Volunteer Information
Our swim team thrives because of the dedication and involvement of our families—quite simply, we cannot operate without you. Every aspect of the season, from daily practices to home meets and special team events, relies entirely on volunteers stepping in to help. There are a wide variety of roles available, so whether you’re timing races, helping organize our banquet, or assisting behind the computer screen, your participation makes a direct and meaningful impact on the experience for all swimmers.
To ensure that responsibilities are shared fairly across the team, each family is required to earn a minimum of 6 volunteer points per season. These points are accumulated through participation in volunteer assignments, which are outlined under the "jobs" section of each event. If a family does not meet this requirement, a fee will be charged for any missed points or sessions. This policy helps us maintain a fully staffed and smoothly run program for everyone involved.
Volunteer sign-ups for meets will close one week prior to each event/meet. After this deadline, if you are unable to fulfill your assigned shift, it becomes your responsibility to find a replacement. Once you have arranged coverage, you must notify the team by emailing with the updated volunteer information. This ensures that all roles remain properly filled and that meet operations continue without disruption.
We truly appreciate your time, effort, and commitment—your involvement is what makes our swim team community strong and successful.
Checkout our instructional & informational videos on YouTube to learn more!
TRAINED VOLUNTEER POSITIONS
*Training, provided by SJSSL (St. Johns Summer Swim League) or HLH after registration*
STARTER: Announces first, second, and final calls for each event.The announcer is able to anticipate flow based on the number of swimmers, the stroke, the number of lengths to swim, and the age of the swimmers. Start each event with the announcement of the age and stroke and the phrase "Swimmers, Take Your Mark," pause to make sure that all swimmers are motionless, and then give an electronic sound or a blast of a whistle.
STARTER ASSISTANT: This position assists the Starter by announcing the start of each event by the pool. Hand signals to deaf swimmers “On your mark” when the Starter says, "Swimmers, Take Your Mark," position “Get Set,” and then hand signals “Go” when the electronic sound or whistle go off.
STROKE & TURN: Stroke & Turn officials work in pairs on each side of the pool with one member of a pair being from each team.S&T only rule on infractions in their quadrant of the pool. They observe starts, strokes, turns, and finishes to see that swimmers comply with the requirements for that stroke.
HEAD MEET ORGANIZER (HMO): This is the Head Meet Official. This position is to be held by EXPERIENCED Stroke and Turn Officials. Prior to the meet, the HMO runs the briefings for stroke-and-turn officials. The HMO runs home meets and resolves all disputes. He/she assigns officials to watch for early take-offs during relays. During the meet, the HMO reviews all DQ slips, signs, approves and submits them to the computer operators.In the case of a false start, the starter and HMO determine when to re-run a heat and inform computer operators. The HMO knows the weather policy and has the authority to suspend or stop a meet due to weather conditions.
COMPUTER HELPER: Some training (provided by the Team) is required. Responsible for organizing and entering information into swim software that helps determine official times and order of finish. With this job, you are near the pool and you see the race results before anyone else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMhdhLxkym8
COMPUTER OPERATOR ASSISTANT: Training provided by HLH Swim Team is required.Work directly with the Computer Operator and responsible for organizing and entering information into swim software that determines official times and order of finish.
STANDARD VOLUNTEER POSITIONS
*Instruction provided day of shift*
BANQUET COMMITTEE + CLEAN-UP: Helps with planning and execution of end-of-season banquet. They will work directly with the Banquet Coordinator to breakdown and clean the selected venue for the End of the Season banquet. Responsibilities include but are not limited to packing up equipment such as speakers, computers and microphones, putting up tables and chairs, taking down all decor, packing up any leftover food and drink, breaking down the raffle table, picking up any and all debris, checking restrooms for cleanliness, etc. Generally taking 2 hours to breakdown, location depending.
