Preston Village Tiger Sharks

The Tiger Sharks swim team is run on volunteers — managing the team and running swim meets require a large volunteer staff. It is expected that each family have one member volunteering at each meet to help us run things smoothly.

A commitment from the families of the swimmers is essential to make the swim season as smooth and fair as possible. All skills are welcome – there are non-meet related positions and volunteer jobs before, during, and after the meets and we will run a training for all positions before the season begins.

Based on membership feedback, we are doing away with the volunteer point system this year. In order for this to work, it is the expectation that each family either hold a season job or volunteer at every meet.  If we don’t have enough volunteers before a meet, our meet will be delayed until we fill all spots, so please signup early and keep your commitments.

Please note that there are some meet jobs that require previous training either through TSA clinics and/or training at a meet; those are indicated below under descriptions.

Without volunteers, our season and meets cannot run smoothly. All families are expected to volunteer. At this time, we have not needed to implement a monetary charge for not hitting a volunteer requirement and/or have this affect a swimmer's eligibility as other teams in our league have, but we will explore options for future seasons if we do not get enough volunteer activity. 

There are a small number of season jobs that require individual to work with the Board and TSA Rep prior to and during the season. If you are interested in getting involved in one of these jobs, please email the board at [email protected].

Season Jobs for 2026 are partially filled. Thank you to the many people who stepped up to help before the season started! Positions that are still needed are marked below.

Our meets can only happen with our parent volunteers. At least one family member should plan to volunteer at each meet. There will be training before the start of the season so parents are comfortable with the responsibilities. The majority of jobs are working in conjunction with other swim team parents so there is always guidance available and it is also a great way to meet other team members.

How to sign up for meet jobs: On the Wednesday after each meet, a link will be sent out with the job sign up for the next meet. 

Clerk of Course jobs:

Head Clerk of the Course  – Responsible for organizing swimmers by event, heat, and lane and getting them safely to the starting blocks while minimizing delays between adjacent heats. Has the authority to add/remove/combine heats and re-arrange swimmers to accommodate scratches, substitutions, and walk-ons. Works with the ACC to document and notify the Timing Console of seeding changes. [Previous CoC Experience Required]

Assistant Clerk of the Course  – Assists the Clerk of the Course as needed to seat swimmers, lead swimmers to starting blocks, and keep starting area clear of spectators. Keeps track of any manual changes to the meet (scratches, substitutions, collapsed heats, and walk-ons, etc.) for both teams, then notifies the Timing Console when changes are made. [No Experience Necessary]

Lane Jobs:

Head Timer  – Responsible for all the Timers and Recorders. Assures the Timers & Recorders are properly briefed prior to each session, including reviewing how the Dolphin timing works; Supervises the Timers during the session, starts additional watches to be used as a substitute in the event a Timer's watch fails. [Previous Timer and Recorder Experience Required]

Timer  – Stops the electronic timing and starts/stops a manual stopwatch. Relays the manual time to the Recorder. [No Experience Necessary]

Recorder  – Records the manual watch times, verifies that the proper swimmers are competing in that lane. [No Experience Necessary]

Table Jobs:

All table jobs require training and we will offer some (Training) positions so you can shadow at a meet and learn the position.

Scorer / Data Manager  – Verifies times against the backup time and the Order of Finish judge. Works with the TSA Reps to resolve conflicts. Records DQs. Can relay updated scores and broken records to the Announcer. Previous experience as a Scorer/Data Manager is recommended. MUST BRING A PERSONAL LAPTOP TO THE MEET. [Training Required]

Timing Console  - Oversees the Dolphin electronic timing system and works with the Starter to verify equipment status. Keeps track of timing result file numbers; marks empty lanes and unknown swimmers. [Training Required]

Ribbon Writer  - Hand writes on ribbons and/or on stickers for main event ribbons. Coordinates delivery of ribbons to the visiting team. [No Experience Necessary]

Ribbon Distributor - Hand heat-winner and participation ribbons to swimmers as they emerge from the pool for all heats in individual events except main event. [Previous Experience Recommended]

Volunteer Check-In - Take attendance as volunteers arrive for their shifts. Fill in any gaps with a Floater. Make sure that the important jobs are covered in a timely fashion. Ensure that all the volunteers are in place prior to the start of the 2nd shift (prior to the start of the Breaststroke events) [No Experience Necessary]

Deck Jobs:

Stroke & Turn Judge  – Ensures that the rules relating to the style of swimming designated for the event are being observed. [TSA Clinic Attendance Required before season starts, please email [email protected]]

Starter  – Ensures that all swimmers receive a fair and equitable start. Must know the rules and governing starting procedures; operates the electronic timing progression; works with Announcer to control pace of the meet. Note: TSA Training Required. [TSA Clinic Attendance Required, please email [email protected]]]

Order of Finish Judge  – For all main events, records the order of finish of each lane (all 6 lanes). Each team provides an OOF judge, and the judge's sheets are used to reconcile the timing results. [No Experience Necessary]

Runner  – The Runner is responsible for collecting timing sheets from the timers following the completion of each age group for each event. Time sheets are delivered to the Timing Manager. The Runner also takes the main event sheets from the Clerk of Course and gives them to the Recorder. Also takes the completed DQ sheets from the Stroke & Turn Judges and the recorded main event sheets from the Recorder to the Scorers. [No Experience Necessary]

Floater  – This job will help us fill any unexpected vacancies. The Volunteer Coordinator will reach out the week of the meet to help fill any needed jobs. [No Experience Necessary]

Concessions:

Concessions Worker  – Work in Concessions booth selling food items & other team merchandise. Includes Hospitality duties, such as delivering water and/or snacks to meet officials (S&T, Starter, Coaches, etc.). [No Experience Necessary]

Kid Pushers:

Kid Pusher  – Gathers all swimmers and puts them in their lane assignments before the start of each race. Sends the swimmers of each race to the Clerk of Course. A Kid Pusher is responsible for a particular age/gender group (e.g., 7/8 boys). Groups are assigned to volunteers on a first-come, first-served basis the night of the event. (If you want a particular group, please arrive promptly.) [No Experience Necessary]