Green Trails Gators

Executive Board:

The Steering Committee is comprised of five unpaid volunteers who oversee all aspects of the Green Trails Swim Team. The Steering Committee usually begins monthly meetings in January to plan the upcoming swim season, with meetings becoming more frequent as the start of the season nears.

The Steering Committee takes on the following functional areas:

Athletic Director – liaison for the coaching staff; oversees referees, judges, starters and timers to ensure smooth operation of the meet; ensures swimmers are developed to their fullest potential

Equipment & Purchasing Coordinator– ensures equipment such as tents, kickboards, pace clock, etc. is available and functional

Secretary – ensures all required documents are complete and properly filed; documents correspondence, meeting notes, etc.

Team Communications/Webmaster – ensures pertinent information is communicated to coaches, staff and parents in a timely manner, and that the website is kept up to date

Volunteer Coordinator – ensures Lead Volunteers have the resources in place to properly staff volunteer functions during meets and throughout the season

WHALe Rep – represents team's interests with the West Houston Aquatic League.

HOA Liaison – represent GTST with the Green Trails Homeowners Association

Treasurer – handles bookkeeping, payroll, sponsors, vendors, etc.

LEAD Volunteers:

We thank all our volunteers because we could not conduct a swim meet without you!! The swimmers appreciate you so much!

The following volunteer positions are considered “LEAD” volunteer positions because of their commitment to the GTST. If you are interested in a lead position, please contact one of the Steering Committee members. Committing to a lead volunteer position fulfills your volunteer commitment to the team for the season, and we greatly appreciate your time!

Concessions Coordinator– Estimates and purchases quantities of food/drink/candy for concession sales at home meets and time trials. Schedules vendors. Procures supplies (ice, chests, etc.) and ices down drinks prior to events. Sets up concession area prior to home meets. Packs up supplies after meets. Receives cash box from treasurer, counts petty cash, and keeps accounting of expenditures/revenues.

Set Up/Tear Down Coordinator (Facilities) –Sets up ready‐bench area tents in all age group areas prior to the start of the meet; packs them up at sundown or at the completion of the meet. Assists in set up of all equipment for meets. This includes, but is not limited to, the Ready Bench Area and tents, the Timing Area, the Officials Area. This is for all meets, home and away. Set Up for Home meets happens during practice the day of the meet. Set-up for Away meets is approximately 1 ½ hours prior to start of meet. Would be nice if able to help transport tents to away meets; will receive priority parking at all meets.

Meet Director–This volunteer is in complete charge of the swim meet, including ejecting spectators for objectionable behavior, and has the final word in all disputes according to the League Bylaws. Must hold current WHALe certification and work all meets, both home and away. The Meet Director has full oversight of the Starter, Stroke and Touch‐turn judges, including ensuring meets are fully staffed. Notes disqualifications (DQs) to official scorekeeper, and makes final decisions when judges do not agree.

Ready Bench Captain – Provide overall support to Ready Bench Volunteers, including making sure meets are fully and properly staffed with volunteers.

Ribbon Wrangler – Organizes and labels all ribbons earned by swimmers using labels generated by the Scorekeeper and organizes ribbons to be handed out at practice.

Starter –After referee or Meet Director’s signal, instructs swimmers to take mark, gives starting signal, and charges false starts. Also makes general announcements. Must hold current WHALe certification. Must be available from start to end of all HOME meets.

Scorekeeper - Uses the computer to collect swimmer times, record Disqualifications, score heats, print heat sheets, and print ribbon labels. This volunteer is also responsible for helping to collate the entries from both teams to create the heat sheet. Must hold current WHALe certification. Must commit to being at all meets the entire length of the meet.

Head Timer– Trains timers prior to each meets, ensures equipment is in working order, provides backup times for each race, and relieves Timers as necessary. Must commit to work each meet.

We have tried to make the following as descriptive as possible to allow you to choose your volunteer duties wisely. Please understand that all jobs are important and imperative to the success of our meets. We take your commitment to volunteer seriously!

