Description:

This position calls the swimmers to the clerk of course for each event. They also announce the score, introduce key volunteers, and make general announcements (such as promoting snack sales, moving illegally parked cars, or reminding about where the team will convene after the meet). The Announcer has also served as the MC for the end-of-season ceremony.

The TSA rep will provide you with a script for what to say for the opening announcements. Announce the groups’ reporting to Clerk of Course about three events in advance – the younger groups typically have more participants, which means as the older groups approach in the schedule, their events happen in quicker succession.

Example: “6 and Under boys and girls please report to the clerk of course for freestyle.”

Tips:

• Make sure the microphone is set up as soon as you get there. Sometimes it’s set up for you, other times you have to find it and set it up yourself. Same for the flag. This can take a little time if the items are not easy to find or the connections don’t work, so leave some extra time during the first couple of meets as those things get ironed out.
• Do a test run to ensure the lifeguard in the shack knows how to turn down their microphone and turn up the Announcer mic. Call the pool phone to communicate with the guard.
• Make sure someone is lined up to sing the National Anthem. It’s always a good idea to have a recording of it available in case of emergency.
• Pay attention to the Starter – avoid making announcements while the Starter is in the process of setting/starting a heat. Make announcements while a race is happening or during transitions between heats.
• Kids should not be allowed on the announcer deck without their parents –it may seem like it’s OK to let one or two come up there at first, but others quickly follow when they realize it’s cool to hang out up there. The situation can deteriorate quickly…
• You’ll be facing the setting sun. I found my shins were prone to getting burned.
• At the end of the meet, encourage families to help the guards by cleaning their areas and replacing any furniture they’ve moved.

Length of time commitment: The whole meet: arrive no later than 5:30, and leave after the final score is announced and flag and microphone are put away, typically around 10:00.

Description:

The Clerk of Course stands near the blocks during the meet.  At the beginning of the meet, the Clerk of Course will be given a list of all events, which contains the swimmer, lane, and heat information for each event in the meet.  Additionally, the Clerk of Course will be given event sheets for the first heats of all events.  The boy first-heat sheets are blue and the girl first-heat sheets are pink.

The Clerk of Course will have 10-under kids brought to them by the Kid Pushers, and 11-and-older kids will be responsible for arriving for their event themselves.  If a kid is missing, ask the Kid Pusher for 10-under kids, or a teammate of this missing kid for 11-and-older kids, sending them to look for the missing kid if necessary.

For a first heat, the Clerk of Course then makes a checkmark on the first heat event sheet to indicate a kid was present.

For all other heats, the Clerk of Course can consolidate kids into empty lanes to reduce the number of heats. This should *not* be done for the first heat. If one team has more swimmers for an event, the swimmers from that team can be filled in the empty lane spots to reduce the number of heats.  Please make sure each heat has at least two swimmers.

The Clerk of Course verifies the order the 10-under kids are in against the event list as assigned by the Kid Pusher that brought them over, and guides the 11-and-older kids to their spots if necessary.  After the blue and pink event sheets have been checked for the first heat, the Clerk of Course hands the blue and pink event sheets to the Runner.

Example:

The 11-12 Boys Backstroke has 10 participants from Wood Valley and 14 participants from Springdale. We are at Wood Valley using our 6 lane pool. Since we are at home we have the odd lanes 1, 3, & 5 for our swimmers and the opposing team gets lanes 2, 4 & 6.

The default organization would be:

Heat 1: Wood Valley 1/3/5, Springdale 2/4/6

Heat 2: Wood Valley 1/3/5, Springdale 2/4/6

Heat 3: Wood Valley 1/3/5, Springdale 2/4/6

Heat 4: Wood Valley 3, Springdale 2/4/6

Heat 5: Springdale 2/4

This could be modified to reduce the number of heats as follows:

Heat 1 is not modified, because first heats are never altered.

Heat 2 requires no changes.

Heat 3 requires no changes.

Heat 4 can be changed.  We have one swimmer left, in lane 3.  Springdale is using 2, 4, & 6.  We can move the two Springdale swimmers from Heat 5 into the two unused lanes, 1 and 5, and eliminate Heat 5.

Tips:

This position is a great way to encourage the kids to be excited about the meet. High fives and encouragement go a long way.

Length of time commitment at the meet:

This position is busy before each first heat of each event the whole length of the meet

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Description:

The Concessions Volunteer sells concessions in the clubhouse during the meet.

