Can only Mom (or Mom’s Female Cousin) volunteer at a Meet?

No. But I understand why you would ask that question. On Saturday, we had 20 volunteers, 17 of which were women. Ladies (and the three gentlemen), I applaud you.

Unlike a dance recital, where Dads may not be allowed backstage, all genders are welcome on the pool deck. Research shows that Dads/Uncles/Older Brothers/Male Cousins who volunteer at Meets are 100% less likely to get called out in an email like this one.

I am new to the Team. I am willing to help, but I do not know which volunteer positions are appropriate for me. Can you steer me in the right direction?

Sure can. In reality, none of the volunteer positions require advanced degrees, and most can be learned in a matter of minutes. But some are more approachable than others.

At Meets, being a Timer is the traditional entry-level position. At any given meet, we provide nine timers and the other team provides nine timers. The 18 timers are then divided up, three per lane. For each heat (fancy word for “race”), you start a stopwatch when you see a light (and hear a sound), and you stop the watch when the swimmer in your lane touches the wall. That’s it. That’s the job. Upside: close to the action. Downside: involves standing.

If you are more comfortable sitting, then try being an Automation Assistant or doing Awards. The Automation Assistants (sometimes people use absurdly intimidating words like “Scorer” or “Verifier” => they all refer to the same job) read times off of Lane Timer Sheets and proof-read printed results. Once the results are verified, labels are printed and handed off to… the Awards person, who affixes those labels to the backs of ribbons. Upside for Automation Assistant and Awards: seated, usually under cover and out of the sun. Downside: sometimes, these jobs linger past the end of the meet (that is, when the last heat ends, it takes a bit of time for the timer sheets to make their way to Automation, for the results to be verified, for the labels to be printed, and ultimately for the labels to be attached to ribbons).

For those who are seeking a less swim-centric, more sociable experience, selling drinks and snacks at Concessions might be a great option. Suitable for (nearly) all ages, including students, who can earn SSL hours. Upside: do not need to pay attention to every (or any) event at the Meet. Downside: cannot pretend there is no concession stand when your kids are clamoring for snacks.

Other volunteer options suitable for newcomers include helping at the Friday Night Potluck, at the Saturday BBQs (following home meets) and the Banquet (more on that in the coming weeks).

Signups for all of these can be found on Swimtopia.

My kid just celebrated his/her birthday, but everything Swim Team-related still says their “old” age. What gives?

For summer swim purposes, your swimmer is the age (s)he was on June 1. If you were 10 on June 1st and turned 11 on June 2^nd, you are 10 for the entire summer season.

What is the ‘Best Time Bag’?

You know that cute clutch you bring when you are hitting the town on a Saturday night? That’s not what this is. Instead, it is a bag of candy that will be pool-side at our upcoming meets. If/when your swimmer gets a Best Time in an event, (s)he gets to choose a goodie from the Best Time Bag. Get two best times, get two goodies. And so on.

We can use your help filling the Best Time Bag. Please bring your donations of NON-MELTING candy to the Team Reps at any Meet. Like the one coming up this Wednesday.

Is there a Team Record Bag or a Pool Record Bag? What do those words even mean?

I am not aware of separate bags for Team or Pool Records (but, by definition, if you set a Record, you also got a Best Time). Bag or no bag, we do track the record times achieved by Serpent Swimmers. In a nutshell,

Stonegate Team Record = fastest time ever achieved by a Stonegate swimmer; can be achieved at a home or away meet

Stonegate Pool Record = fastest time ever achieved by any swimmer at Stonegate; can be the home or visiting team

Other Teams’ Pool Record = fastest time ever achieved by any swimmer in that pool; super exciting when it is a Stonegate swimmer! Hopefully River Falls will update its record board and we can see our names when we are back there on July 19.