Saddle Creek Dolphins

Our next meet is against Brookfield Country Club on Tuesday, 6/25!

Please declare your swimmer by Sunday 6/23 at 8 pm.

Saddle Creek is hosting a food drive for NFCC at our final meet, and we hope to have your participation to help local families in need.  As an incentive, our concessions stand is offering one Airhead candy per child for a donation of cereal or peanut butter. Other items are also welcome!

Location: Saddle Creek Pool, 495 Saddle Creek Circle

Time: Arrive at 4:00 for check-in. Warm Ups begin at  4:30 PM.  Meet begins at 5:30. *Volunteers: First shift volunteers need to check in by 5:00--Bullpen parents who are at the pool earlier need to go ahead and report to bullpen. All timers, judges, computer persons, and event flippers must be present for the 5:15 meeting with the ASA ref.

Concessions: Chicken tacos and pulled pork sandwiches provided by Talk of the Town. We will also have Uncrustables, chips, candy, and drinks. Cash (Small bills, please!) and credit cards accepted. King of Pops will also be available for purchase.

Parking: Be respectful of the neighbors and park only in designated areas. There is no parking on either side of Saddle Creek Drive between the pool and the white house. Do not block driveways or mailboxes and leave room for emergency vehicles.

Bring: Arrive wearing swimsuits. Don't forget goggles and towels. Take a picture of your swimmer's arm and re-mark if sunscreen removes the Sharpie. Please label everything. For more info, refer to Swim Meet 101

*Remind swimmers to stay in their bullpens between events!

*Please wait to take your swimmers to Concessions when there is a long break in events!

Tips:

• If you have any questions regarding job duties, please contact Mary Kenny, Alice Marsh or Summer Bolte.  And thanks to Mary Berbette for stepping up to help and learn this role!
• Parents, if you do not have a toddler tagging along, please choose a job other than those noted as "good for parents with a tag-along sibling." This way we can do our best to meet the needs of everyone on the team at all stages of parenting.  (We have all been there!)  
• Reminder: During registration, you agreed to work 5 points/5 shifts and agreed to a pre-authorized $150 fee if that is not met.  We will not turn you away if you agree to work/help us extra in meets to work more than 5 points!
• Some first half jobs start as early as 4:30.  The second half of the meet begins around event 43/44, which is typically in the 7-7:30 time frame. 
• Some shifts are based on Time and not event numbers.  Our volunteer coordinators will indicate to you at meets when you should change shifts. 
• If you need specific dates, shifts, or jobs, you need to sign up as soon as sign ups open.  
• Yes, you may sign up for a job the entire meet and yes, multiple people from your family may sign up!  We often do not fill all jobs (especially at Home meets) and would not survive without the families who help us out with more than the minimum obligation. It takes a village!
• Sending a grandparent? We love our grandparent workers!  Make sure to read the job descriptions to sign up for a good fit.  

Ideas for Juggling Jobs and Young Siblings:

• Divide and Conquer:  One parent takes charge of the kids while the other works their shift
• Bye-Bye:  Send 6 & Under swimmers and siblings home with a spouse after the first half of the meet and work the 2nd shift alone. 
• First Half, Then Home:  If you only have 6 & Under swimmers, work a first half job.  Your swimmers will be finished and your job duties will be complete after event 42.  Note:  Please do not go home until you are replaced at event 43--it puts the team in a bind! Notify Alice Marsh before the meet begins if you need to leave your shift early.   [email protected]/[email protected]
• Family Help:  Those who have grandparents or family nearby may ask them to come to the meet to help with younger siblings, or even to work a shift.  
• Babysitter:  Some also choose to leave young siblings at home with a babysitter.  (My family did this because our youngest was too bored to last the entire meet).

Job Descriptions

Bullpen Parent: The bullpen is a designated location where the swimmers stay when they're not participating in a race.  The Bullpen Parent will make sure the kids stay in the bullpen and help them keep track of when their events are occurring.  The Bullpen Parent will also identify the swimmers as they arrive and mark their back/shoulder with a Sharpie (to help the coaches identify them on deck).  The first half workers will need to help the kids get to warm-ups.  Other general duties include making sure the kids respect the property and keep them from being too crazy.  This job is especially important during Away events, as we are not always on the pool deck.  You will need to be able to be fun but firm with the kids in this position to keep them from littering, destroying property or getting so wild that they hurt each other!  

