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.

Yep. You can dangle a financial carrot all you want. The key is to identify those who are willing to help out and ask/appeal them to step up.

I am not a S&T official but will do the training and be one if the team waives the swim team fee. I’m paying a non-resident membership to join the pool and waiving the swim team fee would appeal to me.

I've done S&T for years. I can swim but I've never swum in a race unless it was against my siblings as a child, or my own children. I know my breaststroke isn't legal and when my kids tried to teach me butterfly they laughed so hard at my failure.

I love having a concrete job, and having a small group of people to coordinate with about schedules.

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.

My husband is not a swimmer at all, never was (can barely do a serviceable freestyle). He certified in S&T and has been doing it for 5+ years. He is now requested for the bigger events because he’s good at it. You don’t have to be a former swimmer to learn S&T.

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.

Yep. You can dangle a financial carrot all you want. The key is to identify those who are willing to help out and ask/appeal them to step up.

I am not a S&T official but will do the training and be one if the team waives the swim team fee. I’m paying a non-resident membership to join the pool and waiving the swim team fee would appeal to me.

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.

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.

A personal appeal to someone to
Volunteer is always more effective than the random solicitations.

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.

Yep. You can dangle a financial carrot all you want. The key is to identify those who are willing to help out and ask/appeal them to step up.

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.

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

Anonymous wrote:We made it clear that we'd be happy to break up the meets so it wasn't a full-meet commitment, but we'd need more volunteers. It worked. All timers, officials and S&T now only do half-meets. Parents are happier because they still get to see their kids swim, and aren't always committed to the end of a meet.

This is a great idea, thank you!

Anonymous wrote:Officials need training and mentoring, so it’s not like timers where you can just grab any sentient adult at the last minute. So of course it’s the same people all season.

How do you recruit NEW ones. Surely you aren’t using the same people for ten years? your comment is so unhelpful!

We made it clear that we'd be happy to break up the meets so it wasn't a full-meet commitment, but we'd need more volunteers. It worked. All timers, officials and S&T now only do half-meets. Parents are happier because they still get to see their kids swim, and aren't always committed to the end of a meet.

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

Officials need training and mentoring, so it’s not like timers where you can just grab any sentient adult at the last minute. So of course it’s the same people all season.

Looking for ideas other than begging (we've tried that).

Love our team, but we ask the same people over and over again to Ref and S&T, etc. and i'ts unfair to them.

Any ideas that have worked for any of your are greatly appreciated!

TIA!