Become a Trained Official
A handful of our volunteer positions are critical for running swim meets and require league training. This training establishes a standard and consistency that allow our swimmers to know what to expect at all host teams. For our volunteers, it's a small amount of time committed to learning the role while providing a huge help to our team.
Training materials and resources for Stroke & Turn Judges, Starter, and Head Meet Official (HMO) can be found on the League website HERE.
Please reach out to a Barracudas board member in person or by email, if you are interested in training and volunteering in meet.
Volunteer Job Requirements
Each family is required to volunteer for 3 sessions during regular meets. In addition to those 3 sessions it's required to volunteer one session at champs. Any session missed will result in a $100 fine.
Volunteer Job Descriptions
Listed below is a brief description of the volunteer positions that need to be filled for
every meet. None of the jobs are especially difficult and simple training is provided;
however, some of the positions do require attending special training sessions.
ANNOUNCER/STARTER: Training (provided by the Team) is required for this position.Announces first, second and final calls for each event. The announcer will need toanticipate flow based on the number of swimmers, the stroke, the number of lengths to be swum, and the age of the swimmers. 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.
STROKE & TURN JUDGE: Training (provided by the Team) is required for this position along with a background check. Work in pairs on each side of the pool with one member of a pair being from each team. Judges only rule on infractions on their quadrant of the pool. They observe starts, strokes, turns, and finishes to see that swimmers comply with requirements for that stroke.
LANE TIMERS: Records the swimmer’s time. Each timer is provided a stopwatch and assigned a lane. There are 2 timers per lane (one from each team). Times are recorded and the runner will pick up times and deliver to the computer table. This job gives you the best view of the pool and the swimmers during their races.
BACK-UP TIMER: Starts 2 stopwatches at the beginning of every race, in case the lane timers stopwatches are not started or malfunction.
CLERK OF COURSE: Responsible for lining up swimmers in the ready bench areas, by event, heat, and lane. Must be good with crowd control of swimmers.
READY BENCH: They are the key to keeping a meet on schedule. Responsible for
keeping the swimmers in order after they enter the ready bench area. This job gives you the chance to see your swimmer immediately before his/her event.
RUNNER/WATER: Responsible for obtaining the completed timer sheets and DQ forms for each race from the timers and judges. The cards and DQ forms are delivered to the computer table. Deliver water to all volunteers and coaches on deck. Runners should have good tennis shoes that work well on slippery wet surfaces. This job keeps you moving around at the poolside and the time passes quickly.
COMPUTER OPERATOR: Some training (provided by the Team) is required.
Responsible for organizing and entering information into swim software that helps
determine official times and order of finish. With this job, you are near the pool and you see the race results before anyone else.
HEAT RIBBONS: Recognizes the winner of each individual event heat and awards that swimmer a heat winner ribbon.
CONCESSIONS: Sells concessions, in addition to setting up and tearing down the
concession stand. Arrival time 30 minutes before meet start. Leave time, once
concession area has been cleaned and confirmed by board member.
SETUP: Sets up the pool area for the swim meet. Moves deck chairs and sets up
canopies, starter/computer/coach tables, and the ready bench area. Arrival time for this position is 1 hr and 45 minutes before the meet starts.
BREAKDOWN: During the last few minutes of a meet the crew begins taking down and storing items in preparation for vacating the pool immediately after the meet. Help clean up the pool deck area.
PARKING ATTENDANT: Arrive 30 minutes prior to meet to direct parking. Must ensure families are parking in designated areas only. Once meet starts complete periodic checks of parking lot to ensure compliance.