Set Up: Arrive at the meet early to set up at least 2 tables that can be seen from the doors of the clubhouse, as one passes by from the pool deck. Obtain the cash box from the WVSRC treasurer. Organize the provided concessions on the table and sell at recommended prices.  your shift is over after the Backstroke events.

Clean Up: Take over after the back stroke events right before the Breast stroke events from the set up volunteers. Monitor the table and the cash box. Sell items until they are gone, or until the last relay events begin. Clean up items, and tables and return cash box to the WVSRC treasurer.

Tips:

This positions involves sitting and air conditioning!

Length of Time Commitment at the meet:

1/2 meet.

Description:

There are two heat winner judges. They are needed for 10 and under events only. The Heat judges watch all heat EXCEPT the Main event (first heat).  They watch the finishes for the heats and determine the heat winner. The heat winner gets a special ribbon, and the other participants get a participant ribbon. The heat judges get special aprons with that have pockets to hold the ribbons.

Heat Judges stand at the far end of the pool.

Example:

Possible ways to divide up duties:

• Bob and Sue are heat judges. They decide to divide the pool in half. They jointly watch for the heat winner, and each give out participant ribbons for the remaining lanes in their half.
• Carl and Judy decide that Judy will give out the heat winner and Carl will hand out ribbons to the remaining participants.

Tips:

It is very unlikely that the relays will have more than one heat.  Attention will need to be paid to the Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly events.

Sometimes the kids wander off without their ribbons. Watch out for that!

Length of time commitment at the meet:

During the10 and under events all meet long. You will have breaks during the 11-12, 13-14 and 15-18 events.

Description:

The Hospitality volunteer only works at home meets. They are responsible for distributing bottled water to the coaches and volunteers on both teams during the meet.  Anyone that looks like a volunteer – coaches, timers, kids pushers etc. all get thirsty!

The hospitality volunteer should arrive before the meet begins, and confirm where the water bottles and ice are located. They can prepare a cooler with ice and place water bottles inside to chill. There is a hand-held plastic basket that is also filled with ice and used to carry bottles of water around the pool deck.

Example:

To achieve good coverage of the pool deck consider a circular path, starting with our team’s coaches then walking clockwise through the starter then the kid pushing and blocks area.  Continue around the back side of the diving well and to the visitors coach area. Don’t forget the announcer up on the raised deck. Continue through the visitor’s area and around back to the club house.

Tips:

Length of time commitment at the meet:

5-10 minute rounds every 20 minutes or so at the meet.

Job Description:

On Arrival:

Check in with the volunteer coordinator and receive your folder and sign.

You have two main jobs at the meet.

• Gather your swimmers at the correct time
• Get them lined up in the correct sequence so they are ready for their events

To collect your swimmers you will use your sign. Timing will be discussed in more detail in the examples below. At the right time put your sign up and wave it around. Often the kids like to do this themselves. Sometimes they like to walk around the pool deck waving the sign to collect people.  Anything goes as long as you are gathering them up.  Please don’t put your sign up unless you want to get the kids together. Parents and kids use it as a signal and false alarms can lead to not getting the kids ready on time.

Your folder will contain a list of the swimmers assigned by heat and lane.  Count the number of swimmers in your current event to make sure you have collected them all. Each event will be listed on a separate page.

The 6 and under will have 3 pages and the 7-8 and 9-10 will have 5. The format of the information is chosen by the coach, but here are two possible examples.

Example 1_______________________________________________________________________________________

6-Under Boys — Freestyle

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Timing: The first event of the meet is the 7-8 boys medley relay.  6 and under boys first event will follow the 15-18 medley relay. Start gathering them up by waving the sign around the 11-12 relay or the 13-14. (figure out what works for you and how long it takes your group of boys take to get ready).

Organization: Count and make sure you have all your kids. The kids numbers are written next to their names on the sheet and on the kids arms and or back if you do not recognize everyone. Confirm that each child knows where to go.

“Okay in lane one first is Michael, second is Justin. In Lane 3 First we have Joe then second Kevin and third Alex. In Lane 5 First is Frank, then Dave then Noah. “

Walk them over to the starting blocks. There will be a selection of chair behind the blocks. Make sure they know which lane is theirs and get them seated in the correct order.  The Clerk of Course will come around before your even starts and confirm that your Main event/Heat 1 swimmers are in place. Encourage your swimmers to move up in line as the chairs in front of them empty.

If you have an empty spot in your line up, leave the chair empty. Make sure your kids go in the correct heats, so that the times get assigned to the correct child. Rarely the Clerk of Course will change which heat the swimmer swims in- to combine down to fewer heats for example.  Assume that they told the timers and the times will be recorded correctly. Or perhaps they may ask you to go tell the timers that a child has been moved.