BANQUET COMMITTEE + FOOD & DRINK: Helps with planning and execution of end-of-season banquet. They will work directly with the Banquet Coordinator to select food, dessert and drink options that are within the Team budget. Ensuring enough food, dessert and drinks are ordered for the End of Season Banquet. Additional items such as plates, napkins, silverware, cups will also need to be included (sponsors will often donate these items). Coordination of all food, dessert, etc. will need to be communicated with the Banquet Coordinator.
BANQUET COMMITTEE + SET-UP: Helps with planning and execution of end-of-season banquet. They will work directly with the Banquet Coordinator and set up the selected venue for the End of the Season banquet. Responsibilities include but are not limited to delivery equipment, setting up speakers, computers and microphones, setting up tables, chairs, decor, food and drink areas, raffle tables, etc. Generally taking 2 hours to set up, location depending.
CHECK-IN: These volunteers will check-in all volunteers and swimmers as they arrive at the pool. Will work directly with Volunteer Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator Assistant.
CLEAN-UP CAPTAIN: The Clean-Up Captain is responsible for directing all Clean-Up Volunteers and helping the meet officials pack up all equipment, including the tents, and neatly storing them in the swim team shed at the end of the meet. Once the swim meet is completed, the pool deck furniture will be returned to a normal state, the pool deck and surrounding areas will be returned to the same state (or better) than when received Friday evening.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ2w-Yd4UUY
FLIP CHART: This volunteer flips the chart indicating the current event and heat number called by the Starter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEimWNvtEOs
HEAD TIMER: This volunteer oversees timing of each event and serves as a back-up to all the timers. Starts 2 stopwatches at the beginning of every race, in case the lane timers stopwatches are not started or malfunction.
HEAT RIBBONS: The Heat Ribbons volunteer is responsible for giving heat winner ribbons to the winner of each heat in each event.
MEET CLEAN-UP: The Meet Clean-Up volunteers will check in with the Clean-Up Captain and be responsible for helping pack up all the equipment, tents, etc., and storing them where directed. After the swim meet is over, Clean-Up volunteers will return all pool furniture to its original positions, remove debris and leave the pool area the same, or better than Friday evening before set-up.
MEET SET-UP: Set-Up Volunteers check-in with Set-Up Captain Friday evening and set pool deck up for home meet the following morning. This includes, but not limited to moving pool furniture, setting up tents, setting up starter and announcer equipment, ready bench, setting up additional tables, and chairs needed for swim meets.
READY BENCH ASSISTANT: The Ready Bench Assistant helps the home team Ready Bench Coordinator by placing swimmers in their assigned events, heats, and lanes at the ready bench. They assist bringing younger swimmers poolside from the ready bench to their lane assignment. Must be good with crowd control.
READY BENCH COORDINATOR: The Ready Bench Coordinator is key to keeping the meet on schedule and organized. Ready Bench Coordinator calls swimmers to the ready bench and lines up swimmers in order of event, heat, and assigned lane. Must be organized and work well in a loud, fast-paced area.
RIBBON COORDINATOR: This position, you'll get the swim meet results and labels from the Computer Operator, use the labels to award each swimmer with the appropriate ribbons, sort all the awarded ribbons into the appropriate files in the ribbon boxes & bring the boxes to practices the week after meets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPshH9cYAi8
RUNNER: This job is responsible for obtaining the completed timer sheets and DQ (disqualification) forms for each race from the timers and Stroke Officials. The cards and DQ forms are delivered to the computer table and in between delivering cards and DQ forms, water bottles are offered to all volunteers and coaches on deck. Proper footwear for slippery, wet surfaces is highly recommended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LMq8XZxQd4
TIMER: Timers ensure each swimmer gets the most accurate time possible. They are also our last line of defense to confirm the correct swim time, heat and swim lane per swimmer. There are two (2) timers per lane and each timer is provided a stopwatch and assigned lane. Instructions will be given on stopwatches, plungers and recording swim times. Timing involves starting a stopwatch on the start of a race, and stopping it once the swimmer finishes their swim . A Timer will write down two (2) swim times (time on their stopwatch and the time on second timers stopwatch) ). After clearing the stopwatches, you will repeat the same process with the next race.
