what does your summer team do to recruit officials?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing. It’s the same few people. Team rep needs to be replaced.

I’m sure the team rep would love that! It’s the most thankless and hardest job of all for summer swim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing. It’s the same few people. Team rep needs to be replaced.

I’m sure the team rep would love that! It’s the most thankless and hardest job of all for summer swim.

+1, I’m ending my 1st year as a team rep and I already can’t wait to finish next season and be done with it. I will happily get certified at S/T and just do that as my volunteer job.

[Anonymous]

+100 It’s not the team reps’ fault that people won’t do things. They try and beg and it’s always the same people. (That said, I’m sure a replacement would be a welcome reward for the current rep!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:About a month before the season started, one of our team reps emailed maybe a dozen or so parents who had kids 10 and younger, and who have been committed to swim team, to ask whether we would consider becoming officials. The rep clearly let us know that many of our officials had kids who were graduating soon and so we needed to train the next generation of officials. There are at least six or eight of us who took S&T training this year, and a few others getting trained in starter, referee, etc. The experienced ones have been fantastic at mentoring us newbies, very welcoming and helpful.

Our team has little drama and generally is a helpful bunch. We’re mid-level MCSL. I’m glad to learn S&T and plan to learn how to become a starter/ref once I’ve done this for a few years. My kids are still young-ish, swim year-round, and I’m a capable adult. Knowing how much volunteer work it takes to run summer swim, I’m more than glad to do my part.

Our pool has also found targeted requests to families whose kid(s) seem really in to the team to work. FWIW, I think starter is the easiest/best first time job if you are new or don’t have a lot of swim background (though I think anyone could handle S&T). Starter you only have to worry about DQs for starts. order of finish can sometimes be hard to see but I have never been called in on a dispute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About a month before the season started, one of our team reps emailed maybe a dozen or so parents who had kids 10 and younger, and who have been committed to swim team, to ask whether we would consider becoming officials. The rep clearly let us know that many of our officials had kids who were graduating soon and so we needed to train the next generation of officials. There are at least six or eight of us who took S&T training this year, and a few others getting trained in starter, referee, etc. The experienced ones have been fantastic at mentoring us newbies, very welcoming and helpful.

Our team has little drama and generally is a helpful bunch. We’re mid-level MCSL. I’m glad to learn S&T and plan to learn how to become a starter/ref once I’ve done this for a few years. My kids are still young-ish, swim year-round, and I’m a capable adult. Knowing how much volunteer work it takes to run summer swim, I’m more than glad to do my part.

Our pool has also found targeted requests to families whose kid(s) seem really in to the team to work. FWIW, I think starter is the easiest/best first time job if you are new or don’t have a lot of swim background (though I think anyone could handle S&T). Starter you only have to worry about DQs for starts. order of finish can sometimes be hard to see but I have never been called in on a dispute.

Don't you have to work up to starter? Our league requires 2 or 3 years of S&T before you can train to become a starter. That is my goal!

[Anonymous]

We recruit their kids into club swim and then recruit them in the club swim season to be USA Swimming certified officials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing. It’s the same few people. Team rep needs to be replaced.

I find this bizarre- so the same people do it over and over and over for years and years and you don’t bother trying to get new officials? I would hate to be an official at your pool, geez

My husband is an official. They request new ones but at our pool its a dictatorship and people just got fed up and now do the absolute minimum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our team has required volunteer hours (actually a point system). Parents who become trained officials plus anyone who does CotC are required to do half the normal number of hours.

This, officiating is worth more points per meet at our pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About a month before the season started, one of our team reps emailed maybe a dozen or so parents who had kids 10 and younger, and who have been committed to swim team, to ask whether we would consider becoming officials. The rep clearly let us know that many of our officials had kids who were graduating soon and so we needed to train the next generation of officials. There are at least six or eight of us who took S&T training this year, and a few others getting trained in starter, referee, etc. The experienced ones have been fantastic at mentoring us newbies, very welcoming and helpful.

Our team has little drama and generally is a helpful bunch. We’re mid-level MCSL. I’m glad to learn S&T and plan to learn how to become a starter/ref once I’ve done this for a few years. My kids are still young-ish, swim year-round, and I’m a capable adult. Knowing how much volunteer work it takes to run summer swim, I’m more than glad to do my part.

Our pool has also found targeted requests to families whose kid(s) seem really in to the team to work. FWIW, I think starter is the easiest/best first time job if you are new or don’t have a lot of swim background (though I think anyone could handle S&T). Starter you only have to worry about DQs for starts. order of finish can sometimes be hard to see but I have never been called in on a dispute.

Don't you have to work up to starter? Our league requires 2 or 3 years of S&T before you can train to become a starter. That is my goal!

NVSL does not require Starters to be S&T trained, but recommends it. I did S&T for three years and added Starter this year.

Our team is very lean on officials (and only about half have active swimmers). We really need to step up our recruiting game.

[Anonymous]

I would start from “why don’t we have more officials.” Too many possible reasons for this to list here.

The rest is just basic sales — ask ask ask. Find people who are coming back and ask them to take the clinics next year, now. Ask them again in March or April.

Tell them we will support you and get you the deck mentoring you need to feel comfortable in the position.

Once your season starts, reach out through your reps to the other club in week 1 and 2. Offer to accommodate if you are hosting. Ask if you are the guest.

Then thank your people for working after every session.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd actually love to get certified in S&T but I'm not a former swimmer myself and so genuinely feel that I lack the necessary experience and skills. (I can swim, but I never had to get legal in breast or fly myself even though I learned them.) Most or perhaps even all of our team's officials are former (real) swimmers. How do other folks feel about this? What should I do? In the meantime I volunteer in lots of other ways.

If you want to do it you can absolutely do it. You need people who want to do it and are interested in it more that those where we’re just former swimmers. There aren’t that many rules per stroke. The NVSl trainings are ok, but can get crowded and hard to see. Highly recommend watching videos on USA swimming site to study up. My husband who was a swimmer still does this at the start of every season

[Anonymous]

Love the idea of a fee discount for officials. 50% off registration fees could be a great incentive. Love using pvs as a recruiting tool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing. It’s the same few people. Team rep needs to be replaced.

I’m sure the team rep would love that! It’s the most thankless and hardest job of all for summer swim.

Several of us have offered. They have consistently refused. And, yet, do less and less every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love the idea of a fee discount for officials. 50% off registration fees could be a great incentive. Love using pvs as a recruiting tool.

This would be nice. Our team rep gets pool membership for free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing. It’s the same few people. Team rep needs to be replaced.

I’m sure the team rep would love that! It’s the most thankless and hardest job of all for summer swim.

Several of us have offered. They have consistently refused. And, yet, do less and less every year.

That’s crazy! Most would jump at the chance to not do it