Hello Waldon Swim Families!

Our new volunteer policy was explained and acknowledged in the registration forms and is listed here. Volunteer sign ups will open on Tuesday, May 19th at 7:00 pm. I will be at the Open House to answer any questions before job sign ups open!

Our team runs on 100% parent volunteer fuel.

Each meet requires a large number of volunteers in order to run the meet smoothly and on time. Our goal is always to have swimmers in the water - we thank you so much for making this possible!

The roles listed below are needed for meets. It is important that you are on time or early to your position to ensure a smooth meet. Should you be unable to fulfill your commitment, it is your responsibility to find your own replacement.

Volunteers work either the 1st and/or 2nd half of meets at a designated job (i.e. timer, concessions, scoring table, etc.). You will still be able to see your child swim. Workers change at the completion of the Backstroke event. Most of these jobs are fairly simple and you can be trained the night of the meet. If you find that you cannot work a shift that you signed up for, please contact the volunteer coordinator as soon as possible.

Please feel free to contact me (Allison Hardy, [email protected]) if you have any questions about volunteering. The general rule is if your swimmer is swimming, you are expected to volunteer.  

Volunteer Jobs:

Timer (Home and Away) One of the easiest jobs and also one of the most essential. Stand behind the blocks and start/stop stopwatches for each race. Write down times on a clipboard for use at the scoring table. We do not have electronic timing systems, so our swimmers rely on the manual timing of 3 timers per lane.

Back-Up Timer (Home and Away) This person will have 2 watches to start a stopwatch during every heat to serve as a backup in case someone’s stopwatch malfunctions or they miss the start.

Across-the-Board (Home and Away) Sit on the side of the pool, watching the finishes of races and saying the “order of finish” for each race. You will work with someone from the opposing team, with one person saying the order and the other writing it down. This order is used to confirm finishing places when comparing times from the timers.

Balloter (Home and Away) Work at the scoring table to determine official times for each race. The scoring table is inside and you will be seated. You will work with other balloters and have support from the computer system workers to learn how to do the job. You will receive timing slips, filled out by the timers. Each swimmer will have three recorded times and your role is to find and circle the middle time, or average two times if one is missing. (Example: a swimmer is timed by three timers with finishes of: 35.64 seconds, 35.78 seconds and 35.81 seconds. You would circle 35.78) You will also ensure that the order of finish from the timers matches the order of finish from the Across-the-Board volunteers. The role will be explained in person as well.

Table Ribbons (Home and Away- second half of meet only) Works with the Computer Official to attach stickers from results printouts to ribbons for each event and file ribbons in both teams’ ribbon boxes. This job takes place at the scoring table inside and is a seated position. Ribbon workers stay until all results are finished.

Computer - Data Entry (Home and Away) These people work at the data table to enter times after the races. You will work with the balloters and Administrative Official to determine official times for the meet. This is an indoor job where you can sit.

Clerk of the Course (Home Only) This person works with the swimmers to line them up in heats and to get them to the starting blocks for upcoming races. You will also work with a Clerk of the Course from the other team. If you work with children as a teacher, coach or youth group leader, you would be perfect for this role!

Clerk of the Course Assistant (Away and Home) This person will assist the head Clerk of the Course with directing swimmers to their races. This person works with the swimmers to line them up in heats and to get them to the starting blocks for upcoming races. Perfect for a teacher, coach or youth group leader!

Concessions (Home only) Three people for each half to assist with concessions and purchases. This is an inside job and you are able to sit. You can step out to go watch your swimmer swim. NOTE: First half concessions volunteers need to check in by 5:15. Concession stand opens at 5:30! First Half: Help set up the concessions area, serve walking tacos/nachos, sell candy/drinks. Second Half: Sell concessions during the 2nd half of the meet. Help clean up concessions area toward the end of the meet.

Runners (Home only) Collect timer sheets and DQ slips from officials at the end of each event. Deliver paperwork to computer table.

Safety Marshal (Home only) Monitor the pool deck for safety. This includes keeping swimmers from running on the pool deck, stopping unsafe behaviors, and managing the flow of traffic on the pool deck. This also includes keeping an eye on the pool for concerning safety situations. Please note the early start time for this position! WARMUPS CANNOT BEGIN UNTIL THE SAFETY MARSHALL IS ON THE POOL DECK!! Also, one Safety Marshall will keep the orange "Event" sign up-to-date. This person will advance the event number as it changes throughout the meet. The sign will be hanging on the pool deck and this person will need to use a remote control to change the number each time the event changes. We will give you a snazzy orange vest for this job! One Safety Marshal per half will need to update the event sign but this is an easy click of a remote.

Heat Sheet Sales (Home only) This role sells heat sheets (supplied by the team) during the first half of the meet then moves inside to help sell concessions.

Heat Ribbons (Home only) Heat ribbon worker awards heat ribbons to the winners of each heat for the 8 & Under and 9-10 age groups. Must pay close attention to the meet and be on deck when these age groups are swimming.

Hospitality (Home only) This role provides drinks (supplied by our concessions) to other volunteers and officials during the meet. You will walking, loading a cooler and then pulling a rolling cooler.

Announcer (Home only) This job involves setting up and working with the PA system at the pool. Some working knowledge of how a swim meet runs would be helpful. The announcer is responsible for informing the crowd of which swim races are coming up, scores and concession information, etc.

Meet Set-Up Chairs/Tables (Home only) Must be able to arrive at approximately 3:30-4:00pm on meet days. Involves putting up starting blocks, ropes, flags, moving chairs, arranging tables and supplies. Some heavy lifting is required for this job, but able-bodied adults should be fine!

Meet Clean Up - Chairs/Tables/Signs (Home only) Makes sure the pool is cleaned up immediately after the meet. Help with large-scale tear down, such as moving deck chairs. These specific job volunteers will be responsible for tasks such as taking down lights, removing "no parking" signs from N Polk Drive, moving trash to the dumpster, taking down flags, lane lines, etc.

Meet Clean Up - Trash/Trash Cans (Home Only) Pick up leftover trash in team crash areas and around the pool deck. Take trash bags to dumpsters across the street from the pool. Put team trash cans and recycle bins back in the team shed.

Floaters (Home and Away) You will be given a job at the meet based on the last minute needs of the team. This is not a backup position, but an open-ended volunteer who will be used as needed. When you check in for this position, you will give your cell phone number to the volunteer coordinator so you can be contacted with your job as you are needed. Sometimes volunteers get sick or have an emergency and cannot fill their positions. It's vital we have back-ups so we can have swimmers in the water!

Meet Clean Up Blocks (Home Only) Remove blocks from pool deck and put them on carts to return to team shed. Tools and carts are provided, but blocks are quite heavy and need strong people to move them!

Thank you! Go Hurricanes!