Volunteer Job Descriptions: Overview
The Bedford Sharks operates entirely with parent volunteers and paid coaches. We have volunteers that coordinate the entire season and volunteers for individual meets. In order to be successful, the Bedford Sharks Swim Team REQUIRES your active support and participation in the equivalent of THREE jobs per season. It takes a minimum of 40-50 people to run each of the three home meets and we also are required to provide parent volunteers at away meets. Below you can see both meet and non-meet related volunteer opportunities, as well as managerial operations conducted by the swim team managers.
Weekly Meet Operations: Announcer,* Clerk of Course, First Place Timer*, Head Timer, Kid Pushers, Lane Timers, Meet Set-up/ Clean-up*, Order of Finish Judge, Parking/Hospitality*, Recorder*, Ribbon Delivery*, Ribbon Helpers, Runners
* = home meets only
Meet Operations (additional training required): Stroke & Turn Judge, TSA Representative, Meet Administrator
Non-meet Operations: Gate Attendant, Ribbon Preparation, Team Photographer, Banquet Director & Banquet Organization, Swimmer Awards, Trophies, TSA Championship Meet Chair
Please contact one of the swim team managers if you are interested in earning volunteer credits outside of swim meets.
Managerial Operations: Hiring & managing of coaching staff, overseeing all meet operations, sponsorship coordination, Treasurer, Website/technology, Volunteer Coordinator
Weekly Meet Operations
| Announcer | Announce upcoming events, scores, records, etc. TSA has a script available for guidance. |
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Clerk of Course |
Takes the swimmers from the kid pushers and organizes them behind the starting blocks prior to their events. Identifies the main event swimmers and puts them in the correct lanes and then assigns the lanes to all additional swimmers. |
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First Place Timer |
Using a stopwatch, this volunteer times only the swimmer in first-place for the MAIN EVENT HEATS ONLY. |
| Ribbon Delivery | Hand heat-winner and meet participant ribbons to swimmers as they exit the pool for all heats in individual events EXCEPT main event. |
| Kid Pushers |
Keeps track of younger swimmers and moves them to the Clerk of Course in time for their events. |
| Meet Set Up/ Clean Up |
Volunteers will arrive one hour before the meet start to assist the coaches in setting up lane ropes, flags, chairs, boundary ropes for the event. Volunteers will also help set up sound system for announcements and the tented areas for both teams coaches. |
| Parking / Hospitality | Prior to the meet, volunteers will stand at the parking lot entrance to welcome cars from the away team and remind home team cars to park along the street. Volunteers will also ensure that cooler is filled with water/drinks, pass out drinks to all volunteers (for both teams) throughout the meet, and refills the cooler as needed. |
| Order of Finish Judge | Watches main event finishes and records the order of finish MAIN EVENT HEATS ONLY. |
| Ribbon Helper | Records main event information on place ribbons via either handwritten or printed labels. Works in coordination with ribbon helpers from visiting team. Places our team's main event ribbons in swimmer folders. |
| Runner | Picks up Order of Finish Judge's sheet, timer's sheets (as needed) and DQ slips from meet officials during the meet and delivers them the Meet Administrator. |
| Head Timer | Starts two stop watches for every heat. Passes off watch to any land timer that raises their hand and needs a timer. |
| Lane Timers | Time all swimmers in one lane and record each time. |
Meet Operations: Additional Training Required
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TSA Representative |
TSA reps officiate the meet. One TSA Rep from each team will ensure TSA rules and guidelines are followed. Any disputes will be solved by the two TSA Reps on deck. |
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| Stroke and Turn Judges | Monitor all main events to ensure legal starts, turns, strokes, and finishes are executed by the swimmers
during the meet. Additional training required to be a Stroke and Turn Judge. |
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| Meet Administrator |
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Non-Meet Operations
| Gate Attendant | Opens gate for swimmers at morning practices |
| Ribbon Preparation | Prior to each home meet: Places Stickers on place ribbons and bundles ribbons by event to facilitate Main Heat Ribbon Writing. Maintains the ribbon filing system for swimmers to receive their main event ribbons. Maintains ribbon inventory (place, heat winner and participation) to place new order annually. |
| Team Photographer | Take photos at all meets, and some practices. Maintain, and manage Shutterfly website for parental viewing of photos. Possibly provide a picture slide show at end of season party. |
Banquet Director & Banquet Organization |
Organization of the end of season banquet. This includes a multitude of volunteer opportunities both at the banquet and beforehand including raffle organization, decorations, food distribution, and relay organization. |
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Swimmer Awards & Trophies |
Coordination of awards presented at the banquet. 1) Coaches Awards - create certificates for three awards: MVP, Most Improved and Coaches Award for each age group and gender. 2) Trophies - all swimmers receive a participation trophy. Research, order and pick up trophies for the banquet. |
| TSA Championship Meet Chair | Coordinate the registration and entry fees for all swimmers participating in the TSA Meet. |
Managerial Operations - Swim Team Managers
The swim team managers are involved in the following:
- Hiring & managing of coaching staff
- Interfacing with visiting teams
- Overseeing all meet operations
- Coordinating sponsorships: contacting local businesses to secure financial sponsorships to support swim team operations
- Treasurer responsibilities including accepting and managing deposits of registration fees and sponsor donations, maintaining the budget, and managing reimbursements
- Website/technology organization
- Coordination of all volunteers
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR VOLUNTEERS !
When you register your child(ren), you are agreeing to work THREE volunteer jobs. The Bedford Sharks will appreciate and welcome you to help above and beyond 3 jobs, but 3 jobs is the minimum requirement of each swim team family.
You will receive an extra prize raffle ticket to use at the End of Season Banquet for every volunteer job over the required 3 jobs (and we have some GREAT prizes!)
If you are unable to fulfill your designated volunteer assignment for a given meet, it is YOUR responsibility to find a substitute for that meet.
Use the "Meets & Events" Calendar to RSVP for Meets/Events and Sign Up for Volunteer Jobs:
- Please Login using your email and password in the upper right corner.
- Click on the GREEN MEET ENTRY, RSVP, and/or JOB SIGNUP Buttons for each calendar event, follow the prompts, and save your responses.
Reference Swim Meet FAQs for additional Information and Instructions.