SWIM MEET VOLUNTEERS

The Goodman Waves pride themselves on hosting fun, smooth, and efficient home meets.  Did you know?

  • About 40 volunteers are needed to run a home swim meet.
  • Parents/guardians or family members are expected to volunteer at home meets in which they have a swimmer participating.
  • We are obligated to provide Timers and Clerk of Course for All-City Swim Meet hosted at other pools.
  • Parents/guardians are required to volunteer when Goodman hosts All City Swim & Dive meets.

We welcome friends, family and neighbors to help us out! Volunteering is a fun and rewarding way to make the Goodman Waves successful. Thanks for all your help and support – we couldn’t do it without you!

Volunteer Requirements
Sign-Up
Position Descriptions
Questions

VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS
We need you! Running a successful swim meet is no small feat. About 40 volunteers are needed to run a smooth and efficient swim meet. Parents are expected to volunteer at home meets in which they have a swimmer participating. We welcome friends, family and neighbors to help us out! Volunteering is a fun and rewarding way to make the Goodman Waves successful.

Check out the volunteer position descriptions to learn how you can support the Goodman Waves Swim Team! Thanks for all your help and support – we couldn’t do it without you!
 

SIGN-UP
Sign-up is easy on TeamUnify!  With the exception of our awesome coaching staff, every hour of work that goes into our team is on a volunteer basis. To make our team work, hours of volunteer time are needed. Whether you love to run a stop-watch, sell concessions, or herd children, we can find a job for you. Signing up to help is easier now than it ever has been. When you register your kiddos for a meet – simply click on the "Job Sign-up" button and select a job.

If you wish to volunteer at a meet but haven't signed up, the Volunteer Coordinator will try and find a role for you. However, if we have enough volunteers, sit back and relax and sign up next time. Contact us with any questions.

To Sign-Up

  1. "Sign-In" to our TeamUnify site.
  2. At the bottom of the home page, all the swim meets for the year are listed. Click on "Job Signup" next to the home meet.
  3. Check the box next to the job you want to work and click on "Sign Up" to save your job. Please include your email when signing up to receive important reminders regarding your shift.
  4. Volunteering is only required for our home meets and at the All City Swim Meet. 

You will receive a reminder email two days before the meet.  You can make changes to your assignment online prior to receiving the email. You are responsible for filling a spot you have signed up for. If you are not able to volunteer for a spot you committed to, it is your responsibility to find a replacement.
 

POSITION DESCRIPTIONS
ANNOUNCER
Located at a shaded table next to the lanes, this post has a "bird’s eye" view.

  • Must feel comfortable with a microphone and name pronunciation.
  • Announce staging and meet information and if time permits, play some music to get the energy moving.
  • Knowledge of how a swim meet runs and officiating is a bonus as they impact the tone and operation of the meet.

AWARDS Print out
This position has two responsibilities:

  1. Ribbons
    • Place printed labels on ribbons and organize them in folders by gender and event.
    • Hand out as many ribbons as possible at meets; however, it’s not always feasible. Remaining ribbons are organized and given to the head coach.  
    • Swimmers from both teams will receive remaining ribbons from their team coaches on the Monday following the meet.
  2. Results:
    • Post (tape up) results near concessions.  Results are printed and posted by gender. Place signs (Girls Results and Boys Results) above the results.

CLERK OF COURSE
Clerk of Course is the staging area for the 10 and under swimmers. Here swimmers are sorted into the correct heats and lanes prior to their event.

  • Clerks are responsible for reviewing the heat sheet and placing swimmers in chairs according to event, heat, and lane.
  • Clerks escort swimmers one heat at a time to the blocks for their races. To maintain the correct order, 8 and under swimmers need to hold hands as they walk.
  • This job is best suited for a calm and patient individual who can stay organized under pressure.
  • Most swim meets will only line up the swimmers for the 10 and under events. 11 and older swimmers are responsible for getting themselves behind the blocks and do not need to go through Clerk of Course.

COMPUTER SCORING OR SCORERS
This is the team that manages the technical side of a meet. Some training is required and we are happy to get you started!

  • Having some swim meet experience is helpful, but not essential.  
  • Every swimmer’s race time is recorded using a computer program called Meet Manager. Like any computer program, it’s easy to use once you know how, but it does take some experience to use it with comfort. Even the most experienced scorer occasionally runs into problems or situations they haven’t encountered before, so having experience really helps.
  • The best candidate for this job would be comfortable using a number pad and using it quickly. It is an easy thing to learn.

CONCESSIONS
Feed the masses!

  • Concessions is broken into two shifts. The early shift helps with setting up and the later shift helps with taking down. Both shifts also spend time doing sales during the meet.
  • Heat sheets (meet programs) are also sold at concessions.
  • Concessions volunteers work with money and make change.

HEAD TIMER
This position supervises the timers. Head timers should have timing and/or swimming experience.  

  • Prior to the meet, the Head Timer will verify that we have 16 timers. If not, head timer will secure more timers.
  • The Head Timer will assign two timers to a lane and will pass out their clipboards and stop watches.
  • The Head Timer ensures that the timers are doing their job properly.  
  • The Head Timer may also serve as a back-up timer by starting a watch at the beginning of each heat, in the event that one of the timers fails to start their watch.

TIMER
This job is a splash...literally. Get right on the edge of the pool and press the button on your stopwatch. It's that easy. This is probably the most basic job at a meet, and requires no swim background.  

  • Prior to the meet, Timers meet with the Head Timer by the lockers for pairing and lane assignment.
  • Following this meeting, Timers will meet with the Head Official for meet instructions.  
  • There are two timers per lane.  
  • Their job is to time the swimmer in their lane each race (or heat).  
  • Both timers record their time on a ‘lane-timer sheet’, which is taken by the runner.  It’s essentially starting a watch on the flash and the beep of the starting system and stopping it when the swimmer in your lane touches the wall. As a volunteer in this area you may be required to be a runner.

OFFICIAL
All-City dual meets are run by officials. Officials, who wear white shirts and blue bottoms, judge the swimming rules and make sure the swim meet is run safely.

  • Officials start each race, record the order of finish, and watch for illegal strokes and turns.
  • This position requires swimming knowledge and training.
  • The official team is always willing to mentor any volunteer interested in being a swim official.

RUNNER
Runners, a fairly straightforward position, are required to “run” information from the officials and timers to the Scorers.

  • Runners collect sheets from the Timers (each lane) at the end of each event and takes them to the Computer Scorers. At the end of each ‘event’ (for example, Event 11, the Girls 8 and under 25 Free, which may consist of several ‘heats’ or races) each lane will have one ‘lane-timer sheet’ filled out with the times of all of the swimmers that competed in that lane in that event.  
  • Runners also collect DQ (disqualification) information from the Officials and pass this onto the Computer Scorers.

 

Thank you for reading through the descriptions and helping our team to be successful.

 

Set-Up and Take Down

Not a ‘stand-alone’ job, but volunteers are needed the evening before a meet for set-up or right after a meet to clean-up, collect lost and found, etc. Goodman Pool lifeguards are also there to help us. Please check out our Set-up/Take Down information.

 

QUESTIONS?

I want to see my child swim?
Volunteers will always be able to leave their post to watch their own child swim.

I don’t know anything about swimming or swim meets?
Most positions require little training and we’re happy to train on-site.

Do I have to stay the entire meet?
Yes. Most positions require that you stay the entire meet and most of the time your swimmer will have to stay for the entire meet. Ask! We’ll do our best to accommodate most situations.