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Volunteer Information

Volunteer Policy - Policy covering the required number of hours and other pertinent information

Volunteer Sign up page - Click here to be taken to the active list of volunteer jobs


We Know.....It Seems Overwhelming!

Our goal is to run a fun and smooth meet...to make that happen, we need help from all of our families!  Each swim meet requires several critical positions to be fulfilled in order to run, and we simply could not do it without each of you!  It takes almost 100 people to properly run each meet - that's why we require each family to complete a certain number of volunteer hours each year.  Yes, you can always pay for your hours at the end of each year, but we prefer you chip in and help our athletes out!  

For your convenience we offer several types of jobs

  • NOVA-hosted Meets: The majority of our jobs take place at NOVA hosted meets and may be scheduled before, during, or after a meet.
  • Away Meets:  At these meets, most needed jobs are timers and head timers, but this does vary from meet to meet based on the needs of the host team.
  • Special Events: There are several social events throughout the year that help our team bond and grow for success! Volunteers are needed for various tasks leading up to and at these events.
  • Team/Snack Bar Donations:  From time to time we request certain donations as needed, which count towards a predetermined number of hours.

 

Volunteer Positions & Descrpitions

Intrasquad volunteers will check in at the volunteer table located at the Northeast corner of the pool, using the outside park gate. This entrance is near the tennis courts. Please do not come down onto the pool deck to find the volunteer table. If you are sitting in the spectator area, you will need to exit the facility, using the park sidewalk to walk to the next entrance. 

Regional and National Meet volunteers will check in at the garage. The garage is located at the Southwest corner of the Aquatics Center, and can be accessed by following the sidewalk past the snack bar and continuing towards the high school. When the sidewalk ends you will be met with an asphalt path that leads back to the building. Follow that path to find the volunteer check-in table located just inside the garage. 

 

ANNOUNCERS - Announcers go through a training with the Meet Official, and announce the events, heats, swimmers, unofficial heat winners, and other pertinent meet and session information.

 

FRONT DOOR MONITOR - The front door monitor will sit outside the front door of the lobby to make sure that swimmers and spectators are using the correct entrances. During our intrasquad meets both swimmers and spectators need to use the park-side gate nearest the scoreboard. Spectators are allowed to use the lobby restrooms during these meets. For Regional and National Meets, swimmers must enter through the garage and spectators must enter through the park-side gate nearest the scoreboard. There is no lobby restroom access during these meets.

 

GATE MONITORS - Gate Monitors are staged at various entry and exit points throughout the facility, depending on the needs of the meet. Gate Monitors check credentials and ensure that only people with permission are allowed onto the pool deck. We run a closed pool deck, meaning that parents are not allowed to spectate on deck. 

 

HEAD TIMERS - Each meet session needs two Head Timers. The Head Timers sit at either end of the pool and run two stopwatches each. They act as backup timers for the timing lanes in case of stopwatch malfunctions.

 

HOSPITALITY - Hospitality Team works in our snack bar/kitchen area. Meals are prepared and served to Coaches, Officials, and Admins at Intrasquad Meets. The snack bar is open to the public during meet sessions. Hospitality also prepares and serves Coaches, Officials and Admins at Regional and National Meets as well as our NOVA social events.

 

MEET MARSHAL - The certified Meet Marshals have taken the Meet Marshal Exam via their USA Swimming Parent Account and have submitted the results to volunteers@novaquatics.com. Once this training has been completed, Meet Marshals have the knowledge to handle on deck responsibilities such as monitoring warm-up/warm-down lanes, the pool deck and swimmer safety, spectators, and locker rooms. 

 

PARKING LOT MONITOR - Parking Lot Monitors help to enforce parking and the drop off/pick up zone. 

 

POSTER/RUNNER - The Poster/Runner will post heat sheets, result sheets, and any other changes that need to be communicated via the results boards. The Poster/Runner will sit behind the admin computers at the meet and assist them with any timing results needs that may arise during the meet. 

 

SET UP/TEAR DOWN CREW - The Setup and Tear-down Crew work as a team both before and after meets to ensure all equipment is up and running for the sessions. At the end of the meet, all equipment is taken down and carefully stored. 

