Swim Meet Job List
Jump to: Snack Bar | Meet Support | Meet Staff / Officials
All swim team families are required to work three to four home or away meets. Running a swim meet requires a large number of trained and untrained volunteers, and Sabino Vista Hills is known for very well organized and run swim meets! That reputation is only possible when our awesome families jump in and help out.
These positions are filled by parents at home (and some away) meets. A successful swim meet requires 50+ volunteers! Training is provided, and you'll have an opportunity to list your preferred job choices at the beginning of the season. Positions are assigned by the team for the whole season, and parents must work their assigned job, arrange to switch jobs with another family, or "hire a teen" to cover their position. If you are switching or hiring a teen, please notify the Meet Directors of the change as soon as possible. Parents who have special circumstances (night shifts, etc.) should contact the primary Meet Director during registration to work out a compromise.
Except for Ice, Green Salad, and Pasta Salad, all supplies (pencils, stopwatches, computer, etc) are provided by the team. Please bring a water bottle - cold water will be provided for volunteers.
Positions are divided into three categories: Snack Bar, Meet Support, and Meet Staff / Officials
Snack Bar
The "Grill on the Hill" provides snacks and hot food to swimmers and other meet attendees. Snack bar jobs range from working cashier or serving food to customers, grilling food, or simply supplying ice, pasta, or green salads before the meet starts. Unless specifically requested, families will not be assigned snack bar at every meet - and often snack bar families can arrange to duck out for a moment to watch their swimmer compete.
Early Snack Bar
2 per home meet
Great for hiring a teen!
Work the snack bar from 4p to 6:30p. Help set up and sell items.
Late Snack Bar
2 per home meet
Great for hiring a teen!
Work the snack bar from 6:30p to meet close. Sell items, put away items, tidy up the rec center.
Early Cashier
1 per home meet
Work Cashier table from 4:30-6:30p. Add totals for snack bar purchases, collect money, annotate total $ purchased in family tabs.
Late Cashier
1 per home meet
Work Cashier table from 6:30p-Close. Add totals for snack bar purchases, collect money, annotate total $ purchased in family tabs.
Pasta Salad
3 per home meet
Deliver a large pasta salad (each family provides enough for 30 people / 15 cups) for the snack bar to the Rec Center no later than 5pm.
* Cost of the salad is paid by the family as a donation to the team.
Green Salad
3 per home meet
Deliver 2lbs of fresh green salad for the snack bar to the Rec Center no later than 5pm. Some years, this job is combined with Ice.
* Cost of the salad is paid by the family as a donation to the team.
Ice
3 per home meet
Purchase and deliver four 10lb (five 8lb) bags of ice to the Rec Center no later than 4pm.
* Requires lifting and carrying 10lbs. Cost of the ice is paid by the family as a donation to the team.
Grill Master
1 per home meet
Set up grill, cook hot dogs and hamburgers during the meet, clean/put away grill (4:30 to close)
* Requires standing for long periods of time, understanding of food safety for raw meats, safely operating a propane grill, and lifting/dragging 40lbs.
Swim Meet Support
Swim meet support consists of jobs that supply ancillary support for home and away swim meets. Setting up shade, making sure the younger swimmers get to the blocks in the right order and on time, or getting the ribbons ready for the teams to hand out to their swimmers are a few examples of what we need to run a swim meet.
Photographer
1 per season
Takes action and candid photographs of swimmers and coaches at home meets and championship meets. Creates a slideshow set to music to show at the end of season party, including a section that focuses on Seniors (collecting images from the Senior's early years from parents).
*Requires Board approval, camera equipment that is capable of action shots in low light, a good working knowledge of event photography, and slide-show presentation techniques including music timing, captioning, and entertainment value.
Shade Brigade
2 per "large" away meet
For home meets, take the shade tents in the team sitting area down and stow them once the sun is down.
For "large" away meets (Muppet Meet, Invitationals, and both days of Championships) and the Tucson Country Club away meet, pick up tents at the Rec Center, deliver and set up tents at the meet (arrive at least an hour before warmups to secure a spot for the team). Return tents after the meet to the Rec Center.
*Requires dragging and lifting up to 30lbs. Requires access to a pickup truck or SUV to transport the tents.
Good Shepherd
2 per meet (home/away)
Help the coaches gather the 8 and under swimmers, organize them by heat/lane, and lead them to the starting blocks on time.
*Requires walking back and forth across the facility.
Ribbons
2 per home meet
Great for hiring a teen!
Attach stickers to ribbons and sort them into the team box and/or folders. This job is performed poolside and is a great opportunity to observe the meet from your own front row vantage point!
Announcer
1 per home meet
Make general announcements, announce each event/heat/swimmer and team (first name only is fine), and coordinate with the DJ during the meet. A good "radio" voice and personality is a huge plus! (Think of the last sporting event you attended for inspiration.)
The Announcer may cover for the DJ if they need to step away for a moment.
*Requires good stage presence, an engaging public speaking ability, clarity over a public address system, and the ability to pronounce all kinds of fun names.
Disc Jockey / Relief Announcer
1 per home meet
The DJ plays music during meet. The DJ should have a broad selection of classic rock and modern, non-explicit music on a device that they can hook into the sound system (via 1/8th inch sound cable). If the parents and kids are dancing, you're doing your job well! The DJ may cover for the Announcer if they need to step away for a moment (and vis versa).
