Forest Lakes Hurricanes

Volunteerism is critical for a swim meet to run smoothly. It takes 70 adults to run a swim meet, so we usually will need many volunteers at away meets and even a greater number of volunteers at home meets. (Coaches are the only paid employee on the swim team.) Therefore, it is essential that each swim family volunteers their time and skills. 

Experience is not necessary for most of these jobs, some may require a little training. Seasoned volunteers will help walk newer volunteers through the process. Families are also expected to volunteer at the JSL Championships if your swimmer participates in that event. We welcome your support in any way that you can offer. 

Volunteer Signup for the 2026 Season

The minimum number of points that is expected of each family is 8, regardless of swimmer participation in swim meets.

If you are unable to volunteer, your account will be charged $38/missing point at the end of the season.

Should your schedule change during the course of the summer and you realize will not be unable to fulfill a job you signed up for, please arrange a trade, swap or replacement as soon as possible by contacting our volunteer coordinator at [email protected]. All exchanges or substitutions should be confirmed via e-mail with our volunteer coordinator prior to the day if a swim meet.

If for any reason you are not able to fulfill your volunteer requirements this summer, please email [email protected] by June 20. Our goal is to work with families on this, and we will try to find a way to make it work!

A lot goes into making the Forest Lakes Swim Team (“FLST”) happen and we truly appreciate your participation. Below, you’ll find important information about each volunteer role that takes place during a meet, in alphabetical order. 

If you have any questions or need further clarification, please don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected].

Overview: Assist in lining up swimmers by their heats and making sure they are in their correct lanes prior to each heat’s start.

Key Information:

1. Print a copy of the heat sheet prior to the meet.

2. The order of events will be switched for some meets, make sure to have a good understanding of the order of events before the meet begins.

Overview: Assist Head of Computer to input swimmers' times into the software FLST uses to track heat results. A basic knowledge of computers is sufficient, and no special skills or previous experience is necessary.

Key Information:

1. Prior to the meet, completethis online course.

2. Arrive at the meet and report to volunteer station.

Overview: Assist in organizing food and drinks to be sold from the concession stand during FLST home meets, as well as greet customers, prepare and serve food and drink orders, and help with cleanup of the concession area at the end of meets.

Key Information:

1. Arrive at the concession stand by 5:30 on the day of the meet.

2. Assist in the organization of the concessions area as directed by Head of Concessions. (E.g. confirming availability/placement of items, prepping hot/cold food items, creating menu of items for sale, filling water stations, etc. 

3. Coordinate with fellow volunteers to take orders and serve food/drinks to swim meet attendees, as well as handle cash transactions. 

4. Assist with the clean up of the concession area at the close of swim meets. 

Overview: You drive to various vendors to pick up food for Concessions on the day of the swim meet. You will need to deliver the food items to the South pool kitchen by 5pm.

Key Information:

1. You should receive an email with instructions on where and when to pick up food by the day before the meet. If you don’t, email [email protected]to let them know.

2. Follow the instructions provided in the email. Unless stated otherwise, bring the food directly to the concession stand once picked up - there are heat lamps, a refrigerator, etc. to help keep food at the correct temperature

Overview: Your task is to stick each swimmer's name label onto a time card. You will collect the time cards and labels from South Pool Kitchen on the day of a home meet. You can complete this task at home, but must return all labeled time cards back to the South Pool Kitchen before 4pm.

Key Information:

1. You should receive information on when the time cards will be ready for pickup by the day before the swim meet. If you don’t, email [email protected]to let them know.

2. At home, label cards as shown in the image below. There should be 3 stacks:

• 1) one for relays
• 2) one for all FLST/home swimmers
• 3) one for all away swimmers.

Girls’ cards (pink) and boys’ cards (blue) should be stacked in order of events on the program (ie so all FLST/home swimmers cards are in order in order of events in one stack, away swimmers in another, and relays in a third.)