 

TIMERS - Timers will arrive to the volunteer check in table and be assigned a lane and timing chair for their shift. Each lane will be assigned two Timers. One Timer will run the stopwatch, starting it for each heat when they see the light flash on the starting box. The other Timer will run the clipboard for that lane. Before each heat the writer will confirm the name of the swimmer for that heat. At the end of each heat the writer will record the swimmer’s time from their partner’s stopwatch. There are three lines on the clipboard’s heat sheet. One for minutes, one for seconds, and one for hundredths. If a swimmer soft touches, meaning that when they finish their race the scoreboard timer does not stop, the writer will mark the check box that indicates to admin that it was a soft touch. At the end of the race, both Timers will stand up, walk towards the edge of the pool, each pick up a pickle (part of the on-deck timing system), and press the button when they see their lane’s swimmer touch the wall. 

 

TIMING COORDINATOR - The Timing Coordinator will arrive to the volunteer check in table and pick up a clipboard with the timing lane and chair assignments. The lanes are pre-assigned by Admin. The Timing Coordinator will sit at the check in table to greet and assign the lane Timers. Once all Timers have checked in for the shift, the Timing Coordinator will periodically 

check on the Timers to offer quick restroom breaks. If a Timer is a no-show, or late for their shift, it is the Timing Coordinator’s job to sit in that chair until a replacement can be found. 

 

VOLUNTEER TRAINING 

We ask that each individual that plans to volunteer complete two USA Swimming trainings. Both trainings can be found in your USA Swimming Parent account. The first is the “Parents Guide to Misconduct in Sport.” and the second is the “Meet Marshal Exam.”

To access these trainings, please follow the instructions below: 

 

Log into your USA Swimming Parent Account. You created a parent account when you registered your swimmer. You can log in either through the app or online. 

 

If using the app:

  1. Log into your account.

  2. Use the 3 lines at the top right and scroll down to click on Safe Sport. 

  3. Scroll down until the boxes alternate red and blue in color and click on the red box that says “Free Training for Parents.” Clicking on this looks like it takes you back to your account home page, but now there will be two sets of the 3 line menus at the top right of your screen. 

  4. Click on the bottom 3 sets of lines and then click on Education.

  5. Click on Course Catalog.

  6. This will populate your USA Swimming University account page.

 

  1. Click on all and scroll down to “Parents Guide to Misconduct in Sport”, or “Meet Marshal Exam.” 

  2. Once completed, you'll go back to the University account page. At the top of your account there are two rectangle red boxes. “View Transcripts” and “View Certifications.” The transcripts box will have all of your completed courses and certifications. You can just screenshot the Meet Marshal Exam completion and send it to: volunteers@novaquatics.com. The “Parents Guide to Misconduct in Sport” completion certificate needs to be downloaded and sent to volunteers@novaquatics.com.



 

If you're using a computer:

  1. Login to your account at usaswimming.org

  2. Click on the Education tab at the top right, then Course Catalog. 

  3. Then follow the steps above from #3 to find your courses.


WHEN TO SIGN UP FOR VOLUNTEER JOBS

After the registration has closed for an event an estimated timeline is created based on the number of swimmers that have declared for that meet. That timeline is sent to the Volunteer Coordinator, who creates the volunteer jobs and shifts for the meet. An email will come from TeamUnify and volunteers@novaquatics.com to let you know the date and the time that job signups will open. It will also tell you how many shifts that you can sign up for per day, or per meet. The signup takes place a few days before the start of the meet. The jobs are created based on the estimated timeline of the meet. Oftentimes, we run fast and finish early. But occasionally there are circumstances beyond our control and we run slightly behind. If this happens and you are asked and able to stay late, you will receive credit for any additional time that you work. 

 

There are two ways that job signups are created, and it will be specified in the email from the Volunteer Coordinator. If the meet is large, and a large number of volunteers will be required, an event is created just for the job signups and it is named “Job Signup for XYZ Meet.” In this case, you can click on the title of this “Job Signup” event and proceed to sign up following the directions below. 

If the meet is smaller, or shorter, the job signup will be added to the Swim Meet Event as an extra tab within that event. You’ll click on the specific event, just like you do when declaring, and then find the green Job Signup tab and follow the directions below. 