Clean Up Crew
3 per home meet
Clean up the pool deck, empty trash cans, tidy the rec center, mop bathrooms and wipe down counters (clean up any spilled soap), refill paper towels and TP as needed, put away equipment. This is a great option for families that want to watch every home meet from start to finish and still fulfill their volunteer requirements.
Untrained / "On-the-Job" Trained Swim Meet Staff Positions
These positions are required to run a successful swim meet - without volunteers to work these important positions, we can't suport our swimmers by providing a great meet experience. They require minimal training and most are suitable for parents/older siblings with no knowledge of swimming.
Head Timer
1 per home meet
Start two extra stop watches in each heat to ensure there is a backup watch for lane timers to use if they miss the start or their watch malfunctions. May fill in for a timer that needs to take a quick break.
* Requires standing for long periods of time and moving quickly to deliver a working stopwatch to timers.
Timer
12 per home meet
Great for hiring a teen!
The best view at the meet! Stand at the starting blocks, verify the correct swimmer is on the block, time each event with a stopwatch, and write down times.
*Requires standing for long periods of time.
Runner
1 per home meet
Great for hiring a teen!
Pick up time sheets from each timer, disqualification reports from the Judges, and scorecards from the Blanket Judges; deliver the sheets to the scoring table after each event.
*Requires quickly moving back and forth down the length of the pool.
Swimmer Stager
1 per home meet
Responsible for managing the starting block area. Controls when swimmers are allowed to enter the starting block area. Must be able to ask swimmers to remain outside of the blocks area until their heat is close to being called. Swimmers will often check their heat/lane number with the Stager.
Computer Assistant
1 per home meet
Great for hiring a teen!
Assist the scoring computer operator in reading and verifying times, run printed award labels to the ribbons table.
Meet Staff and Officials
Meet Staff / Officials are volunteers who are directly responsible for the official positions that are required to run home swim meets. These volunteers will provide judging or refereeing to ensure the rules are fairly applied, or will assist with scoring and time reporting. Some of these jobs require official training in a classroom, others can be trained "on the job". These positions are not able to be covered by a teen and are crucial to ensure the meet runs well - please ensure you are able to show up to work your assigned position if you are assigned to one of these jobs. Please contact a Meet Director if you are interested in one (or more) of these jobs. They are difficult at times, however, they provide a crucial service to the team and are very rewarding.
Scoring Computer Operator
1 per swim season
Prior to each home and away meet, utilizes HyTek Meet Management software to send/receive meet files to/from opponents, configures events and heats at the request of coaching staff, creates required meet sheets and transmits them to coaches and opponents. During home meets, makes any last minute changes to the meet as requested, enters times/DQ codes for all swimmers, configures and prints labels for awards, provides results to coaches, webmaster, and opponents, and transmits meet results to SAAA for recording. Works with coaching staff to provide data as needed to operate the swim team.
This position is time intensive, with 8 or more hours of work going into each meet before the meet even starts, including in person meetings with the Head Coach. Prior experience as a Computer Assistant and knowledge of USA Swimming rules with regards to proper swimmer seeding, swimmer event frequency, lane choice, swimmer rest requirements, and scoring techniques is required. Physical presence at each home swim meet is required. Relief is available for up to two meets (one home meet, one away meet) per season.
* Requires extensive training or experience in USA Swimming as a Referee or Administrative Official.
Scoring
2 per home meet
Finalizes race results for each heat based on input from blanket judges, disqualifications, and times and arranges the data into a form that can be entered by the computer operators.
* Requires training or experience with USA Swimming as a Referee or Administrative Official.
Blanket Judge
4 per home meet
Observes and records swimmer finish order in each heat for Scoring to use to verify watch times and rank swimmers accordingly.
* Requires minimal training.
Stroke and Turn Relief
1 per home meet
Provide relief to stroke and turn judges to allow brief breaks. While filling in, perform the duties of a Stroke and Turn Judge.
* Requires SAAA classroom training; or a current/previous USA Swimming Stroke and Turn Judge Certification.
Stroke and Turn Judge
2 per home meet
Judges each swimmer for legal stroke and turn technique, identifies and records disqualifications (DQ). Works with the Referee to establish judging standards which may differ for dual meets. Requires familiarity with current USA Swimming rules.
* Requires SAAA classroom training; or a current/previous USA Swimming Stroke and Turn Judge Certification.
Starter
1 per home meet
Starts each event based on SAAA / USA Swimming rules, verifies swimmers are ready to swim and lanes are present (within limitations of USA Swimming rules), ensures a fair start for each heat, and provides false start confirmation along with the Referee. Uses starter equipment.
* Requires SAAA classroom training and Meet Director approval; or a current/previous USA Swimming Starter Certification.
Referee
1 per home meet
Coordinates safe meet operation with the Meet Director. Provides Stroke and Turn Judging, answers / provides rules interpretations to coaches and Stroke and Turn Judges, responds to protests from coaches, and enforces meet safety rules. Maintains a master record of disqualifications for verification. Informs swimmer and/or coaches if there is a disqualification when possible. May provide relief for Stroke and Turn Judges as needed.
* Requires SAAA classroom training; or a current USA Swimming Starter Certification.