Parent Volunteer Job Descriptions
LVE torpedoes is a completely volunteer-run organization. There are many opportunities to volunteer throughout the season, as most roles require no prior experience. Opportunities to shadow are available.
For questions, please contact (Saijal S.)
AGE GROUP COORDINATOR
Age Group Coordinators must arrive before the swimmers arrive and must be able to stay through the relays at the end of the meet. Please arrive and check in with the Volunteer Coordinator. You will receive a packet which will include a list of your swimmers and what events they are swimming, a sharpie for if the swimmer wants the events written on their arm, and signs and lanyards so the swimmers can easily identify their Age Group Coordinator. You will take attendance and inform swimmers of their events. During the team warm up, Age Group Coordinators will have a meeting with the Clerk of Course where they will discuss the process for the meet and inform the clerk of any absences. During the meet, Age Group Coordinators are responsible for gathering the swimmers and bringing them to the clerk on time. They will also assist during relays by gathering teams and walking them to the opposite side of the pool. This volunteer will need to be assertive, manage kids, and work with the Clerk of Course and Relay Coordinator to make sure all swimmers are lined up correctly for their events. Please check your inbox for an email from the Clerk of Course before the meet begins with specific instructions.
CLERK OF COURSE
Responsible for lining all swimmers up in appropriate lanes for the meet, according to the meet sheet. They keep accurate documentation of the swimmers throughout the meet.
DJ
Play music during home meets.
FLOATERS
Volunteers on stand-by during meets to fill in missing positions due to no shows or illnesses.
HEAD TIMER (HOME MEETS ONLY)
Arrive 30 minutes before meet start. Picks up the equipment needed for timers (stop watches, clipboard, pens, etc.). This position manages both home team and away team timers. Conducts the timer’s briefing in conjunction with the starter. The Head Timer supervises and trains all new timers, answers any questions first time timers may have, makes sure that all timers are in their specified locations and are equipped with stopwatches, clip boards and pencils. The Head Timer carries 2 extra stop watches to serve as back-up timer in situations where timers stop watches have malfunctioned. The Head Timer is responsible for communicating with the Referee and Starter if there is a problem or if there is a need to delay the start of the next race. They also provide confirmation to the starter when each lane is ready with three timers after a pool rotation (ie: 50M swim).
MEET RUNNER
Report 30 minutes before meet start. The Meet Runner is responsible for walking the pool and collecting DQ slips, and Timer sheets. Timers and Officials will raise their hand as an indicator they have something to be picked up. The meet runner should introduce themselves to the officials at the Officials Brief. All officials will be wearing white on the top and navy on the bottom. After picking up DQ slips from the Stroke and Turn Judges, the meet runner will bring these slips to the Referee for checking and then on to the computer operator. The Timer slips go directly from the Timers to the computer operator. Please wear very comfortable shoes as this position does do a lot of walking.
REFEREE (CERTIFICATION REQUIRED)
The head official at a swim meet. This position has final say on all administrative decisions and is responsible for the safety of the swimmers during the meet.
RELAY COORDINATOR
The Relay Coordinator ensures all LVE teams are ready to swim their relays at the end of a meet. Please arrive and check in with the Volunteer Coordinator. During the team warm-up, you will attend a meeting with the clerk of course and age group coordinators where you will be informed of any absences. Throughout the meet, the relay coordinator will work with the coach and age group coordinators to identify suitable replacements that adhere to the ODSL relay rules and then update the relay board and relay sheets that will be given to the clerks and computer operators prior to the start of relays. When it is time for relays, the relay coordinator will assist the clerks in organizing the teams and sending them to their correct starting side. This is an extremely chaotic environment and requires patience.
STARTER (CERTIFICATION REQUIRED)
This official is in charge of signaling the beginning of a race and ensuring that all swimmers have a fair takeoff. Also makes all necessary announcements and introduces the start of the meet.
STROKE & TURN JUDGE (CERTIFICATION REQUIRED)
This position requires training and certification. See the ODSL Team Representative or a Swim Team Board member if you are interested in this position.Stroke and Turn Judges observe the swimmers after the start and reports any violations of a swimmers stroke, turn or finish according to the rules for the Old Dominion Swim League. Violations are recorded on DQ slips and the meet runner brings them to the Referee for review.
TIMER
Please check-in 20 minutes before start of meet. Attend timers meeting 15 minutes before start of meet. You will be timing events half way through the meet either the first half or second half. Use a stopwatch to time swimmers in your assigned lane. There will be 3 timers per lane with a mix of volunteers from our pool and the opposing team in each lane. One timer per lane will record times on timer sheets. Please raise your hand and contact head timer if your stop watch is not working properly during an event so the Head Timer can give you a replacement stop watch. If this does not happen soon enough record the two times and the computer operator will average them. It is important to always look for the strobe light and not just go on sound. If you cannot see the starter strobe please raise your hand and let the Head Timer know. Please, always verify all swimmers names.
VOLUNTEER CHECK-IN
This position must be one of the first to arrive. Make sure all volunteer positions are filled prior to the meet, find replacements for vacancies that occur during the meet, and collect volunteer information from the other coordinators. Must keep accurate records of all volunteer time worked by all swim team families. This person is responsible to change/rotate/refill the volunteers for various shifts. Most common positions that have shifts are Timers and the Stroke & Turn Officials. This person must have good communication skills, be assertive, be detail oriented, and be available during meet days. After the meet is complete please return your sheet to the Volunteer Coordinator and go over any changes from the computer print out.