If you are scheduled to work a job at a meet and are unable to attend, YOU must arrange for a substitute (must be at least 16). If you do not show up to work at a meet and do not get a substitute, you could be assessed your volunteer commitment fee.

All parents working at the meet will check in directly with the GTST Volunteer Coordinator at the Volunteer Check-In Table before reporting to your assigned area. NOTE: This includes ALL volunteers for both first and second halves. This is the only way parents will receive credit for working and to ensure a substitute does not have to be found for your volunteer duty.

After checking in, please proceed to your designated volunteer area. If you are volunteering for the second half of the meet, please pay attention to the meet and be aware that you need to report to your assigned area after the break! Please be mindful that the 1^st half volunteer is waiting to be relieved. If you are working a 2^nd half or end of meet duty, you must remain at your duty until your duty is complete, regardless of whether your child is done swimming.

Concessions – Work in the concessions stand during home meets to sell various food items and distribute water to volunteers at home meets. This includes making rounds to all judges, timers, home team ready bench volunteers, starter, meet director, scorekeepers, etc., at frequent intervals. We want to keep our volunteers hydrated!

Bathroom Monitor – This volunteer plays a key role in keeping our swimmers safe.  The job of these 2 full-meet volunteers is to make sure unauthorized people aren't entering the bathrooms and that the bathrooms remain safe during the meet.  With 2 full-meet volunteers in place, each parent should be able to step away to watch their swimmer.  These volunteers will also occasionally check the supplies and trash cans in the bathroom area and maintain them as needed. 

Parking Lot Monitor–Ensures only permitted cars (i.e., meet officials, coaches, visiting team officials, certain key volunteers) are parked in the lot at the Geri Ayers Pool. This job is meant to be split between 2 full-meet volunteers so the parking lot can be continuously monitored and yet parents can watch their swimmers' events. This duty is for HOME meets only.

Ready Bench – Ready Bench volunteers work directly with the swimmers in that gender/age group for the entire meet. They make sure they are properly marked, lined up for races, and in the ready bench area receiving adult supervision. Ready Bench volunteers will be given a heat sheet to be able to inform swimmers of their events, heats, and assigned lanes. They will escort swimmers to the deck ready bench area as these events approach. Ready Bench Volunteers must stay with their respective swimmers at all times unless in the water. They must know where their swimmers are at all times. They watch over their swimmers during the “down times” of the meet, reminding the swimmers to clean up after themselves, and generally helping the swimmers maintain appropriate behavior throughout the meet. Parents must check out their swimmer with the Ready Bench volunteer (12 and under) after swimming their last race and prior to leaving the pool area. The Ready Bench Captain is available for support and to answer any questions.

Stroke Judge –Observe the swimmers within each heat of the meet to ensure that their strokes are legal according to the WHALe swimming rules. Infractions are reported to the Meet Director for the swimmer in question. All judges must hold current WHALe certification.

Touch Turn Judge – Observe the swimmers within each heat of the meet to ensure that all turns and touches are legal according to the WHALe swimming rules. They also watch for false starts on the relay takeoffs. Infractions are reported to the Meet Director for the swimmer in question. All judges must hold current WHALe certification.

Runners - picks up timing slips from each lane after every 3 events and bring them to scoring table.

Ribbons – Under direction of the Ribbon Wrangler, organizes and labels all ribbons earned by swimmers using labels generated by the Scorekeeper.

Timers – Time (using a provided stopwatch) and record times for swimmers during both home and away meets. Must be available 30 minutes prior to each meet for brief training from Head Timer. Per WHALe rules, there are 3 timers per lane with each team to provide half of the timers. One writer per lane will record times on Timing Slips to be handed off to the runner.

Spirit Wear– Help sell Spirit Wear items during first few weeks of practice and/or at home meets. Pick up team t‐shirts and distribute to each swimmer.

Substitute – As a substitute, you are required to check in at the volunteer table one hour prior to the start of the meet and be prepared to fill in for any job that is needed.

Team Party– Plan end‐of‐season party at the Ayers pool. Order pizza and pick up drinks. Collect money for Coach/Volunteer Appreciation gifts. Purchase/assemble gift bags. Order and pick up Team Medals.