Kid Catchers:  Some 6 and under swimmers need/want a kid catcher. Kid Catchers are one of the two people that are standing behind the 15 yard rope during the 6 and under events. Usually (but not always) kids in heat one won’t need a catcher. Ask your kids if you don’t know. They will tell you. When it is time for that child to go, wave to the kids catchers and the end of that lane ad indicate that the swimmer needs assistance.  I’d recommend waving then pointing at the child.

Example 2_______________________________________________________________________________________

7-8 boys   Medley Relay

• Lane 1: Brian One, Charlie two Dan Three Elliot Four.
• Lane 3: Frank Five, Gilbert six, Harry Seven, Issac Eight
• Lane 5: Jason Nine, Kyle Ten, Liam Eleven, Mark Twelve

Timing: This is the first event of the meet. Start gathering your boys before meet start at 6 PM. They should be in place by the time the National Anthem is sung so that the meet will start on time.

Organization: The order of events in the Medley Relay is Back, Breast, Butterfly then Freestyle.  You will have either one or two or I suppose 3 if we have a lot of boys. Each group will need to be lined up on the correct side of the pool. Back and Fly line up on the Blocks side and Breast and free line up on the far side of the lane. We recommend having one pusher on each side for this event to make sure the swimmers know where to stand.  Remind them of what stroke they are swimming if they don’t know.

At the end of your events: Don’t forget to turn in your folder and sign to the volunteer table. Thanks for helping!

Tips:

6-Unders: They only swim three events after that you are done. (Thanks for helping!)

7-8: For the boys especially – be aware of a timing change – after 15-18 breast stroke y’all are up with 7-8 boys Butterfly, since 6- under don’t swim that stroke.  Also Freestyle relay at the end of the meet has swimmers lining up on both sides similar to the medley relay.

9-10: You do everything the 7-8’s do, but following them and with older kids, including the relays and lining up on both sides of the pool.  If you see the 7-8’s signs up you can know you need to get ready soon.

Length of time commitment at the meet:

The whole meet until your swimmers have completed their events.  There are lots of breaks.

Description:

Each team supplies three place judges.  The home team watches for first, third and fifth place. They away team watches for second, fourth and sixth place.  Each Place Judge wears a sign (lanyard or vest) indicating the place they are watching.

The Place Judge works in tandem with the Recorder. During the Main event (first heat) they watch for who gets their assigned place.  Finishes are determined by sight determination of the place judges not by time.  After the place judge determines which lane received the place they were watching for they verbally tell or signal the Recorder the lane number.

The First Place Judge has one additional duty, they time the first place finisher, and tell the recorder the winning time.

Example:

• Place Judge 1 holds up 4 fingers to indicate lane 4 received first place
• Place Judge 3 holds up 2 fingers to indicate lane 2 received third place
• Place Judge 5 hold up 1 finger to indicate that lane 1 received fifth place.

Tips:

Make sure you are standing in the correct spot to see the finishes for each event.

Relay events (Medley and Freestyle) finish on the block side.

6 and under events finish after the swimmer ducks under the 15 yard rope.

7-8 and 9-10 non-relay events finish at the far side of the pool.

11-12, 13-14 and 15-18 events finish at the block side.

Length of time commitment at the meet:

The Place judge is needed all meet first heats only.

Description:

The recorder only works at home meets. They will get a clipboard and a pencil. They will receive event sheets from the runner after the clerk of course has checked the swimmers. There is a sheet for each main event (first heat) of the meet. The girls event sheets are pink and the boys are blue.  The recorder’s job is to record the place finishes on the event sheets. There will be two sheets for each event; One for the home team and one for the visiting team. The home team sheet will have lanes 1, 3 and 5 and the visiting team will be lanes 2, 4 and 6.

The recorder stands near the place judges. The place judges each watch for a place finish and then tell the Recorder which lane received that place.  They can do this either with a hand signal (i.e. holding up a number of fingers) or verbally by saying a number. The recorder also writes the winning time on the event sheet.

The recorder gives these completed event sheets to the runner to take to the scoring table.  This repeats for each main event.

Example:   Before and after 9-10 Backstroke Home team sheet.

Length of time at the meet:  This position will be active all meet, because they must pay attention to each main event.

Description:

The Ribbon writers sit at the ribbon writer table which is adjacent to the Scorer table.  There is a ribbon writer from each team. They receive the event sheets from the scorer and read them to determine which swimmers get which place ribbons.  Then they write in the swimmer’s name on the appropriate place ribbon and if necessary highlight the event the swimmer won.

