There are many levels of volunteering, both during swim meets and overall operation of the club. Both are equally important and critical to making our club exist. Every year DMSF offers four or more home swim meets and inter-squad meets that require EVERY parent to give their time towards. It takes over 100 volunteers to run a swim meet and because of this, there is an expectation that all parents serve in a role as a volunteer to allow our swimmers to participate in meets.

Swim Meets
There are two levels of volunteering during a swim meet: trained and no experience necessary. Both levels are extremely important and serve equally in contributing to DMSF. If you like to be where the action is, timing could be your thing for the non experienced or become an official, which is a rewarding job that requires some outside training. Please read through the list of volunteer positions to see how you’re going to support DMSF and then sign up by clicking here.

Computer/Timing equipment and management:
The computer operators will be responsible for the set-up and take down of the computer systems. When the system is up and running the computer operator will work closely with the Entry in meeting their responsibilities.

Hospitality:
This committee is responsible for serving refreshments (soft drinks, snacks and meals) to meet workers, officials and coaches. Meet workers will probably perform more efficiently and cooperatively if they are provided with a meal and refreshments throughout the day. This committee may also be responsible for making sure that water is readily available in self-service type containers at various places on the deck. This can be particularly important if your meet is held during hot weather, indoors or out. The hospitality committee works closely with the snack bar committee and should be staffed by courteous and outgoing personnel. They are responsible for soliciting local restaurants for food donations and works with volunteer outreach for club donations.

Meet Director:
The meet director is usually appointed by the meet host and is the organizer of all meet activities. The meet director's main responsibilities include, but are not limited to: securing an appropriate meet facility, obtaining a meet sanction, preparing and distributing meet invitations, organizing meet committees, printing meet program and distributing final results. The director should remain the overseer of activities, avoiding direct involvement in any one committee or activity. It is also essential that the meet director consult regularly with committee chairpersons to ensure that each committee's assignments are being handled thoroughly and expediently.

Advertising and Sponsorship:
Hosting a swim meet is an expensive undertaking. Meet costs can be partially defrayed with advertising and sponsorship revenue. The advertising and sponsorship committee often functions on a year-round basis. It takes a great deal of time and effort to solicit funds, but a small, dedicated committee with quality leadership can be very effective. Code Book Section J Page: J-13 Iowa Swimming, Inc. MEET DIRECTOR’S HANDBOOK Revised: 12/2006 Camera-ready copy and advertisements should be given to the program committee as early as possible prior to the meet date. Many corporations can provide camera-ready materials, eliminating some typesetting costs for the committee, but sponsors should be forewarned of any copy, logo or photo restrictions for the meet program. If a contract is signed for in-kind services, special sponsor needs (e.g., free tickets, banners, public address acknowledgements, etc.) should be reviewed carefully with the committee, meet director and facilities manager.

Awards:
Awards can be the single largest expense for a swim meet. Careful consideration should be given to the level of competition and to any specific LSC guidelines when selecting the awards. A common practice is to award medals or ribbons first through the # of lanes in your pool (6 lane-1st-6th, 8 lane-1st-8th).
Sufficient lead-time for ordering awards is essential. A minimum of six weeks is usually required from the time of the order to the actual delivery. Extra awards should always be ordered to allow for ties or errors. For senior meets, hosts and swimmers should be aware that the cost or value of any prizes may affect high school or college eligibility. Preparing awards for distribution takes time; pre-planning and organization are essential. Awards can be sorted by event into labeled paper lunch bags before the meet. Awards not collected by swimmers should either be forwarded to the swimmer's club coach or representative at the meet or by mail.

Snack Bar and Concessions:
The snack bar committee should begin planning early. The chair (or co-chairs) should be selected six to eight weeks before the meet. This committee is responsible for menu planning, shopping, food preparation and staffing the snack bar during the meet. The meet director or a member of the committee should check local ordinances regarding the preparation and sale of food. Soliciting food donations and shopping for advertised specials can save a great deal of money.
The meet concessions may be organized by the snack bar committee or may be offered to a professional swim shop for a percentage of sales. The host club and locale of a meet will often dictate stocking of a concession stand.

Clerk of Course (if needed):
(USA Swimming Rules and Regulations Article 102.18)
The Clerk of Course is responsible for much of the pre-competition paperwork at the meet, and is the custodian of the scratch box and relay forms, when these are used. The Clerk of Course should have a protected, but easily accessible, work location on or adjacent to the pool deck during the meet. The functions described in the following sections under Check-in, Seeding, and Relay forms are the responsibility of the Clerk of Course.

Meet Marshal:
Meet marshals must be selected for every meet and must be USA Swimming members. They should be responsible individuals who can actively monitor warm-ups and maintain order and safety in the swimming venue. They are assigned by and report to the Meet Director and/or Meet Referee. The marshal shall warn, order to cease and desist, or, with the concurrence of the Referee, remove from the venue, anyone behaving in an unsafe manner or whose actions are disrupting the orderly conduct of the meet. To indicate their authority, marshals should be provided with an easily identifiable uniform clearly visible to all in the venue. Bright orange vests or armbands, or other brightly colored means of identification can be used.

