 

What if I cannot work one or more of these meets?

If you know in advance that you will be unable to work a meet, please do one of the following:

• Contact another FAST family to  swap sessions at another meet. 

• Find a high schooler in need of service hours and have them work your sessions.

• Send your high school age, non FAST team member, to work your sessions.

• Hire someone to work for you.

• Use the FAST “I need help finding someone to work a meet for me” spreadsheet to locate someone willing to volunteer for you.(This will be a link in the Monday Minutes each week beginning in September 2024.)

 

Check your calendars now to ensure that you do not need to make arrangements for a later meet!  The meet director will be unable to help those who wait until later in the season to realize they cannot work the later meets.

 

We need volunteers at these meets more than the $200 per missed session penalty.

 

What if I am an official?

For those families with a parent who is a USA Swimming official, officiating fulfills your FAST meet worker requirement, and you will not need to sign up for any of the other meet jobs.

 

New this year for FAST officials:  For FAST officials who work one of the 4 listed FAST hosted meets that you work, FAST will pay one of your children’s meet fees using the following guidelines:

1. Officials who work at least 2 sessions of the Fall FASTival will have meet fees for that meet for one child credited back to their account on their December 1 invoice

2. Officials whose swimmers attend either A Champs or FAST Last Chance, and who work at least 2 sessions of FAST Last Chance will have their A Champs or Last Chance fees for one child credited back to their account on the March 1 invoice.

3. Officials who work  at least 2 sessions of Senior Champs will have meet fees for that meet for one child credited back to their account on their April 1 invoice.

4. Officials who work  at least 2 sessions of the John Traube Memorial meet will have meet fees for that meet for one child credited back to their account on their June 1 invoice.