 



 

HOW TO SIGN UP FOR VOLUNTEER JOBS

On the date and time that job signups will open:

  1. Sign into your TeamUnify account at www.novaquatics.com with your password.

  2. Go to the “Volunteer” tab on the home page.

  3. When the drop down menu appears click on “Sign Up for Jobs.”

  4. This will take you to the events page.

  5. Scroll down to find the name of the specific event you are volunteering at and click on it. You will be told ahead of time if the job signup will be part of the original event or if a separate event has been created just for job signups.

  6. After you’ve clicked on the event, the event details box will pop up. At the top of the box you will see several smaller tabs, click on “Job Signup.”

  7. The Event Job Signup will come up. This page will list out all of the available jobs for that specific day/meet. In the left column will be the title of the volunteer job and short description or information that you may need to know about the position. The right column will show the dates and times of shifts that are available.

 

  1. Check the boxes next to the jobs that you’d like to sign up for. 

  2. Scroll down to the very bottom or very top of the event signup and find the button marked “Signup” at the bottom left/top left of the box. Click on it.

 

  1. A smaller registration box will pop up where you can enter the name and phone number of the volunteer that will be working your shift. 

 

  1. Then click on “Sign Up.” Your shift is not guaranteed until you have finished this step.

  2. To see the shifts that you have signed up for, go back to the Event Job Signup page. Scroll down the job list. Your name will be in bold next to the shifts that you are signed up for. 

 

 

HOW TO REMOVE YOURSELF FROM VOLUNTEER JOBS

  1. Sign into your TeamUnify account at www.novaquatics.com with your password.

  2. Go to the “Volunteer” tab on the home page.

  3. When the drop down menu appears click on “Sign Up for Jobs.” This will take you to the events page.

  4. Scroll down to find the name of the specific event you are volunteering at and click on it.

  5. After you’ve clicked on the event, the event details box will pop up. At the top of the box you will see several smaller tabs, click on “Job Signup.”

  6. The Event Job Signup will come up. 

  7. Scroll down to find the shifts that you would like to remove yourself from. Click on the checkboxes next to your bold name for those shifts.

  8. Scroll down to the very bottom or very top of the event signup and find the button marked “Remove Signup” at the bottom left/top left of the box. Click on it.

  9. The system will ask you to confirm your choice. Click “Ok.”

  10. Check to make sure that your bold name has been removed from the list and the job sign up for that shift is now blank.

 

HOW TO CHECK YOUR UPCOMING VOLUNTEER SHIFTS

  1. Sign into your TeamUnify account at www.novaquatics.com with your password.

  2. Use the “Hello, Your Name” at the top right of the home page to click on “My Account.”
    This will take you to your back office.

  3. Use the menu on the left side of the page to scroll and find the tab “Events & Competitions.” It has a small flag icon next to it. Hover on that tab and when the menu pops up click on “Event & Job Reports.”

  4. This will bring up a page with several choices underlined in blue. 

The Job Signup Report will show all of the upcoming volunteer jobs that you have scheduled.

The Service Hours Forecast will keep track of the jobs that you have signed up for and worked to show you how many hours that you need to fulfill your requirement. 

 

HOW TO CHECK YOUR COMPLETED SERVICE HOURS & BALANCE

  1. Sign into your TeamUnify account at www.novaquatics.com with your password.

  2. Use the “Hello, Your Name” at the top right of the home page to click on “My Account.” This will take you to your back office.

  3. Your account page will be showing. You will see several tabs at the top of the box. Click on “Service Hours.”

  4. This tab will show you all of the service hours that you have been credited for since you have joined NOVA. From the top left of the information box it will show you when your service hour requirement was created. If you were members in January this should show as February of the current year. The next column to the right says Obligation & Adjustments and shows the number of service hours that you owe for the entire current year. The next column is  Worked and will list out the dates, amount of time, and a quick description of the job that you worked.

 

  1.  The last column is your Balance. This shows the number of service hours that you still need to work to fulfill your annual requirement. If this number is negative it means that you have worked more than the required hours - thank you!!

 

 

 

DON'T MISS YOUR SCHEDULED JOB!

In order to run a smooth meet, we need all volunteers to arrive on time, ready to work.

  • All volunteers must check in at the designated time for your shift.  
  • If you are unable to fulfill a scheduled job, it's your responsibility to find a friend or family member to work it for you. 
  • If you miss your scheduled job, and no one covers it for you, a $25 missed-job fee applies per hour missed. It's no fun for us to charge this fee, so please ensure your jobs are all fulfilled!