The Chief Timer and Timers:
(USA Swimming Rules and Regulations Article 102.17)
Timers are the key volunteers at all swim meets. The purpose of a competitive meet is for each swimmer to achieve times; therefore, these workers must be diligent and dedicated to ensure success.
Another key worker at any meet is the chief timer, who is responsible for recruiting both the timers (three per lane) and runners prior to the meet and then supervising these people during the meet. The chief timer ensures that all timers and their watches are functioning properly throughout the meet, replacing timers or watches when necessary. The chief timer's watch is started for each heat and is used to replace any watch that may malfunction or that did not start during any given heat. The chief timer delivers all times recorded by the lane timers to the meet recorders.

The Announcer:
(USA Swimming Rules and Regulations Article 102.21)
Meet announcers must be selected with great care. An announcer should have a clear, pleasant voice and be able to function under pressure in the midst of a noisy crowd and a demanding referee. A knowledgeable swim-parent with a pleasing "radio" voice and a willingness to help can be an invaluable asset as an announcer, but must be forewarned to remain impartial. At most age group meets, the function of an announcer is to state the facts (i.e. event, heat, swimmer's names, etc.), not to commentate. Unnecessary comments or announcements merely add to the confusion at such meets.

Entry Chair:
The first step in data entry is to generate the Meet Information document and master entry forms. The computer operator should obtain the required information from the Meet Director. When sending out team entry packets, the host club should include an entry form for each age group and each sex. These entry forms should be pre-printed with event names and event numbers. This will save many errors during the entry process. If individual, rather than team, entries are to be submitted, forms for this purpose can also be designed and included in the meet information to make the data entry process as easy and error-free as possible. While waiting for entries to start coming in, the computer operator should enter qualifying times (for higher level meets) and records that apply to the upcoming meet.

Runners:
Runners, often the host club's age-groupers, shuttle material (e.g., seed cards, results) from station to station during the meet. These workers are literally "runners”. It is helpful to have one person coordinating the efforts of all runners to avoid confusion and lost material. Courtesy, praise and a small reward (e.g., a meet T-shirt) are all that is needed to promote dedication in this invaluable group of volunteers.

Officials

USA SWIMMING certified officials are present at all competitions to implement the technical rules of swimming and to ensure that the competition is fair and equitable for all swimmers. Different types of officials include:

Turn Judges:
Observe from each end of the pool and ensure that the turns and finishes comply with the rules applicable to each stroke.
DES MOINES SWIM FEDERATION - MEMBER HANDBOOK Revision 12/01/2008 21

Stroke Judges:
Observe from both sides of the pool, walking abreast of the swimmers to ensure that the rules relating to each stroke are being followed.
The positions of Stroke Judge and Turn Judge may be combined into one position called the Stroke and Turn Judge.

Relay Takeoff Judges:
Stand beside the starting blocks to observe the relay exchange, ensuring that the feet of the departing swimmer has not lost contact with the block before the incoming swimmer touches the end of the pool.

Starter:
Assumes control of the swimmers from the Referee, directs them to take their mark, and sees that no swimmer is in motion prior to giving the start signal.

Referee:
Has overall authority and control of the competition, ensuring that all rules are followed, assigns and instructs all officials, and decides all questions relating to the conduct of the meet.
Violations of the rules result in a disqualification (DQ) of the swimmer and are reported to the Referee. USA SWIMMING rules require that every reasonable effort is made to notify the swimmer or the swimmer’s coach of the reason for the disqualification. The disqualification is necessary to keep the competition fair and equitable for all competitors. A supportive attitude on the part of the official, the coach, and the parent can also keep it a positive experience for the disqualified swimmer. If your child is disqualified (DQ’d) in an event, be supportive rather than critical. For beginning swimmers, a disqualification should be treated as a learning experience, not as punishment. It should be considered in the same light as an incorrect answer in schoolwork, alerting swimmers and coaches to areas that need further practice.


Note that these positions may or may not require more then one person to fulfill. If there is more then one person involved then it is the responsibility of the person assigned to that role to come up with the other individuals needed. For example, the head official will probably need several officials at the meet. The head official would then be responsible for calling these individuals.

HOW TO BECOME AN OFFICIAL

Parents can become USA SWIMMING officials by:

1. Obtaining a current USA SWIMMING code book and reading the sections pertaining to technical rules of competition, administrative regulations of competition, athletes’ rights and eligibility, hearings and appeals, governing regulations of USA SWIMMING, and governing regulations of LSC’s. The book can be obtained by calling the USA SWIMMING national headquarters in Colorado (719-866-4578).
2. Attending one three-hour ISI sponsored official’s clinic periodically held throughout the state. Notification of locally held clinics is given on the DMSF website.
3. Taking and passing an open book, written examination.
4. Working four sessions at a USA SWIMMING swim meet as an apprentice official. The club president can help arrange this.

Volunteer Registration:
https://thriva.activenetwork.com/reg4/form.aspx?IDTD=2807599&RF=3609291&mode=0