Volunteer Policy
We’re so excited for another fantastic swim season and are grateful for your family’s participation! Our team is 100% volunteer-run, and while our dedicated coaches are the only paid positions, everything else that makes our season a success relies on you and your support!
We simply cannot host meets or have a successful season without volunteers. Because of this, each family is required to volunteer at least once during the summer. While we understand that everyone has busy schedules, we want to ensure that our meets run smoothly for all swimmers.
To ensure fairness and commitment to the team, families who do not fulfill their volunteer requirements may have their swimmer pulled from individual events or relays. Our goal is to create the best experience possible for our athletes, and we appreciate your support in making that happen!
Not sure where to help? We have a spot for everyone!
- Need to keep an eye on younger children? Concessions or bullpen are great options.
- Have a swimmer who may not last the whole meet? Consider set-up or parking.
- Looking for a lower-pressure role? Clean-up and trash are great ways to pitch in.
We are happy to train you for any position—no prior experience needed! The more hands we have, the smoother everything runs. WE NEED YOU and truly appreciate your time and support!
Thank you for being a part of our team—we’re looking forward to a fantastic season together!
GO PENGUINS!
Volunteer Positions
Announcer (Home meets only) - The announcer lets the audience know what event, and heat we are on as well as making sure to announce the first and last call of each heat. They also make any announcements as needed for information and safety. They need to be ready to announce at the beginning of warm-ups.
Starter (Home meets only) - Starts each event with the announcement of the age and stroke and the words "SWIMMERS TAKE YOUR MARK", pauses to make sure that all swimmers are motionless, and then gives an electronic sound or a blast of a whistle.
Timer - Records the swimmer’s time. Each timer is provided a stopwatch and assigned a lane. Timing involves starting the stop watch on the start and stop it on the finish. You will write down the time, clear your watch, and be ready to start all over again with the next race. If both parents are at the meet it is helpful for one to time while the other takes care of the swimmer(s). Parents can switch off.
Stroke Judge - They observe strokes, turns, and finishes to see that swimmers comply with requirements for that stroke.
Runner - This is a person who gathers up the timer sheets after each event and takes them to the scorers.
Ribbons - These volunteers place labels on ribbons displaying the time and place that a swimmer received for a particular event at the meet. They then organize the ribbons by team.
Bull Pen - The Bullpen volunteers check the swimmers against the official heat sheet, get them into the correct lane order, and send the swimmers to the starting blocks.
Concessions (Home meets only) - They will help organize the stand, fill orders, handle money, make change, and clean up the stand after the meet.
Set up (Home meets only) - Arrive early to help arrange deck furniture, set up tents, PA system, racing flags, etc.
Clean up (Home meets only) - Rearrange deck furniture, collect trash, help close concession stand, etc. A great way to get your volunteer duties in and still be able to watch the entire swim meet.