MEMBERSHIP:

Eligibility for the swim team is simple.  A swimmer must be a member of a family with a Castlewood Country Club membership, as defined by the Castlewood Country Club bylaws (grandchildren of members are also eligible) or be part of the Bring-A-Friend program.  The Bring-A-Friend program is open to any non-Castlewood member who is a friend of a Castlewood member.  Bring-A-Friend members can only use the Castlewood swimming facilities during swim team activities.  Each swimmer must be capable of swimming freestyle across a 25-yard pool, comply with the league rules including not participating in a USS swim program after Dec. 31 (high school swimmers are okay), and be willing to have fun. 

PARENT PARTICIPATION

The monetary fees that you pay cover only a fraction of what is needed to run the swim team.  Operation of the team requires a lot of work and cooperation.  Without the participation of all volunteer workers, we would not be able to conduct meets.

EACH FAMILY IS REQUIRED TO WORK A VOLUNTEER SHIFT FOR THE MEETS YOUR CHILD SWIMS.  All jobs are easy to learn and most are performed during the swim meets. Failure to meet the volunteer requirement will result in a $200 fine at the end of the season (charged to the credit card on file.). Not showing to a job you have signed up for will result in a $75 fine.  Note: If your swimmer qualifies for league championships, there will be additional volunteer requirements.

We cannot emphasize enough that parents are needed to work in order for swim meets to function.  One missing position will jeopardize the accuracy of times, fairness of competition, or length of the meet.  We need your help!  New swim team parents will be given adequate instructions to make them comfortable with the job they are assigned or choose.  Please note that while these jobs are easy to perform, one cannot do them while watching young children.  Swim Team parents need to help each other out with childcare. 

If you are unable to perform your job, it is your responsibility to find a replacement.  Please remember that a meet cannot start until all the jobs are filled.  The Swim Team Committee may need to assign parents to jobs if no one has volunteered.  Please also note that home meets require additional jobs which must be performed.

SWIM MEET JOBS

If you are unable to perform your job, it is your responsibility to find a replacement.  Please remember that a meet cannot start until all the jobs are filled.  The Swim Team Committee may need to assign parents to jobs if no one has volunteered.  Please also note that home meets require additional jobs which must be performed.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS:

TIMER: Timers sit or stand at the finishing end of the lane and are responsible for using a mechanical or electronic stopwatch (provided by the swim team) to time the swimmers.  There are 1-2 timers per lane provided by each team for a total of 3 per lane.  The middle time of the three is used as the official time.  One timer also records the times on a sheet of paper.  Timers work continuously for ½ of the meet and must arrange for coverage if a break is needed.  Timers must be at their assignment 10 minutes prior to the start of the half of the meet they are working.

AGE GROUP COORDINATOR: One to three for each age group, depending on the number of swimmers in the age group.  Responsible for the gathering and organizing of all swimmers in that age group to ensure that the swimmers are in their correct lane and heat prior to the start of each race.  Age group coordinators work for the entire meet and must start working at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the meet in order to ensure all their swimmers have arrived and are checked in.

HEAD TIMER/RUNNER: Provides a backup time for each event in case of a stopwatch failure and collects/delivers lane sheets to the computer operator.  The head timer works continuously for ½ of the meet and must arrange for coverage if a break is needed. 

RIBBON ORGANIZER:  Places printed labels on the appropriate ribbons and sorts by swimmer and age group along with stars earned by the swimmer as described in the Incentive Awards section. Bags the ribbons and stars which are passed out to the swimmers.  This job is done during the week following the meet either at home or by the pool, and hopefully would be performed by the same person(s) for the entire season.

STROKE & TURN JUDGES: Walks along the side of the pool to check starts, turns and strokes of swimmers.  Only parents with a swimming background will be asked to perform this job.  Judges work continuously for ½ of the meet and must arrange for coverage if a break is needed.  Judges must be at their assignment 10 minutes prior to the start of the half of the meet they are working.

ANNOUNCER: Announces each racer’s name.  Announcers work continuously for ½ of the meet and must arrange for coverage if a break is needed.  This job is only needed at home meets.

STARTER: Starts each race.  Starters work continuously for ½ of the meet and must arrange for coverage if a break is needed.  This job is only needed at home meets.

SETUP: Helps setup pop-ups tents, tables, chairs, timing system, etc.  This job is only needed at home meets and requires a 6:30am start time.

CLEANUP: Helps tear down the pop-up tents, tables, chairs, etc. after the meet.  This job is only needed at home meets.

BULKHEAD STAGERS: Helps to stage the younger swimmers for events which start off the bulkhead.  Stagers work for ½ of the meet.  Stagers must be at their assignment 10 minutes prior to the start of the half of the meet they are working.  This job is only needed at home meets.

COMPUTER OPERATOR: Runs the computer at the meet.  Computer operators work for the entire meet and must start working at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the meet.  Hopefully, this job would be performed by the same person(s) for the entire season.  This job is only needed at home meets.

Thank you in advance for your participation!