Now that we have our pool back and we can shift focus back to the normal operations of the season, it's time to talk volunteering. Every swim meet takes volunteers. But it goes further than that. Every day someone is doing something behind the scenes to make it all happen. We need every family to chip in. That is especially true this season. We have 25 fewer swimmers than most seasons, which means fewer families. But we still have all of the same roles to fill. You can read up on all of the roles and more details about volunteering at https://www.silverfins.org/volunteers.

The most pressing need that we have right now is to find Stroke & Turn Judges. Every team must have a Stroke & Turn Judge at every meet that has completed the required TSA training. It sounds more intimidating than it really is. TSA simply wants to make sure everyone is following the same rules. We need at least two Stroke & Turn Judges but we're hoping to get four trained to avoid the dreaded scenario where we have to forfeit because we don't have an available judge. There are three options for training:

Tuesday, May 28th 6-7 PM at Bentwinds
6536 Dornoch Place
Fuquay Varina, NC 27526

Wednesday, May 29th 6:30-8:00 PM at Northbrook
4905 North Hills Drive
Raleigh, NC 27612

Wednesday, June 5th 6-7:30 PM at Raleigh Racquet Club at Hayes Barton Church
1800 Glenwood Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27608

We don't expect anyone to be the one and only Stroke & Turn Judge. We don't expect anyone to fill this role for an entire meet unless they choose to (more on that below). Don't assume that someone else will do it. That leads to no one doing it. We need everyone to step up.

We're going to try something a little different this season. Some jobs require a large commitment for an entire meet. Some jobs require very little commitment. We are going to split the meet into two shifts. Some jobs are only one shift (e.g., Cleanup Crew). Some jobs consist of two shifts (e.g., Timer). There is a requirement for every family to volunteer for three entire meets or six shifts. How you choose to spread that requirement out over the course of six meets is entirely up to you.

Of course, I would be lying if I said nothing more would be asked of you. The fact is that every year some families step up and work more than three meets because there are just too many roles that need to be filled. And with a smaller team than usual, everyone may need to volunteer just a little bit more than in the past to get through it all. Please be ready.

We will launch meet declarations this week, at which point you can sign up for jobs. Thank you for your patience. But more importantly, thank you for volunteering.