Orange Shoals Otters

A quick reference guide to each volunteer role at home and away meets. All positions are vital to running a smooth, fun, and successful swim event for our Otters!

More detailed descriptions below table.

🧒 Bullpen Lead (Ages 7+)

• Shift Length: Entire Meet
• Points: 10
• Skill Level: Medium
• Description: The Bullpen Lead is responsible for organizing swimmers in your assigned age group and making sure they arrive behind the blocks ~ 3 events prior to their race. You’ll walk younger swimmers to the starting blocks and assist with relay organization.

Additional duties include:

oChecking in all assigned swimmers at warm-ups

oNotifying coaches ASAP of any no-shows

oEnsuring all swimmers are “Sharpied” with their Event/Heat/Lane info

oKeeping your group safe, and ideally relatively calm, collected, and race-ready

Pick your kid’s group for that added bonding time and front-row access to their antics.

Or pick not their group and let someone else manage your little terror — no judgement! We fully support strategic delegation.

👥Bullpen Assistant (Ages 7+)

• Shift Length: Entire Meet
• Points: 10
• Skill Level: Low
• Description: Assists the Bullpen Lead with managing swimmer movement and organization. Especially critical during relays to ensure swimmers are in correct lanes and on time. You may also help Sharpie swimmer arms and escort them to the blocks as needed. You’ll work side-by-side with the Bullpen Lead throughout the meet—it’s a true tag-team role that keeps you close to the action but with backup. Great role for those new to swim team as a way to learn & "graduate" to lead in later meets or later seasons.

🧒 6U Bullpen Lead & Assistant

• Shift Length: Half Meet (First Half Only)
• Points: 5
• Skill Level: Medium (Lead), Low (Assistant)
• Description: 6U swimmers compete only in the first half of the meet, and they need a lot of guidance. Duties mirror the older age group bullpen jobs but require more hands-on support:
  • Walk swimmers to and from bullpen and blocks
  • Keep the little ones focused, calm, and in their assigned lanes / ends of the pool for relays
  • Help correct any chaos in real time
  • You’ll be a mix of swim cheerleader, camp counselor, and herder of adorable cats.

🧍 Deck Manager

• Shift Length: Half Meet
• Points: 5
• Skill Level: Medium
• Description: You’re the last checkpoint before swimmers hit the blocks—think of yourself as the meet’s “discount double check.” You’ll be stationed in the blocks queuing area and provided with the heat sheet. You are responsible for ensuring swimmers are in the correct heat, lane, and event.
• Swimmers should be behind the blocks three events before their race. Once in place, they stay there until the starter takes over. You’ll coordinate closely with the Bullpen team, coaches, and the Starter to keep everything running smoothly and on schedule.
• Ideal for someone who thrives in the thick of the action and can juggle heat sheets, fast-moving kids, and deck-level chaos with a calm head.

⏱️ Timer

• Shift Length: Half Meet
• Points: 5
• Skill Level: Low
• Description: One of our most essential and popular volunteer roles. Each lane needs two timers: one to operate the stopwatch and one to record the swimmer’s time. Timers verify the swimmer’s name for each heat and start timing as the race begins. At the end of the heat, timers record the time and will provide the results to the Master Recorder via the runner. If focus isn’t your strong suit, maybe grab the clipboard instead of the stopwatch. It’s not the Olympics — but we try to catch the start & finish with a moderate level of accuracy. Choose wisely.

Note: Timers must attend a brief rules meeting at 5:15 PM. Check in by 5:00 PM.

🎯 Place Judge

• Shift Length: Half Meet
• Points: 5
• Skill Level: Medium
• Description: If you like to sit (in the splash zone) and are not easily distracted, this job may be for you! Observe each race and determine the order in which swimmers finish. Place judges sit at end of pool to maintain a clear line of sight to the finish and rely solely on observation (not times). Place Judge aligns with other team's judge and record placements. Referee will also provide DQs, etc. as needed for recording by place judge. Placements are recorded and given to the Master Recorder.

Note: Prior experience is a plus but not required. Judges rely solely on observation — no peeking at the stopwatch! Times are not used to determine finish order. If there’s a disagreement between our judge & other team’s, the referee has the final say.

📝 Master Recorder

• Shift Length: Half Meet
• Points: 5
• Skill Level: Medium
• Description: The Master Recorder collects heat sheets from runner and finish placements from place judges and timers. They record all swimmer times and place orders on the official scoresheet and deliver results to the scoring or computer table (via runner as needed). This role requires attention to detail, and the ability to move around the pool deck to find missing info as needed.

