☰ ⋮
Login
Add Snippet

Parent Volunteering

The Morris Plains Swim Team Parent Organization exists to support the team and the swim coaches. The organization consists of two Co-Presidents and a Treasurer, and they organize various committee positions as needed to assist (i.e. Volunteer Coordinator, Party Planning). 

Parent participation is essential in order to make the swim team successful and to make swim meets happen.

As a reminder, it is a requirement of the Marlins, that each family volunteer at 4 swim meets, home or away. The below is a summary of the jobs that will help fulfill that requirement. (Please Note: Volunteering at Family Day or parties, etc. does not count toward this minimum.)

If you have any questions about a job, feel free to reach out to the Volunteer Coordinator (Cherylan Davies). If there are jobs that you are interested in and want to learn more about it, reach out to the Volunteer Coordinator to arrange for a job shadow. If you have a hard ship and are unable to meet the requirement, please meet with the Volunteer Coordinator to discuss alternatives.

Volunteer job list, updated as of June 2024:

HEAD/ON CALL TIMER:

  1. Ensure that the Backup Timer, Timer and Across-the-Board Judges are all present.
  2. Any vacancies and/or no-shows for the meet will become the On Call Timer's responsibility to fill that timing slot for the duration of the meet.
  3. Ensure that all timers have their stop watches at the beginning of the meet & collect all stopwatches at the end.
  4. Attend the timers meeting approximately 15-30 minutes before the start of the meet.

TIMER: Each lane of the swim meet will have one person from each team working each lane.

  1. Attend the timers meeting approximately 15-30 minutes before the start of the meet.
  2. Check that the swimmer getting ready to swim matches the name on the timer sheet.
  3. Timers start the watch using the strobe light flash of the starting machine as the starting signal. Please check your stopwatch after the start to make sure it is functioning.
  4. If the stopwatch malfunctions, raise your hand and call for the Backup Timer.
  5. Stop the watch when any part of the swimmer touches the wall at the end of their last lap.
  6. At the end of each race, the home timer writes the swimmer’s time from each stopwatch next to the swimmers name on the timer sheets. When writing the times, consistency is important. The first written time should be from the Morris Plains timer’s stopwatch.

BACKUP TIMER:

  1. This position starts the stopwatch at the beginning of each race and helps any timer whose stopwatch didn’t start correctly.
  2. Backup Timers also attend the Timer's meeting approximately 15-30 minutes prior to the start of the meet.

ACROSS-THE-BOARD:

  1. This position stands at the finishing end of the pool and writes down on the Order of Finish sheet which lane finishes in what place, for each race.
  2. For official heats the swimmer’s place (and points) is determined by the Across-the-Board judges. 
  3. Across-the-Board judges also attend the Timer's meeting approximately 15-30 minutes prior to the start of the meet.

WATER DISTRIBUTION:

  1. Distribute water to volunteers on the pool deck, including but not limited to, Officials, Timers & Runners for the duration of the swim meet.

RUNNER: This position has multiple people working together to collect timer sheets, across the board sheets, and DQ sheets. After each heat/event, Runners are responsible for:

  1. Collecting the time sheets from each of the timers, the Across-the-Board Order of Finish sheets and the DQ sheets from the Officials/Head Official.
  2. After collecting all the sheets, the final runner brings them to the official scoring table.

MEET ADMINISTRATOR: This position is for the season and will satisfy the Marlins Volunteer Requirement (filled for the 2024 Season)

  1. Assist with entering swimmers, printing and organizing heat sheets, timer sheets and DQ forms.
  2. Overseeing the Scorers that will be responsible for entering the swimmers race times into Meet Maestro.

SCORERS:

  1. Scorers are responsible for entering the swimmers race times and any DQ’s into Meet Maestro.
  2. Double check that the place finishes from the Across-the-Board judges match with each other. When the Across-the-Board finish places do not match, the swimmers' times will determine the place finish (1st, 2nd, 3rd etc.). Meet Maestro will automatically tabulate the teams' scores. 

MARSHALLER: This position is responsible for a single lane of Marlins swimmers for the entire meet.

  1. Ensure that the correct swimmer is in the correct lane in the correct order. Heat sheets (& highlighters) will be provided to help you line up the swimmers.
  2. Extra attention should be given to the younger swimmers particularly the Under 8’s and 9-10’s. It is imperative that swimmers are lined up correctly – swimmers cannot miss their races. There’s plenty of time to make sure you have the right swimmer in his/her lane.

SNACK BAR COORDINATOR:This position is for the season and will satisfy the Marlins Volunteer Requirement (filled for the 2024 Season)

  1. Organizes all elements of the snack bar for the duration of the season. This will include inventory of items needed for each swim meet and insuring snack bar volunteers are in attendance.

SNACK BAR: This position will have multiple people and shifts

  1. Shift 1-Set up & Sales: Volunteers must arrive 90 minutes before the start of the swim meet to help set up the snack bar (tent, tables, fill coolers, put up signs, display snacks etc.) and remain there supporting sales until the shift is over.
  2. Shift 2- Sales & Breakdown: This volunteer is to start their shift food and drink and will remain until the end to assist with breaking down the snack bar. This includes taking down the tent and tables,consolidating leftovers and storing them in the snack shack, emptying coolers, wiping down cans/bottles etc.

MERCHANDISE SALES:

  1. Responsible for selling Marlins merchandise (extra t-shirts, bags, magnets etc.) for the duration of all our Home meets.

HOME MEET SET UP AND BREAKDOWN: This position is needed for both BEFORE AND AFTER a swim meet

  1. Assistance is needed to help set up the scorers table and the pool area both before AND after a home meet
  2. Will include, but not limited to, setting up/breaking down the tent, scorers table, chairs for swimmers in the shed, cleaning up garbage, putting any chairs away.

RIBBONS:

  1. At the conclusion of the swim meet, you will receive labels to be placed on ribbons for the swimmers that earned them. Can be done at home but needs to be timely.
  2. After the labels are placed on the ribbons, all the ribbons must be organized into each of the swimmers folders. A tote of folders will be provided to you, but please note that this tote MUST be returned in time for the next swim meet (logistics can be arranged after job is accepted).

SWIM OFFICIAL (Stroke and Turn):

  1. Must be YMCA of the USA, USA or MCSSL Summer Certified
  2. Responsible for ensuring that each swimmer is in compliance with technical rules.
  3. If you are interested in becoming a swim official, please reach out to Coach Chris D'Anna

STARTER:

  1. Must be YMCA of the USA, USA or MCSSL Summer Certified
  2. Senior official at the meet and is responsible for starting & announcing each race and heat.
  3. Responsible for all Officials and final sign off of any DQ’s presented by the Officials during a race
Text Area
Simple formatted text
Delete Edit_snippet
Add Snippet