Champs Meet
CHAMPS 2025: Saturday, 6/28/2025
The Championship Meet (or "Champs" as you will hear people call it) is held the last day of the season at Miwok Aquatics Center at the College of Marin, Indian Valley Campus, Novato.
Swimmers do not need to qualify for Champs. Anyone is welcome. You sign up for events for Champs just like you do for any other swim meet. If you have a swimmer in Champs, YOU MUST VOLUNTEER without exceptions.
Description of volunteer jobs:
Referees - Experience required
● All Referees, Stroke and Turn Judges, Announcers and Starters are to attend a meeting with the Meet Directors at 8AM regardless of which shift you are working.
● With the Meet Director(s), the Referee(s) presides over the meet with Stroke & Turn Judges, Announcers, Starters and all Head Coaches. Officiates the meet and arbitrates disputes. Experience required.
● The Head Referee focuses on officiating. Meet Directors will coordinate the operation of the meet, communicating directly with the Announcer, Starter, and officials on the other side of the pool to ensure smooth transitions between the East and West ends of the pool.
Starters - Experience Required
● Morning starters are to report to the meet director/head referee at the East end of the pool by 8AM - this is for both the first and second shift starters. Afternoon starters are to report to the meet director/head referee at the East end of the pool by - this is for both the first and second shift starters.
● The Starters attend the Referee meeting. Starters begin each race and call false starts. One starter system will be set up at each side of the pool on the blocks end. They are positioned 10 yards down so that swimmers and timers in the farthest lanes can see clearly.
● Develop your own pattern or style, but try to be consistent over the course of the meet. Swimmers quickly learn what to expect, and will anticipate the same instruction sequence for the next event
● Keep commands sharp and even-toned. Leave a break after the “marks” command to allow swimmers time to come down and hold. Don’t let the “marks” command blur into the actual start signal.
● Do not let one swimmer control the start by being too slow to come down and hold. If necessary, stand the swimmers up (e.g. “swimmers please stand up”). Give explicit instructions to the swimmer at issue (e.g. “lane #4, please come down on my command” or “lane 5, can you hear me?”)
● How long to hold? Just long enough to ensure that all swimmers are still. ● Soft focus, or focus at a distance to see all the lanes at once using peripheral vision. Don’t focus on individual lanes, or try to scan the lanes.
● False starts. This should be quick, otherwise the swimmers may not hear the false start signal. This will become instinctive to the point that you will be able to react even before the swimmers enter the water.
● First false start is called on an individual swimmer, and must be announced (e.g. “one false start on lane #7”) and verified with the referee. Second false start results in D.Q.
● Backstroke. Feet must be below the top of the gutter on the start. You may need to give explicit instructions to the swimmer at issue.
Stroke & Turn(S&T)- Experience Preferred
● Morning Stroke and Turn judges are to report to the meet director/head referee at the East end of the pool by 8AM - this is for both the first and second shift S&T judges.
● 2nd half Stroke and Turn judges are to report to the meet director/head referee at the East end of the pool by the start of 15-18 backstroke events.
● Four judges at each end of the pool (two per side per end) ensure that the rules for each stroke, turn and finish are observed. Signed DQ slips are sent by way of the Runners to the Computer Room. This should happen at a minimum at the end of each event. This is critical to keeping the flow of results in sync with the meet.
● Relays are swum at the East end of the Pool. Relay Exchange Judges are positioned next to lanes 1, 4, 5 and 8 on the diving block side. For eight and under races, Relay Judges are also positioned next to lanes 1 and 8 on the block and building sides. Two signed dual confirmation forms are necessary for a relay DQ.
Line-Up Leads for 8 and Under
● Leads report to the information desk by 8AM to get their lane assignments. ● There are 3 leads for boys and 3 leads for Girls.
● The job of the line-up leads and crew is to get the under-8 swimmers lined up in the two waiting areas before their events—girls and boys will both line up on the West end behind the diving platform. The leads have the master lists of swimmers and get the Lane Marshalls into the appropriate order in the holding area.
● The Leads and traffic monitors then clear the walkways of parental traffic so the lane marshals can walk the swimmers down to their lanes in groups, sending down more groups as necessary.
● Line-up leads need to come by the information desk to get lane sheets to distribute to the Lane Marshalls —one set of sheets for each lane marshal. so 18 sets for girls, 18 sets for boys.
Line-Up Marshals for 8 and Under
● Marshals report to the girls and boys line-up area by 8AM to get their lane assignments. ● There are 2 lane marshals per lane for a total of 18 on the East side and 18 on the West side, or 36 total. The Marshalls lead the 8 and unders to their lanes in two groups. The Leads can help facilitate this.
LINING UP THE SWIMMERS
o Once the announcers call for the 8 & unders to line up the fun begins. Relay swimmers will head to the pool for their relay, then will join the line-up. The line is arranged from slowest heat to fastest, (unlike the regular season in which heats are scheduled from fastest to slowest) so when the relay swimmers arrive, they head to the back of the line.
o Boys Line-Up: The boys will line up behind the diving platform on the south facing side closest to the grass hill. The boys line up behind a lane marshal (LM) who is holding a number sign for their lane. All boys should be lined up before the event begins, except the relay swimmers as noted above. Each lane has 2 LMs for a total of 18 parent volunteers per side. LM #1 will walk the first group of boys down to the pool and stay down there to assist the swimmers getting ready to swim. LM #2 will walk small groups of boys down to the pool, and then return up to base camp for more boys as necessary. All LMs should have a list of boys who are in their lanes.
o Girls Line-Up: The girls line up behind the warm up pool, under the overhang by the fitness center. The girls’’ line-up runs the same way as the girls’,
GETTING THE FIRST ROUND OF SWIMMERS DOWN TO THE POOL
o When the time comes to get the swimmers to the pool, each lane sends a group of 6-8 swimmers down at a time. Begin with lane 1, as they have the farthest walk to get to their lane.
o The lane marshal must also get the parent traffic out of the way, so that kids can pass.
