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HARDSCRABBLE HIPPOS
MEET VOLUNTEER DUTIES DESCRIPTIONS
It’s important for parents to understand that swim meets are unlike many other youth sporting events. Unlike soccer or basketball that just require a sideline coach and maybe a referee, swim meets require A-LOT of people from each team helping out to make the magic happen! It takes roughly 15-20 parent volunteers from EACH team to staff and run a swim meet per the DSSL Rules and Regulations. Hardscrabble is one of the smaller swim clubs in the league which means we need help from a parent (or two) from just about every family on our meet days.
Please review the descriptions of the various duties below and sign up to help us out! Training will be provided for ALL duties by DSSL and/or Parent Reps prior to the start of the first swim meet. So fret not if you are signing up for something you’ve never done before. You will be prepared and ready to shine!
Meet Duties that REQUIRE DSSL Training:
Meet Director - (1 position @ Home meets only) - Makes sure that the meet is a fair one, addresses issues or concerns, acts as Head Place Judge when not addressing issues. The Meet Director is, for all intents and purposes, the meet referee.
Starter - (1 position @ Home meets only) - Gets to tell the swimmers, “Take your mark” and then hits the little red button that goes BEEP. Very fun. Also is the one who determines false starts. You know you want to speak into the microphone and push the red button! The starter is our Celebrity of the Meet.
Stroke and Turn Judge - (2 positions) - You, along with a judge provided by the other team, will form a fabulous partnership. You will be responsible for watching swimmers in (3) lanes and look for stroke violations. You will be trained in what to look for at one of the DSSL-provided Officials Clinics (they are on Zoom). Both judges have to agree on any stroke violations and swimmers get the benefit of the doubt. If you spot the misdeed AND your partner spots the misdeed, then the disqualification (DQ) call is made on the DQ slip (provided to you on your clipboard). After that, the coaches will get a copy of the DQs and they will work with the swimmer(s) to help them fix and improve their stroke.
Meet Duties that DO NOT Require DSSL Training *but the Parent Reps will help walk you through it*:
Lane Timers - (6 from each team) - If you can operate a stopwatch, then you can be a lane timer. You will get assigned to (1) lane of the pool and be partnered with a timer from the other team. When the starter presses the “beep” starting button, you will see a light flash. You click start on the stopwatch. When the swimmer touches the wall, you hit stop. You get a poolside, front row seat for ALL the races and people come around and bring you drinks (well, water, but you can drink it). Feet splashes are also prone to happen, but help keep you cool!
Head Timer - (1 position @ Home meets only) - Let’s face it, even though all the lane timers have to do is start and stop their watch, someone’s button will stick or they’ll forget to click Start. That’s where you come in. You are the proud holder of (2) backup stopwatches and you hand out a running stopwatch as a backup if a lane timer needs it.
Clerk of Course - (1 position) - You are the organizer of the swimmers…the herder of puppies so to speak… er hippos. Coaches will help call their swimmers to the starting blocks area as the meet progresses through strokes and age groups. Every swimmer comes to you and you put them on the numbered benches in the order they are seeded in the meet (you are given this information on the swimmer’s pink or blue race cards & the benches are numbered). When the current heat (race) is up on the blocks, you send the next race’s swimmers to be ready behind the blocks. If you love organization and efficiency, you will love this role. Without you, the meet would be sheer chaos. You will be loved and adored by all!
Runner - (2 positions) - There are 2 runners provided by each team. If you’re someone who likes to multi-task and move around, this job is for you. You get to watch the races from pool-side AND get your steps in all at the same time. Runners are responsible for taking the swimmers’ race cards from the starting blocks to the timers before each race. Then at the end of the race, you take the race cards (which will now have the swimmer’s time) from the timers to the scorer’s table. Wash, rinse, repeat. Despite the name, you don’t really have to “run,” though you can if you want to and no lifeguard can blow their whistle at you.
Place Judge - (2 positions) - Who else can say they get to see every exciting finish? You will be paired with a place judge from the opposing team and get a front row position on either side of the finishing end of the pool. You’ll get a small pad of paper, clipboard and pencil. You watch the race, and then write down the lanes in the order that they finish. Example: 5, 4, 1, 2, 3, 6. Then you hand your place card to the runners. You and your place judge partner are the dynamic duo keeping track of the order of the finish!
Heat Winner Person - (1 position @ Home meets only) - Whenever you see a kid win a race, you go over to them and hand them a lollipop, popsicle, or whatever goodie is being given out for winning. Every kid wants to see you at the end of their race. It is very gratifying. Plus, if it’s candy that’s being handed out, of course it’s up to you to do periodic quality control checks!
If you prefer to sit in the shade during meets….
Scorer - (1 position) - Ah, you get the pool-side view and shade of the scorer’s table. As race cards from each heat get dropped off to you by the runners, you are the one assigning points to each team. Teams score points if their swimmer(s) finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd. At the end of the meet, whichever team has the most points is the winner. You will sit with the other team’s scorer and work together as a checks and balances to ensure there are no discrepancies on the meet score.
Time Averager - (1 position) If you like numbers…AND are good with a calculator, this is your time to shine. Each swimmer will have (2) times written down on their race card (1 from each lane timer). Sometimes they are the exact same, but usually there is a small difference between when each lane timer saw the swimmer finish and clicked stop on their stopwatch. Your job is to average the 2 times. This average is what generates the swimmer’s official time for their race. You will sit with the other team’s time averager, but you are only responsible for averaging our team’s/swimmers’ times. Oh, and you too get to sit in the shade of the scorers table.
Statistician/Recorder - (1 position) This one requires a little bit of computer savvy-ness. Each swimmer’s times are entered into the league statistics software so that we are able to keep track of their season times which are reported back to DSSL. All you have to do is enter the swimmer’s time from their race cards into the computer (provided for you).
Ribbon Writer - (1 position) Well, it’s technically more of a “ribbon sticker” than a writer. You get the last seat at the scorer’s table and it’s your job to
stick our swimmers’ labels on ribbons. Blue for 1st, red for 2nd, white for 3rd, etc. You are only responsible for our team’s ribbons, the ribbons are provided for you in a neatly organized box, and the labels are all pre-printed. All you have to do is write the swimmer’s time on their label and then stick it on the appropriately colored place ribbon. Then stick it in our team’s ribbon envelope. Easy peasy. Ribbons are almost every swimmer’s
favorite part of the meet and YOU are the magical person that makes this joy come to life!
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