🚶 Runner

• Shift Length: Half Meet
• Points: 5
• Skill Level: Low
• Description: The Runner retrieves completed heat sheets from timers and brings them to Master Recorder. Runner may also take finished results from the Master Recorder and Place Judges to deliver them to the computer table as needed (often depends on layout of meet). This is a great role for someone who wants to stay active and help move the meet along—expect lots of walking. Consider your choice of kicks carefully!

💻 Computer Entry

• Shift Length: Half Meet
• Points: 5
• Skill Level: Medium
• Description: You’ll sit at the scoring table and accurately enter results into Meet Manager software as they are received from the Master Recorder. This role supports the opposing team’s Computer Entry person by reading places and scores aloud and may trade off with them for entry.
• This role requires sharp focus and the ability to keep pace with the meet. Not ideal for those who need to step away to tend to younger swimmers. Better suited for parents of older kids who can operate independently—or if you've got coverage for your younger swimmer/siblings.
• New volunteers are welcome to arrive early to get familiar with the system, and shadowing is encouraged early in the season. This is a great job to take on regularly throughout the season, as it sometimes takes a shift or two to get fully comfortable with the software and scoring rules.

🚗 Pick-Up (Supplies)

• Shift Length: Pre-Meet (Exact timing varies by item)
• Points: 2.5
• Skill Level: Low
• Description: Responsible for picking up and delivering specific items to the meet site. Each item will have a designated pickup location and delivery timeframe to ensure concessions run smoothly. This role requires driving (larger vehicles preferred but not required) and good communication with the Concessions Lead to confirm timing and contents.

🍔 Concessions

• Shift Length: Half Meet (Home Meets Only)
• Points: 5
• Skill Level: Low
• Description: 1st shift volunteers arrive by 4:30 PM to assist with setting up the concession stand. 2nd shift begins at Event 44 and focuses on cleanup. All concession volunteers assist with food prep, sales, and restocking snacks and drinks throughout the meet.Check in with the Concession Coordinator at the beginning of your shift to receive instructions.
• Volunteers are welcome to briefly step away to watch their swimmers compete.

👨🍳 Grill Master

• Shift Length: Entire Meet (Home Meets Only)
• Points: 10
• Skill Level: Medium
• Description: Oversees grilling operations, manages food flow to Concessions, and ensures everything is cooked to standard. The Grill Master leads the grilling team and keeps the team and crowd well-fed. Basic grill experience is expected—no need to be a top chef, just comfortable and safe operating a grill for an extended period.

🔥 Griller

• Shift Length: Half Meet (Home Meets Only)
• Points: 5
• Skill Level: Low
• Description: Assists the Grill Master with preparing and serving grilled items. Keeps food flowing to concessions and ensures food safety standards are met. No experience needed—just a willingness to turn and burn burgers and dogs!

🚗 Parking Deputy

• Shift Length: Pre-Meet (Arrive by 4:00 PM)
• Points: 7.5
• Skill Level: Low
• Description: Shadow our Parking Czar, Phil Wright, and help direct traffic and parking before the meet. You’ll assist with signage, manage drop-offs, and help keep chaos to a minimum.

This is a great intro role for anyone interested in earning their parking stripes and eventually leveling up to Czar status. Must arrive by 4:00 PM to help set up cones, signs, and guide early-arriving cars.

🅿️ Parking Attendant

• Shift Length: Pre-Meet (Arrive by 4:15 PM)
• Points: 5
• Skill Level: Low
• Description: Helps direct cars and ensure smooth traffic flow in and out of the lot. Assists the Parking Deputy and Czar with cones, signs, and safety monitoring.

Great for early birds who want to help before the swim action starts. Volunteers must arrive by 4:15 PM to help set up and guide early-arriving cars.

🧩 Floater

• Shift Length: Half Meet
• Points: 5
• Skill Level: Medium
• Description: The "Swiss Army Knife" of the meet. Floaters are flexible volunteers who fill any last-minute vacancies or step in when another role needs a backup.

Requires quick thinking and a willingness to jump into any role—from timers to runners to bullpen. You may do a little bit of everything, and that’s the point! Please check in with the Volunteer Coordinator at the beginning of your shift to receive your assignment. From there, you'll remain on-call to fill in where needed throughout the meet., and henceforth be at their beck and call until your shift is over.