Swim Moms, This One's for You!
Here at VolunteerSpot we are watching the icicles and shivering in our coats today and we can't wait for summer. We’re not the only ones, swim moms (and dads) across the country are preparing for spring and summer swim leagues – each year thousands of new kids join in the sport, learn their basic strokes and start competing against their best times.
But unlike many wonderful activities of parenting, just dropping off and picking up is not an option. Swim meets are like county fairs with speedos -- so many activities, so many starts and stops, so many little pods of children that need to be sheparded throughout the event -- swim teams and meets require scores of parents to fulfill many critical roles. Swim team parents and swim team volunteers must fill spots as race timers, age group parents, even people to manage the snack bar. Often, it's not just at meets that parent volunteers are needed, but during practices and for fundraisers and socials as well.
One veteran parent talked about volunteer coordination task at her swim club.
"Some years, there is a parent’s committee that keeps an eye out to make sure that all the parents pull their weight. But some years, the parent’s committee gets overwhelmed and doesn't coordinate the volunteers -- half of us end up working like crazy the whole season and the other half just sort of hide out and hope no one notices them!"
VolunteerSpot salutes the hard work of the parent coordinators trying to get everyone where they need to be. Just a question though -- would it be okay if it were like 10 (maybe 20) times easier? Thought so! Just look at what VolunteerSpot can do for your club this season (for FREE):
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- Easily set up meet calendars, establish all the jobs and number of volunteers needed.
- Once one meet and all its volunteer jobs are set up, this can be copied for all the other meet dates in the season -- simply change the meet name and location all the jobs copy over with a simple point and click copy function.
- Put a link on your club website or facebook page, or email team parents (once you do this, you can send email updates to them all season) and ask them to choose a minimum number of shifts.
- Parents receive email, click-in to your calendar, and start choosing their shifts.
- Coordinators can easily track parent hours and assignments and can then bug only those parents who are slacking!! or send a special thank you to those who have already picked up shifts!! or any other communication.
- 2 days before the meet, VolunteerSpot automatically emails everyone to remind them of their assignment.
- Coordinators can print out an assignment list from VolunteerSpot to have hard copies on hand at the meet to remind everyone who's handling what that day. (Or, if you’re pool is wireless, you can check the day’s roster via an iPad.)
Here's to a great swim season and to teams all over making their volunteering easier with VolunteerSpot. You can take a live demo of a swim team volunteer sign up and experience how easy it is for parents to pick their spots – click “try a live demo” on our homepage.
- Tips to Make this Swim Team Season a Splashing Success
- VolunteerSpotlight: Lori, Blue Sharks Swim Team Volunteer Coordinator, Knoxville, TN
- Simple Tips for Organizaing Swim Parents that Make the Season More Fun for Everyone!
- 5 Swim Mom Musts for a Successful Season
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
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