The ribbons that are won by our team are organized in a binder by event and given to the Coaches to distribute the day after the meet. The ribbons for the opposing team are organized by their ribbon writer.

Example:

Tips:

Ribbons are provided by the home team.  If you’re writing for an away meet, you need to go with the flow.  Other teams may or may not fill out and apply the stickers before the meet (most do, but not always).

The scorers fill out the places on the blue/pink sheets.  If there’s a question about a tie or a DQ, defer to the scorer to make the correction on the blue/pink sheet before you write the ribbons.  There are always lots of DQs in 6&u and 7&8 breaststroke, so wait till all the DQ sheets come in before writing those ribbons.

Length of time commitment at the meet:

Ribbon writers have to stay till the very end and the relays at the end of the meet keep you busy.  If you sign up for this position make sure you’re available till 9:30/10pm-ish.

In this event we won the top three places. The home team Ribbon writer looks at the event sheet and writes in the names for the first, second and third place finishers on the appropriate ribbons.

Description:

The Runner is a mobile position going back and forth from the Clerk of Course near the blocks, to the Stroke and Turn Judge to the Recorder who will be standing near the Place Judges and sometimes to the Scorer table. The Runner wears a mesh vest provided by the swim team that says “Runner” on it.

At home meets the Runner will:

• Take the Event sheets (Blue and Pink) from the Clerk of Course to the Recorder.
• Take the Disqualification (DQ) slips (Orange) from the Stroke and Turn Judge to the Recorder.
• Take the DQ slips and the Event sheets from the Recorder to the Scorer. The Scorer will be sitting at the scoring table.  There are only event sheets for the Main Event (First heat). There can be DQ slips from any heats.

At away meets the Runner will:

• Take the Event sheets (Blue and Pink) from the Clerk of Course to the Recorder.
• Take the Disqualification (DQ) slips (Orange) from the Stroke and Turn Judge to the Recorder.

Example:  

Length of time commitment at the meet:

The whole meet, busy at the end of events.  Involves lots of standing.

Description:

There is a Scorer from each team at the scoring table.  The scorer keeps the score for both their team and the visiting team in the appropriate spots on the score sheet.

The Scorer receives event sheets and DQ sheets from the runner.  Work together with the other team’s scorer to match the DQ sheet to the appropriate Pink & Blue slip for that event, and mark out the DQ’ed swimmer.  Stroke and Turn Judges DQ by lane, so make sure to find the swimmer who swam in that lane on the pink and blue slips. Then look at the slips (there will be one for each team) and determine the swimmer that would move into the DQ’ed swimmer’s place.  Mark the swimmers on your score sheet.

The scorer then passes the corrected event sheets to the ribbon writer table.

Example:

The Event sheet arrives and a Disqualification sheet also arrives. The swimmer in lane 3 was disqualified. The swimmer in lane 3 had come in first place, cross them out and move the 2^nd place finisher up to 1^st as well as the 3^rd place finisher to 2^nd etc.

• DQ’ing the place instead of the lane – Stroke & Turn Judges mark their DQ’s by lane. If the “3” is circled on the DQ slip that means the swimmer in lane 3 was DQ’ed NOT the swimmer that came in 3^rd
• Assigning points to the wrong team – you may have jotted the name of the other team’s swimmer in your team’s column
• Forgetting to assign points or assigning the wrong amount – Make sure there is a 5, 3 and 1 recorded for each event.
• Assigning points to 2^nd and 3^rd place relay teams – Relay events are winner takes all (5 points).
• Dividing points incorrectly for ties — REFER TO rules for dividing for ties – Speak to TSA Rep
• Calculation errors – It’s hot and your child is pestering you for money and you goofed. It happens to everyone. Don’t hesitate to bring a calculator.

Have you gotten the wrong slip from the recorder? Keep track of where you are in the meet.  You can tell because you just recorded the 11-12 boys Backstroke and the next slip that comes in is the 13-14 boys backstroke, while the 11-12 girls backstroke is still in the water. Familiarize yourself with the order of events to help catch errors early.

Stoke & Turn Judges sometimes confuse which lanes they are watching. If two separate DQ slips come in for the swimmer in the same lane – and it isn’t a relay, let the TSA rep know, so the Stroke and Turn judges can confirm who is watching which lanes.

Length of time commitment at the meet:

This is a sitting position, but it is needed all meet.

