SSCD Volunteerism

Volunteering by family members of the Dolphins is a critical role that makes the South Snohomish County Dolphins operate successfully.

Although the day-to-day management is headed by the Program Director/Head Coach, members from many of the families are involved in governance via a volunteer Board of Directors. As your child develops in competitive swimming, the club will look for your ideas and support in this vital volunteer role. Serving on the Board of Directors is a rewarding way to stay involved with your child's swimming and have a hands-on role in governance of the team.

Most parents, however, will need to serve the team by completing their required volunteer sessions during SSCD hosted swim meets. There are dozens of ways that parents can be involved during the meets. From timer to concessions, from ribbons to being the meet referee, there is the perfect job for you!

The bottom line is that we can't run this team without you and every member has an important role to fill!

Volunteers Expectations and Sign Up Information:

SSCD relies on a strong support system of parent volunteers to help run all our meets, events and team activities.  Volunteers are the life-blood of USA Swimming and the backbone of our sport.  Your role as a volunteer is vital to the team and will have a great impact on your child's athletic environment.
 
All SSCD families are required to volunteer (regardless of group level or meet participation) over the course of the year at swim meets and other various team activities to keep the club strong.
 
All successful swim programs require a significant commitment on the part of both the swimmers and their families. With that in mind, the objectives of this policy are to:
  • Foster parent/family involvement in the SSCD community;
  • Distribute the work among all families;
  • Ensure all team hosted meets and events are fully staffed; and
  • Prevent increased training costs as a result of hiring paid staff for meets.
Volunteer Requirements & Opportunities:
 

All families are REQUIRED to volunteer 30 hours over the course of the swim season regardless of their child's group level or meet participation. If a family joins mid-season or leaves the club before the end of a season, hours will be pro-rated as appropriate.Family members age 14 and above can fulfill volunteer hours with Meet Director approval. The majority of the volunteer opportunities will occur during our three hosted meets and you should plan to fulfill most if not all of your hours by signing up for 2 volunteer sessions of each hosted meet.

  • Jobs will be posted a few weeks before the meet and you can sign up for several different jobs throughout the multi day meets.
  • There will be other limited opportunities through the year to assist with various events such as swimathon or an annual banquet.

       Hosted Meets:

  • Autum Open in Late Sept/Early October
  • Winter Open in Late January/Early February
  • Spring Open - In late April/early May
 
Failure to Fulfill Requirements: Hours not worked at the end of each season will be billed at a rate of $50/hour. Families needing accommodations should notify Team Admin/Treasurer as soon as an issue arises – exceptions and alternate volunteer opportunites will be considered on a case-by-case basis for extenuating circumstances that are identified in a timely manner. Note that the charge at the end of the season, if no hours are served, will equate to $1500. The team NEEDS your participation to keep the club operating, so the rate is set accordingly.  
 
Fall Registrations will not be accepted for families who fail to fulfill volunteer hour requirements from the previous year and who fail to pay for unworked hours from the previous year until such payment is made. 
 
Miscellaneous:
  • Each family is encouraged to volunteer at every SSCD-hosted meet even if you have completed your volunteer requirements.  
  • In addition to regular season meets, each family who has a child qualify for a championship meet is expected to, and will likely be required to volunteer at that meet, even if they have completed their volunteer requirements.
  • Hours cannot be banked or carried over from one year to the next.
  • Member hours cannot be donated from one account to another. 
  • Matching funds from employers cannot be used to fulfill volunteer hours.
  • All hours must be accrued during SSCD sponsored events; this may include committees, banquets, meets or SSCD approved jobs in which SSCD has volunteer obligations.
Hours Tracking
 
It is the responsibility of each family to ensure that their hours worked are reported by signing up through team unify for available volunteer positions when posted. Hours will be posted to each family’s account once a month or as soon as available.
 
How to Check Volunteer Hours
1. Sign in to your SSCD account on the SSCD Team Unify website
2. On the left-hand menu click on MY ACCOUNT then
3. Click on Account Info in the sub-menu
4. Choose the SERVICE HOURS TAB
5. Look for your jobs and hours listed under WORKED- scroll to the right to see your BALANCE
 
How to Report Volunteer Hours
 
Hours Worked Outside of a Meet:
Any volunteer hours worked outside of a meet must be preapproved for credit. Once approved and worked, send an email to team  Team Admin ( [email protected] ) .  In the subject line write: volunteer hours.  List your total hours by date with a brief description, such as 10/3 sold shirts
@ picnic 2.5 hrs.;  we will log the hours to your account and follow-up with an email to confirm that they have been received.  Make sure to include the parent’s name as well as the swimmer’s name. 
 
Hours Worked at A SSCD Hosted Meet:
When you sign up for a job using the online Job Signup, it will generate a list that we will have at the meet for you to sign in/out at the Clerk of Course.  When you arrive at the meet, you will need to SIGN-IN at the work share table and you will receive a volunteer badge.  When you are finished working you will need to return to the table in order to SIGN-OUT by filling in your total hours worked and returning your badge.  This is how we will confirm that you worked your hours so please make sure that you sign in and out each time you work a session at a meet.  There may come a time that we ask for food donations for meet hospitality. For credit of Hospitality and Concessions donations, a list confirming that the items were received will be kept by the hospitality crew at the meet so make sure they are aware when you bring in your donation.
 
Hours Worked at A Meet That SSCD Has an Obligation:
For championship meets, such as PNS Champs/Sectional and some away meets, we may be required to provide volunteers. In most cases, we will create an online signup for these jobs. However, it is good idea to also email   ( [email protected] )  your hours as well after working the meet. 
 
Hours Worked at A Meet NOT Hosted By SSCD:
Other than stated above, hours worked do NOT count towards your SSCD Volunteer requirement. Volunteer hours from meets will be updated as soon as possible and typically are in the system a week or two after each meet. 
 
Please feel free to email swimsscd@gmail. com  if you have questions about your volunteer hours. 
 
We are thankful and appreciative of the support of our incredible SSCD families!