3. Return labeled/ stacked time cards to the South Pool kitchen before 4:00pm on the day of the meet.

Overview: You will collect the swimmer's name stickers from the computer assistant and stick them to the ribbons awarded to them at the meet.

Key Information:

1. When the swim meet is about half over, go to WHERE and ADD MORE DETAIL.

2. SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS (e.g. Put stickers on back of ribbons. Stack ribbons by gender and age group.

3. Note that ribbons can also be taken after the end of the meet to finish at home. They will all need to be delivered to the Head Coach at the pool the next morning at the start of the earliest practice time.

Overview: Assist in collecting the age 8-and-under swimmers to the Clerk of Course for their upcoming events.

Key Information

1. Prior to swim meet, print a hard copy of the heat sheet and highlight the events of swimmers you’re responsible for per the sign-up page (e.g. boys or girls under 8).

2. At the swim meet, check in at desk. 

3. Pay attention to Meet Announcer so you can track upcoming events. Round up swimmers you are responsible for when HOW FAR IN ADVANCE?. Bring them to the Clerk of Course and stay with swimmers until their group is called to sit on the benches.

4. The order of events will be switched for some meets, make sure to have a good understanding of the order of events before the meet begins.5. It is very important to have a good understanding of who each of the swimmers are before performing this job. Take some time during practices to get to know the swimmers’ names and age groups.

6. This job ends when all the age 8-and-under events are completed.

Overview: Assist in prepping the kitchen before Concession opens, which may include cleaning up the countertops, preparing and setting up food items, and filling the ice dispenser, etc.

Key Information:

1. Arrive at the concession stand an hour and fifteen minutes prior to the meet start time and follow the directions provided by the Head of Concessions.

Overview: Retrieve time cards from Volunteer Timers, time slips from Sweep Judges, and DQ slips from Referee and deliver them to the Volunteers at the Scoring Table.

Key Information:

1. After every race during the swim meet, retrieve cards from timers standing at the end of the lanes and bring them to the Table.

Overview: Assist with setting or cleaning up the pool deck for home meets, e.g. move benches and equipment out from storage room to the pool deck, set up tents, and set up of any equipments, etc.

Key Information:

1. Arrive at the pool deck at the designated time and follow the directions provided by Head of Equipment.

Overview: This position requires focus and accuracy when recording the order in which the swimmers finish and touch the wall for each race. Must be at least 15 years old for this position.

Key Information:

1. Prior to swim meet, complete this online course.

2. Sweep judges will sit and the end of the pool where there are two chairs. Two will work together to record the swimmers placement for each race. One serves as eye and calls out the lane placement (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc), while the other writes that info onto a slip.

Overview: Assist in organizing time cards and DQ slips, and deliver them to the Computer Operator. Please review a short online course for Sorter and Checker, which will give you quick guide on this role.

Key Information:

1. Prior to swim meet complete the sorter online course and checker online course.

Overview: Stationed at the starting blocks, responsible to accurately record swimmer's times with a stop watch. This job finishes when all events have completed. Must be at least 15 years of age for this position.

Key Information:

1. Swim meet starts at 6pm, but you will need to arrive earlier for the Timer's Meeting at 5:30pm.

2. Typically timers are sorted into groups of three, with at least one representative from each team. One timer in each group is responsible for the clipboard and recording the times after each race. Timers may be provided with either one or two stopwatches each.

3. It is good practice to confirm each swimmer’s name as they present the timers with their timing sheet. As a swimmer nears the end of their race, timers should physically move close enough to the edge of the pool to attempt to record the exact moment the swimmer’s body touches the wall.

4. If your team is struggling to keep up with the pace of timing, it may be useful to have one timer (not the clipboard holder) collect the timing sheets from arriving swimmers, and another hold any completed timing sheets while the team waits for a runner to collect the sheets.

5. If timing at JSL Champs, you will have two stop-watches and a plunger. You start the stop-watch when the race starts. The plunger starts automatically. You hit both the stop-watch and the plunger when the race ends.