Rockville Racers

Announcer – Home meets only. The announcer makes announcements during the meet as needed.

Clerk of Course helpers - Home and away meets. Clerk of course helpers assist the head clerk by organizing swimmers for events and escorting them to lanes.

Computer Helper - Away meets only. The computer helper assists the host team's computer rep with reading events or double checking printouts.

Concessions – Home meets only. The concession workers set-up concessions and and assist our caterer with selling food during meets. 

Head Timers – Home and away meets. The head timers do not time a specific lane in the pool. The head timers will start 2 stop watches at the start of each race to hand off to any lane timer with a stopwatch malfunction. Both 1st and 2nd half head timers must attend the timers meeting prior to meet start (typically held 1/2 hour to 15 minutes prior to meet start time).

Heat Winner Prizes – Home meets only. The heat winner prize worker passes out candy to the first place winner in each heat.

Ribbons -- Homes and away meets. Ribbon workers assist with labeling and sorting/filing ribbons. (Seated position often in air conditioning).

Runners – Home meets only. Runners pick up time cards from timers after each event and placed them in lane order. Runners also collect DQ cards from strokes and turns judges, take them to the referee to be signed, then deliver all cards to the table workers inside the center.

Set-Up Volunteer -- Home meets only. The set-up volunteers work with the meet director to make sure the pool is set up for the meet. The position involves heaving lifting as chairs, tables, and buckets of cement must be moved. The meet director will give on- the-spot training and direction to set-up volunteers. Set-up volunteers must arrive by 4pm. 

Sign-In -- Home and away meets. The sign-in volunteers greet swimmers as they arrive to complete positive check-in. They also hand out the name tags to check in volunteers for the meet. Thirty minutes prior to meet start, the sign-in volunteer informs the computer rep which swimmers have not arrived and should be scratched.

Table Workers – Home and away meets. Table workers sort time cards in order of event and determine the median time for each swimmer in each event. They match DQ cards with time sheets, and are given additional tasks by the head table worker. 

Timers – Home and away meets. Timers time swimmer races with a stop watch and record the times on the time card. Stopwatches are provided. Both 1st and 2nd half timers must attend the timers meeting prior to meet start (typically held 1/2 hour to 15 minutes prior to meet start time)

Certified Workers – Referees, head clerk of course, starters, strokes and turns judges, and head table workers all need to receive training in the spring before the season starts. GRAL Training Information

Head Clerk of Course is a certified official position responsible for ensuring swimmers are ready for each event to maintain meet pace, collapsing heats as needed, confirming and reseeding relays as needed, and coordinating and assigning 2-3 volunteers to help swimmers move effectively to their lanes so no one is forgotten or overlooked. Head clerk of course is currently recertified every 2 years as per GRAL requirements.

Head Table Worker is a certified position that oversees the table workers throughout the meet to ensure that correct times are being circled. The head table worker works with the computer rep and referee to resolve any issues with time sheets.

Starter is a certified official position responsible for starting each event with an electronic starter provided by the team. The starter sets the pace of the meet and ensures delays are kept to a minimum.

Strokes and Turns Judges are positioned around the pool to determine if swimmers are swimming their strokes correctly and in the right order. When a judge determines a swimmer has committed an infraction, s/he raises his/her hand and writes up and signs a card explaining what happened and gives it to the runner who takes it to the Referee for approval. No prior swimming experience is needed to become a Strokes and Turns Judge as GRAL provides the necessary training.

We are always in need of certified workers. All of these positions need to receive training in the spring before the season starts. Please consider becoming certified in one of these positions. Contact Josh Zubris at [email protected] for more information.