General Volunteer Positions
Volunteers are the cornerstone of the Kingfish community. Most of the volunteer positions do not require any previous experience and are easy to learn. You can sign-up for volunteer positions on your Swimtopia account, where you can also find the swim meet schedule and locations for away meets.
All families are asked to volunteer at the Time Trials event on Saturday, June 7, 2025. This is our first meet of the year. The whole team participates so swimmers can get their starting/qualifying times. This meet requires more volunteers since there is no opposing team to share the workload. Time Trials area great opportunity to learn and observe the volunteer positions and meet other Kingfish parents.
The following is a list of all volunteer positions with a brief explanation of each. As a reminder, all families are asked to volunteer for 25 hours to help the season run smoothly and to make the swim meets and special events possible. There are opportunities throughout the week, including morning and afternoon slots, as well at home and away events. Contact the Volunteer Coordinator if you have any questions.
No experience necessary:
Timers - Each swim meet requires 3 timers per lane (9 from each team). You will be provided with a stopwatch and a quick training before the meet begins. Standing for long periods is required. “A” meets start early on Saturday mornings and “B” meets run from around 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays. Please only sign up to time if you know you can stay the entire meet.
Head Clerk of Course - The Head Clerk of Course is responsible for organizing swimmers into their lane assignments, before their events, and keeping the pace of the meet. They work with the Announcer to appropriately pace the events and ensure sufficient time in-between. The Clerk of Course also records "scratched" (no-show) swimmers.
Assistant Clerk of Course - The Assistant Clerk of Course locates and directs swimmers to the Head Clerk of Course in advance of their events. It’s helpful to know at least some of the swimmers by name.
Runner - The runner collects the time sheets/cards from the timers after every race and brings them to the computer operators after each event is completed. The Runner role requires standing for the entire meet and being able to walk back and forth from the starting blocks to the Automation (computer) area throughout meet. There are usually two runners for each home and away meet.
Door Greeter (Home Meets) - The greeter sits at the Clubhouse entrance and greets our Kingfish families and away team guests and directs them to the pool. The Door Greeter arrives early to ensure families are able to enter the clubhouse when they arrive.
Merchandise Helper (Home Meets) - The Merchandise Helper assists our Merchandise leads with selling Kingfish merchandise at home meets. This role works the entire meet, including setting up before the meet and cleaning up after the meet ends.
Additional Home Meet opportunities; no experience necessary and fun to do in small groups:
Grill Team - At each meet, hot dogs, hamburgers, and other hot food is prepared by the grill team. This helps the home team raise money and provide food throughout the meet. Volunteers help set up the grill, prepare food, and help clean up after the meet. The grill and food is provided.
Concessions Helpers - Several volunteers help set-up the concessions food and drinks for the meet, collect money for purchases, and help clean up the snack bar area at the end of the meet.
Bring Food for Officials - Two families volunteer for this role at each home meet. The role involves preparing or buying a meal for all officials and timers working at the meet, setting it up at the table between the lap pool and the leisure pool before halftime, and cleaning up after halftime ends. For morning meets, breakfast food is usually served and dinner food is served for evening meets. Be prepared to serve about 25-30 people.
Concessions - Pickup Bagels, Donuts, Coffee- Pick up bagels/coffee/donuts and deliver them to Concessions stand before the meet begins. Coordinate with Volunteer Coordinator and Concessions team for details on where to pick up the food, how to pay for it, and what time it should arrive.
Baked Goods for Concessions - Bring baked goods to the Concessions stand before the meet begins for Concessions to sell during the meet.
Put Up/Take Down Banners - Volunteers hang up sponsor banners before home meets and take them down afterwards.
Some experience recommended:
Head Timer (Home Meets) - While you do not have to be certified, it is recommended that you have been a timer several times before signing up for this position. The Head Timer holds a meeting for timers before the meet begins, makes sure all timers are in place and ready for each heat, communicates with the officials, and acts as 3rd timer when a timer's watch malfunctions. The Head Timer works the entire meet. We need one Head Timer for each home meet.
Assistant Head Timer (Away Meets) - We will need an Assistant Head Timer at all away meets. This role supports the Head Timer of the home team and also acts as an extra timer if one of the timer's watches malfunctions. Assistant Head Timer works the entire meet.
Announcer (Home Meets) - This person announces the names, lanes, and stroke before each heat, in cooperation with the Clerk of Course. Works closely with the Starter to keep the meet running smoothly.
Verifier(s) - This role ensures the accuracy of swimmer times and any disqualifications reported by the timers before they are posted on the results board. Each meet has at least two verifiers - one from the home team and one from visiting team.Once verified,Automation inputs the results into the system for tallying and printing. A Verifier will then conduct a final review before posting results on the results board. Verifier(s) must stay for the entire duration of a meet.
Ribbon Writers - Ribbon Writers attach placement labels to ribbons during the meet and are responsible for sorting and organizing them once they are generated. They also placethe ribbons in each family's folder in the bin outside the Clubhouse locker rooms. Ribbon writers are needed for home and away meets and typically sit near Automation during the meet. Ideally, a parent will commit to a season of ribbon writing for A and or B meets.
Montgomery County Swim League (MCSL) Training Required:
Anyone interested in the following positions can contact the Volunteer Coordinator about the required training.
Referee (Home Meets) - The Referee is the final arbiter of all decisions and questions during the meet and has full authority over all officials. The referee must be thoroughly familiar with all applicable USS rules and MCSL rules, all meet procedures, and duties of all officials. Ref candidates need to Stroke and Turn judges for two years before they’re eligible for certification.
Stroke and Turn Judges - Stroke and Turn Judges determine whether the swimmers perform their strokes and turns in accordance with the prescribed rules of MCSL. Two Kingfish Stroke and Turn Judges are required at each swim meet, both home and away.
Starter (Away Meets) - The Starter calls the swimmers to their starting positions, to "take their mark," starts the race, and indicates if any false starts have occurred. We need a Starter for every Away Meet.
The Kingfish community thanks you for volunteering! Feel free to reach out to the Volunteer Coordinator for more information.