**This is a good job for parents with tag-along siblings because siblings can hang with the big kids**

Bullpen Runner/Deck Manager

This is a job at the Away meets. This person will help take swimmers from the bullpen to the coaches. At home meets, our bullpen is close to the pool, and coaches often take over this job.  This job is great for someone who is loud and can gather kids together easily.  The Bullpen Runner/ Deck Manager needs to be at the meet no later 5:30 PM.

This is not a good job for siblings to tag along. Involves a lot of walking

Computer Person

This person inputs swimmer times into the computer (along with a volunteer from the other team), then prints labels for ribbons. The system is pretty self-explanatory. (There is a webinar here and vital info begins at minute 22:31.)  Typically this job is away from the pool and crowd, and sometimes it is inside. We prefer this job to be done by someone who has been a part of swim before, and would like the same 2-3 people be in this job. This is often NOT in sight of the pool, which can make it difficult to run and see swim events. The Computer Person needs to be at the meet no later than 5:30 PM.  The second half worker will need to help wrap up the last entries, which takes 10-15 minutes after the meet ends.  This job is shared with the other team therefore, you can take breaks and see your swimmers events!

**This job can be good for a tag-along sibling that will be fairly content hanging out with you.**

Concessions

This job is only for Home meets. First half job duties include setting up at 4:30, selling and restocking candy and drinks.  A Grill Assistant will help with wrapping and serving food.  Second half workers will take over at 6:30 and duties will include selling and restocking concessions, breaking down and cleaning up during the last 20 minutes of the swim meet. The Concessions Committee plans and purchases food and beverages.   They will be at all home meets to direct concessions volunteers. 

**Okay for a tag-along sibling for the 2nd half ONLY, especially one that will want to be a helper!  The first shift of concessions involves the majority of the cooking and more movement.**

Event Tracker

This job is only for Home meets.  **TBD, the announcer may be the event tracker this year as it is digital*** This may or may not be a seperate job.***The Event Tracker must be able to watch the pool and keep track of event progress.  The first half Event Tracker needs to be at the meet by 5:15 PM.  The second half Event Tracker takes over on race 44.  This job is great for someone who would prefer to sit during the meet, but not ideal for someone with a tag-along sibling.

Judge

There are 2 Judges at each meet. We provide one for Away meets and 2 for Home meets. The Judge watches each race and ranks lanes on who placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. This is a backup when a Timer's time is off or did not get recorded.  Judges must be on the pool deck at 5:15 PM to meet with the ref. 

**This job is NOT good for someone with a tag-along sibling as the swim events have to be watched closely.  

Master Recorder/Runner Floater

The Master Recorder collects the master record from Judge's Recorder at meets where there is not a specialized timing system. They also collect times from all lane timers for each event. The records are then delivered to a computer runner or to the Computer Person. The other team also provides a Master Recorder. This job may require a lot of walking at Away meets based on the other pool's  set up. There is less walking at our Home pool for this job.

4/5 of our meets will have the specialized timing system.  This job will convert to a runner/floater doing random things during their shift or possibly filling in for a timer if needed.

Ribbon Worker

The Ribbon Worker puts stickers on ribbons and files them. This job is done beside the Computer Person and starts around 6:30 PM.  Ribbons are labeled in batches, leaving plenty of time to label them in between swimmer events. The Ribbon Worker must stay until the last labels are printed, about 10 mins after the meet ends.  This job is typically not in sight of the pool, but it's easy to stop and watch swimmer events.  In pre-approved cases, the ribbons can be finished at home BUT because the labels have to be printed 10ish minutes after the meet ends, most stay and finish up and the ribbons must be delivered back to pool no later than 9:30 the following morning. Parent volunteers will not be able to take them to you or pick them up.

*This job is okay for a tag a long sibling who is willing to sit with you.

Timers

There are 2 Timers per lane --one from each team.  One person in the lane times the swimmer, and the other writes down the time with traditional timers.  4/5 of our meets will have a button to push and one timer will have a traditional timer. If you don't know what to do, follow the group of the other 9-11 Timers!  First half Timers need to be at the pool no later than 5:15 PM to meet with our meet ref.  The ref prefers both first and second half Timers attend this meeting.  Second half Timers must watch the event numbers and be ready to take over at event 44. 

*This job is NOT good for tag-along siblings or someone who struggles to focus.

Volunteer Coordinator: filled by Alice Marsh & Mary Berbette

Greets, checks in volunteers and explains jobs and what to do at each event. All workers must check in with Alice and Mary upon arrival at each meet to get instructions!

Pool Monitor

Home Meets only.  This person must be okay telling all kids to stay out of the baby pool.  This person must be willing to sit their shift by the baby pool  to help remind kids to stay out.  This is not good for someone who will need to leave the baby pool during shift.