GETTING THE PARENT TRAFFIC OUT OF THE WAY
o No spectators on deck, so this should not be a problem.
IM SWIMMERS
o Since IM swimmers need to start on the blocks side of the pool where there are no spectators, getting them to their starting position should be fairly easy.
Announcers - Experience Required
● Morning announcers are to report to the meet director/head referee at the East end of the pool by 8AM. Afternoon announcers are to report to the meet director/head referee at the East end of the pool at the start of the 15-18 backstroke events.
● Morning shift Announcers are in position at the Announcer’s table at 8AM. Afternoon Announcers are in position by the start of the 15-18 backstroke events to direct arriving parents and children to volunteer meetings and warm-up lanes and to remind parents that information is posted at the field entrance and in programs. Announcers identify each event as requested by Meet Directors.
● The announcers will be positioned mid-pool on the BUILDING SIDE of the pool so they can have the best view of what’s happening in the pool. Announcers will announce swimmers in each heat after the start of the heat.
● Swimmer announcements must be sharp, and brief, to avoid delaying the meet IE: “lane 4, John Doe” “lane 5, Mike Smith” Do not squeeze in team names and other extraneous information.
Timing (Head Timers and Lane Timers)
● Morning Head Timers are to meet with the Timer Director at 8AM at the East end of the pool. Second half Head Timers are to meet with the Timer Director at the start of the 15-18 backstroke events at the East end of the pool.
● Head Timers will work with the Timer Director to hand out equipment to the timers and during the meet start backup hand timers to be used when needed.
● First half Timers are to report to the head timer at the East end of the pool by 8:10AM - this is for both the first and second shift timers.
● Second Half Timers are to report to the head timer by the start of the 15-18 backstroke events - this is for both the first and second shift timers.
● 2nd shift morning and afternoon should report to their lanes as soon as Backstroke ends; listen for an announcement.
● Timers are expected to actively stand and watch the swimmers finish to accurately capture the swimmers finish. One timer will use a hand timer at the start and end of the race and others will record the hand time on to the heat sheet provided.
Ribbon Workers
● Please report to the Ribbons desk at the atrium information desk at the East end of the pool 5 - 10 min prior to the start of your shift.
● You will be responsible for coordinating and issuing ribbons to each event and provide them in an orderly fashion to the participating team.
Desk Runners
● Please report to the computer desk at the appropriate end of the pool 5 - 10 min prior to the start of your shift.
● You will be responsible for picking up heat sheets from the timer and giving them ones for upcoming races. Also posting results when available.
DQ Runners for Judges
● Please report to the head referee the appropriate end of the pool 5 - 10 min prior to the start of your shift.
● You will be responsible for picking up the DQ slips from the S&T judges and getting them to the referees and to the computer room.
Drink and Snack Runner
● Please report to the snack bar host coordinator 5-10 minutes prior to the start of your shift. ● You will work with the snack bar team to get food and drinks to the officials during the meet as needed.
Gatekeeper
● Please check in with your team volunteer coordinator and report at the assigned time and the morning/afternoon First shift - report to the information desk at 8AM/11AM to get an Orange vest - 2nd shift please find 1st shift volunteer and take over.
● You are responsible for keeping parents from behind the blocks - making sure only swimmers and coaches enter the area.
Set up meet - FRIDAY
● Check in with Meet Director on Friday at 1PM. We will NOT need team tents on the pool deck. Riptide will take care of supplying the tents for the pool deck. This year we are asking all volunteers from all teams to work together to set up the main pool area and then help each other to set up team tents. We feel this is a more efficient process than having two groups working at the same time but not working together.
Take down meet
● Teams can begin by taking down their own team tents as the meet is winding down. There are 30 volunteers assigned to this role. Please have all your take down crew show up so we can make the process quick and efficient.
Red Green Paddle Workers
● Morning paddle workers report to the meet director/head referee at the East end of the pool by 8:30AM - this is for both the first and second shift volunteers.
● Afternoon paddle workers report to the meet director/head referee at the East end of the pool by 11AM -
● You are responsible for communicating with the starter and announcer when the current heat ends and when the next heat may begin.
Computer Desk Workers
● Morning - Please be at the appropriate desk by 8AM
● Afternoon - Please be at the appropriate desk by 11AM
Parking workers
● Directed by college police, you will be stationed at the front gate and identified parking lots to manage the flow of traffic.
Pool Marshals
● Report to Station to ensure kids are not entering the dive pool or going into closed off areas the warm-up pool marshals are there to ensure kids are entering the pool properly and not horsing around. Also monitoring no spectators on deck.
Awards are given out to swimmers who place 1st through 16th overall in an event. Medals are awarded to places 1-8 and ribbons to places 9-19. These swimmers earn points for their team and at the end of the day the team with the highest number of points wins a trophy.
All Seals families are invited to the end of season Champs banquet at Tam Student Center on Sunday, 6/29/25, 5-7PM.
