VOLUNTEERING

Our team is run by volunteers. We need participation from all families to make our team successful.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Updated 2021
  • Parents/guardians with swimmers must volunteer at a minimum of three (3) swim meets.  These are swimmers who are actively participating in meets and practicing in the A, B, C, Skills practice groups.  This is per family (e.g., If you have more than one child swimming, the minimum requirement for your family remains at three (3) swim meets).
  • Parents/guardians with a swimmer in the Cubs group are NOT REQUIRED to volunteer at meets.  These are swimmers who do not participate in meets and practice with the Cubs group.  If, during the season, the Cub begins to swim in meets, the parent will be REQUIRED to assist their child at all meets they swim as a Cub.  This means helping them to remember which events they will be swimming and making sure they are lined up and ready to swim prior to the start of their events.
  • Each family is required to donate a food or drink item to our bake/food table for a minimum of two (2) home meets.
These are the minimum requirements. We encourage everybody to volunteer as much as they are willing. Volunteering can be a fun and rewarding experience. If you fulfill the minimum requirements, your $100 check that was submitted along with your registration will be returned to you un-cashed at the end of the season.  Below are descriptions of various volunteer opportunities at the swim meets.  Links for a Sign Up Genius will be sent out closer to the beginning of the meet season.

SWIM MEET JOB DESCRIPTIONS

50/50 Drawing: Sells 50/50 tickets to both teams at a swim meet; winner is chosen at Announcer’s table towards the end of the meet. Sign-up required. Can be used towards fulfilling volunteer requirements.

Announcer: Operates the Public Address system; announces the events, heats, and swimmers’ names; makes other announcements to keep everyone informed; and announces meet results. Sign-up required. Can be used towards fulfilling volunteer requirements.

Attendance Monitor: Takes attendance as swimmers arrive at the meet and gives final attendance sheet to the head coach. Sign-up required. Can be used towards fulfilling volunteer requirements.

Bake/Food Table: At the direction of the Food Coordinator, sets up bake/food table prior to swim meet; sells food during the meets; and helps in clean up after the meet; volunteers at the bake/food table will always get to see their child swim. Sign-up required. Can be used towards fulfilling volunteer requirements.

Baking/Food Preparation: Prepare baked goods or food items, such as a crock pot selections, fruit salad, or pasta salad to be sold at each home meet. All sales benefit our team. Sign-up required. All families are required to donate at least one food item for the bake/food table for one (1) home meet. This will count towards fulfilling volunteer requirements.
 
Computer Operator: Operates the computer with the meet software, HY-TEK's Meet Manager, to input times, etc. for each race and heat. Training will be provided. Sign-up required. Can be used towards fulfilling volunteer requirements.

Marshal: Marshals control the crowd and swimmer flow at the meet. They maintain order amongst the swimmers and line them up appropriately for each event. Sign-up required. Can be used towards fulfilling volunteer requirements.

Ribbons: Separates and places labels on ribbons; distributes them to swimmers. Sign-up required. Can be used towards
fulfilling volunteer requirements.

Runner: Runners pick up lane timing sheets from each lane; organizes them in appropriate order by event/heat; and delivers them to the computer operator’s table. They also check with Stroke/Turn Judges for any DQ slips, which are also delivered to the computer operator’s table. Requires walking and comfortable shoes. Sign-up required. Can be used towards fulfilling volunteer requirements.

Set-Up/Clean-Up: Assist in setting up and tearing down all equipment required to run the meet. This includes, but is not limited to tables, chairs, tents, flags, and lane lines; also includes support in the bake/food table area. No sign-up needed. Any help is appreciated.

Starter: The official in charge of beginning races and ensuring that the start of each race is fair, without false starts. The starter asks swimmers to step onto the blocks, gives the command for them to take their marks, and signals the start of the race. If there is a false start, the starter will call the swimmers back to the blocks for a fair re-start. PIAA-trained. Sign-up required. Can be used towards fulfilling volunteer requirements.
 
Stroke/Turn Judge: These officials are positioned at the sides of the pool. If they see an illegal stroke or turn, they record it on a DQ (Disqualification) slip and hand the slip to the Runner. Sign-up required. PIAA-Training is needed to become a judge. If interested, please inquire with our head coach. Can be used towards fulfilling volunteer requirements. The Macungie Bears Swim team is a member of the Surburban Swim League of the Greater Lehigh Valley.  Click here if you are interested in reading the official USA Stroke Rules and Regulations as found on the Suburban Swim League's website.
 
Timer: Timers stand behind the starting blocks and/or the finish end of the pool. Responsible for using stop watches to time each event, recording these times on timing sheets, and handing the sheets to the Runner. Several timers are needed from our
team for each meet. (Relief timers simply relieve the timers for breaks; Timing recorders document the times on paper and hand-off the paper to a runner) Sign-up required. Can be used towards fulfilling volunteer requirements.