Description:

There is a Scorer from each team at the scoring table.  The scorer keeps the score for both their team and the visiting team in the appropriate spots on the score sheet.

The Scorer receives event sheets and DQ sheets from the runner.  Work together with the other team’s scorer to match the DQ sheet to the appropriate Pink & Blue slip for that event, and mark out the DQ’ed swimmer.  Stroke and Turn Judges DQ by lane, so make sure to find the swimmer who swam in that lane on the pink and blue slips. Then look at the slips (there will be one for each team) and determine the swimmer that would move into the DQ’ed swimmer’s place.  Mark the swimmers on your score sheet.

The scorer then passes the corrected event sheets to the ribbon writer table.

Example:

The Event sheet arrives and a Disqualification sheet also arrives. The swimmer in lane 3 was disqualified. The swimmer in lane 3 had come in first place, cross them out and move the 2^nd place finisher up to 1^st as well as the 3^rd place finisher to 2^nd etc.

Description:

The starter is a position on for home swim meets. The starter table is set up just to the side of the starting blocks under one of the portable pavilions. The starter stands with the starting device and announces each event and presses the button to start each event.   They will receive a set of sheets indicating the order of events as well as the number of heats for each event. Follow along and cross out the events as you call them.  The TSA Rep can give more guidance on the script.

The first heat for each even should be called the Main event.  Watch the swimmers to make sure they are following your instructions.  Pause to give enough time.

“Swimmers Step up”  should cause all swimmers on the blocks (or poised next to the blocks – some of the younger or less confident swimmers will dive from next to the blocks.)

“Swimmers Take your Mark”  should cause all the swimmers to bend over in a ready to dive position.

Example:

• “This is the 7-8 boys Freestyle
• This is a Main event
• Swimmers step up
• Swimmers take your mark”
• ****presses Button****

• “This is Heat 2
• Swimmers step up
• Swimmers take your mark”
• ****presses Button****

Continue in this vein until all the heats of 7-8 boys have competed. Start the next event.

Tips:

If there is a false start – as in a swimmer that goes off the block before the starting device is activated, the starter beeps the device many times to call the swimmers back up to the blocks. They then restart the event.

If there is a delay – for example a swimmer is not on the block pause between the “Step up” and “Take your mark” lines.  If needed you can ask the swimmers to “Step down” off the blocks.

A bottle of water is useful to keep hydrated and able to speak well.

Length of time commitment:

The whole meet.

Description:

The Stroke and Turn Judge determines whether the proper strokes, turns and finishes are properly executed by the swimmers during the meet. They attend a class offered by TSA to make sure they know the proper way to perform the strokes. There is a Stroke and Turn Judge from each team at the meet and they work together.

The Stroke and Turn Judge should get a clipboard and a pad of orange Disqualification (DQ) sheets. When they see a stroke violation or an improper finishing touch, they can disqualify a swimmer by marking them on the DQ sheet. These sheets are given to the Runner to take to the scoring table.

Where stand for which events?

Before one can be a stroke and turn judge, one must attend a certification from the TSA.

Example:

Length of time at the meet:

The Stroke and Turn Judge will be busy all meet.

Description:

The Timers stand at the side of the pool and record the finishing times for the swimmers. Timers are assigned in groups of two per lane. Each pair receives stopwatch each and a clipboard containing a list of which swimmers are in which lane for each event.  They write the time for each event next to the participant’s name. If a name is not present – write it in, or if unknown, write in the swimmer number which should be written on the swimmers arm and/or shoulder.

At home meets the timers will time lanes 1, 3 and 5. At away meets our swimmers will be in lanes 2, 4 and 6. Please time whichever swimmer is in your lane regardless of whether they are on our team or not.

The timers need to move where they are standing depending upon which events are in progress.

Example:

Medley Relay & Free Relay – Stand at the block side of the pool.

6 & Under events – Stand near the 15 yard rope, 3/5 the way down the pool.

7&8 and 9&10 events – Stand at the far end of the pool.

11 & up events – Stand at the block side of the pool.

Tips:

The Second half timer does NOT have to be at the meet at 6pm, they DO need to check in with the volunteer coordinator and be ready to go when breaststroke starts.

Length of time commitment at the meet:

Timers each have half the meet.

First half timer begins at 6 pm and times the Medley Relay, Freestyle and the Backstroke.  This is approximately 1.5-2 hours depending upon the number of competitors.

The Second half timer times the Breaststroke, the Butterfly and the Freestyle Relay.  This is approximately 730-930 pm again depending upon the number of competitors.