Swim Meet Volunteer Positions
NVSL swim meets cannot run without parent volunteers. Many positions require no training. Our team must provide: 9 timers, 2 stroke & turn judges, 4 relay take-off judges, 2 clerks of course, several table workers, and marshals at every meet. Home meets also require a referee, starter, and announcer.
Announcer: Using a microphone and sound system, this person is responsible for announcing all races/events. This is 100% scripted--you read the script.
Awards Clerk: Select the appropriate ribbon and attach the correct computer generated label.
Chief Timer: Official who coordinates all timers. Collects all time cards, checks for accuracy, sends time cards to Time Recorder. Gives command to “clear watches”, signals Referee that Timers are ready for next event and starts 2 watches in case a lane timer’s watch fails to start.
Clerk of Course: Organizes several heats of swimmers in the ‘holding’ area just before their races.
Data Entry: Enters/reads times in software to score events. Generates event results reports (verified by awards clerks) for the announcer and ribbon labels for awards clerks. Produces hard copy of full meet results at the end of the meet for Referee review and signature.
Marshal: Maintains order and insures the safety during warm-ups and throughout the swim meet.
Place Recorder: Receive the time cards, ensure all times are legible and that the proper official time has been circled and recorded. Receive disqualification slips from the Referee and staple them to the appropriate time cards and check for league and team records.
Referee*: He/she is responsible for the running of the meet and is the final authority on the interpretation and enforcement of all of the swimming rules. Must be certified for this.
Runner: The runners are responsible for carrying papers from the Referee and Chief Timer to the official table.
Starter*: This person uses an electronic system to start each event at the Referee’s signal. They are responsible for ensuring that all swimmers are given a fair and equitable start. Must be certified.
Stroke & Turn (S&T) Judge*: Officials who evaluate swimmers to ensure legal strokes and turns. If something illegal is observed by the S & T Judge, a DQ (disqualification) slip is written and presented to the Referee for concurrence. Must be impartial and fair to all swimmers. Must be certified.
Timer: Timers determine each swimmer’s official time for each race. If you can start and stop a stopwatch, you can be a Timer. There are three Timers per lane and all three times are recorded. The middle time is the Official Time.
Verifier: These people receive the time cards and printed results from the Hy-Tek Meet Manager software and independently verify that the Name, Official Time, Disqualification Status, and Team on the time cards match the printed results. If there are any discrepancies, the Verifiers bring it to the attention of the Place Recorder and Data Entry workers immediately.
