NPY Gators Volunteer or Opt Out 2025-2026
Volunteers are essential to a successful swim season. As you may or may not know the Penndel Swim League
is an organization that depends significantly on the volunteer efforts of the families of the swimmers to serve
in a variety of roles to ensure the success of the meets. In order for the cost to remain manageable,
volunteers are needed to serve as timers, runners, judges, and officials. Please note that some of the jobs
require experience and/or training. Any questions regarding volunteering can be directed to Heather Wauls at [email protected].
At the start of the season families agree to the volunteer terms OR agree to “opt out” and pay a $300 opt-out
fee. For those families that choose the opt out option, the credit card on file will be charged at the start of the
season. It is a flat $300/family regardless of how many swimmers are in the same family. For those families
that agree to volunteer, the credit card will only be charged if the volunteer requirements have not been met
by the end of the regular season. All volunteer monies collected will go directly to supporting the swimmers
on the team.
The requirements of the volunteer terms are as follows:
1. Each family will work at least 4 regular season jobs. These jobs include but are not limited to: meet
volunteers such as lane timer, snack stand, runner, or official; Saturday pretzel sales. (1 family member
volunteering is fulfillment of the requirement)
2. Each family is required to volunteer at the Winter Luau Invitational on January 18, 2026.
hosted by NPY and require a significant number of volunteers. These meets can also be used to to 'make up' missed volunteer jobs.
3. End-of-Season championship meet volunteers as needed. These meets are not at NPY, and swimmers must
qualify to participate. Host teams will tell us how many volunteers we need to provide. Families who
attend these meets can expect to volunteer in some manner.
Special Note from the YMCA Adminstration: "Please be aware that any individuial entering the North Penn YMCA must be identified, due to this being a child care facility. If you are not a member, we will ask for identification and use the Raptor Technical System to print a pass from your drivers license. Thank you for understanding and helping us keep our facility safe."
Meet Volunteer Job Descriptions (please note some jobs are only avaible during special meets)
Deck Parent/Ready Bench- This essential position helps the coaches by monitoring swimmers on deck, makes sure that the swimmers are making safe choices while in the team area, keeps the swimmers lined up and ready for upcoming events and gets them excited for their race. This role also
Timer: This is the most popular meet job among both new and experienced swim parents, you really get a close-up view of all the action happening in the pool! Our timers use a plunger and stopwatch to time the swimmer in your assigned lane. There are two timers per lane; one timer has a plunger and stopwatch, the other timer has a stopwatch and a clipboard with event papers that are specific to their lane. Our plungers will start timing on their own once the starter buzzer is engaged, the timer must hit the plunger once the swimmer touches the wall to end their race. Timers must start the stop watches when they see the starter light and hit it again once the swimmer touches the wall to end their race. The timer with the clipboard writes the time from the stopwatch onto the corresponding sheets and event. No cell phones allowed while timing.
Back Up Timers- Act as a timer and be prepared to step in for another timer who missed a start. Provide breaks for timers as needed. No cell phones while timing.
Place Judge - The place judge stands at the end of pool and writes down which lane finishes 1st, 2nd, etc. No technical knowledge of swimming is required, but it does require the ability to focus your attention for close races. No prior experience necessary. No cell phones while judging.
Stroke and Turn Judge – Level I Certification is required. A Certification Class will be offered prior to the first swim meet. These judges follow the action poolside and observe swimmers to be sure they are performing legal strokes and turns. Illegal strokes, kicks, and turns are reported to the referee to ensure fair competition. No cell phones during the meet.
Referee/Starter - Level II Certification is required. A Certification Class will be offered prior to the first swim meet. This judge signals the start of each heat and is in charge of all 'wet side' administration and decisions. No cell phones during the meet.
Pool Deck Clean-Up- Assist in returning pool deck items to designated areas, assist in returning timing equipment to pool deck supply closet, assist in cleaning up and restoring order to the pool deck. No prior experience needed.
Snack Stand (includes set up and/or clean up)- Snack stand volunteers will work 1/2 of the meet and assist in setting up or cleaning up (must be able to come at 11:45am or stay up to 60 minutes after meet is over). 1st half volunteers will assist in setting up snack stand, including: retrieving items from Swim Team closet, setting out food, setting up hot dog roller, preparing coffee urns, etc. 2nd half volunteers will assist in cleaning up of snack stand, including: cleaning out coolers, cleaning hot dog roller, returning supplies to Swim Team closet. No prior experience needed.
Score Table Runner- On-deck position that collects lane timer sheets and assists the score table as needed; stock coaches water cooler as needed; other small tasks as assigned.
Scoreboard Console Operator- Operates the scoreboard console: ensures the proper race is set in the computer; notes when heats/lanes don’t have swimmers. Prior training/experience required. “Console Shadow” observes the console operator and practices under their guidance to learn how to use the console and become experienced
50/50 Sales: This position is great for a social parent who loves to move around the meet and get their steps in while selling raffle tickets!
Announcer: This is a great job for someone with a strong voice and an ability to correctly pronounce names. You announce the names of the swimmers in each event, and work with the Starter/Referee to keep the meet moving quickly and smoothly.
Scoreboard Console Operator: The Colorado computer operator is in charge of making sure all of the plungers are functioning properly (timing), noticing if/when the timers have not pushed the plunger to stop their timer, taking screen shots of each race, keeping track of events, and making sure that the starter resets the plungers after each race. Must be able to arrive early to test equipment.
Pretzel Sales Jobs: (Saturdays during swim season): Arrival time for pretzel sales is 9:30 a.m. Pretzel sellers must pick up the pretzels at Philly Pretzel Factory on Main Street in Lansdale and be set up and ready to sell at 9:30am. Gloves, serving tissue, related supplies are in the swim team closet in the Deming Pool Hallway, the Pretzel Sale Bin is clearly marked. The cash box must be retrieved from the Aquatics Office. Price is TBD, cash only. We do not accept Venmo. Job ends when pretzels are gone OR 12:30pm when swim lessons end. Take note of how many pretzels were sold are and write that number on the paper in the cash box. That cash box is then returned to the Aquatics Office. Leftover pretzels can be put in the lifeguard room. Supply bin should be put back in the closet. Please note the need for additional supplies to the Pretzel Sale Coordinator.
Administrative Official: PennDel AO trainig is required. An AO from each team record the results following each race and track the team scores. This position looks through the printouts from the computer table, cross references that the disqualifications slips were entered properly, goes through the timer sheets to check for any discrepancies, and monitors the finish judge slips. This position makes sure that everything matches up.
Snack Stand Coordinator: Coordinate collection of all food items for every home meet. Ensure that the snack stand workers are set up and prepared prior to the meet and that all items are cleaned and stored neatly after a meet. Season-long job.
Snack Stand: This position is a great place to work if you're not interested in watching the whole meet, you get to interact a lot with both kids and parents. Please arrive early to set up, work the snack bar and stay until the end of meet to break down the snack bar. We place a few parents in this job so that each parent can pop away to watch the meet when your swimmer is about to race then return to the table. If the job is split, then the first half volunteers arrive early to set up and work until mid-meet, the second half volunteers arrive mid-meet to take over and stay late to clean up after the meet.
End of Season Party Crew: These positions will help with set up and breakdown/clean-up for the end of season awards. Specifics vary depending on the venue, but generally include setting up tables, chairs, tablecloths and food prior to the event and then putting tables and chairs away after the event, sweeping the floor and other general clean-up tasks as needed.
Volunteer Co-Coordinator: This position involves checking volunteers in at meets and securing replacements for no-shows/last minute cancellations. This person will also answer any meet-day questions about various volunteer tasks.
