Volunteering

The Cranbrook Triton Swim Club is a non-profit, community based competitive swim club. Our coaches are paid but the general administration of the club is managed by a volunteer Board of Director’s. The Cranbrook Triton Swim Club is a successful club and much of the credit for this goes to the dedication and hardwork from coaching staff, board members and parent volunteers. 

Unfortunately, it is common in non-profit organizations that the bulk of volunteer workload falls to a few dedicated members.  The most successful non-profit organizations are able to spread the workload out among the membership in a more equal manner.  

Many sport organizations, including other swim clubs, have a formal volunteering policy and a volunteer bond (where a post-dated cheque is submitted at the start of the season and is returned if the family fulfills the volunteering requirements or cashed if they do not). The Cranbrook Triton Swim Club does not have a volunteer bond. We are committed to maintaining an organization that embraces members support with their time and energy because they want to. 

Volunteering is critical to the operation of the club but also shows support for your child, is a great learning opportunity and is fun and rewarding. It is an opportunity to meet other parents and become part of the local swimming community. 

The membership will be kept informed of all officiating/voluntearing opportunities through the Cranbrook Triton Swim Club website and email notices. It is crucial that all members communicate via the website at the beginning of the swim season to sign-up for officiaiting positions, particularly in preparation for our Fall Invitational Meet in November.

The volunteer positions/committees below need to be filled each season.  Please consider applying your skill set to a position. If you are new to the club or volunteering, consider an entry level position or minor role on a committee.

POSITIONS

2 Year Elected Term Positions

President

2 Year Elected Term Positions: Ideally 2 years prior experience on CTSC Board

Vice President

2 Year Elected Term Positions: Ideally previous volunteer or CTSC board positions

Secretary

2 Year Elected Term Positions: : Good record keeping and clerical skills

Treasurer

2 Year Elected Term Positions: Financial and/or book keeping skills

Officials Coordinator

2 Year Elected Term Positions: Should be an SNC level 2 official.  Good organizational skills

Fundraising Coordinator

2 Year Elected Term Positions: Previous fundraising committee member preferred but not mandatory.  Marketing experience an asset.

Registrar

2 Year Elected Term Positions: Good organizational and interpersonal skills an asset. Works closely with other board members particularily the Treasurer

Meet Manager

2 Year Elected Term Positions: Must be an SNC qualified Meet Manager.  Knowledge of swim meet planning, organization, and execution is critical.  Meet Manager is accountable for the financial success of a hosted meet.  Assembles and acts as Swim Meet Committee head. Works closely with Board members particularily Officials Coordinator and Fundraising Coordinator. 

Annual or Event Volunteer Positions

Swim Meet Food Manager

Annual Volunteer: Seeks food /beverage donations from local businesses and assigns food groups (fruit, muffins, sandwiches et.) to members to bring to each swim meet session.  Recruit volunteers to work in the food area during each session. Make sure stock (plates, cutlery, coffee cups etc.) is updated and ready for each swim meet and session.

Swim Meet Non-Officiating Committee Member

Event Volunteer: There are a number of roles required to host a swim meet including food, setup-tear down, selling raffle tickets and heat sheets, awards table.  This is a great entry level committee role.

Equipment Manager

Annual Volunteer: Responsible for maintaining

New Member Liaison

Annual Volunteer (commitment for the full swim season): Acts as a communication conduit to new members. Helps with any questions and guides them through the ins and outs of competitive swimming and CTSC.

Fundraising Committee Member

Annual Volunteer: A number of roles are required for various fundraising initiatives through the year.  This is a great entry level committee role.

End of the Year Party and Awards Committee Lead

Annual Volunteer: The end of the year party and awards event is to recognize the dedication and hard work through  the swim season and award the achievements of swimmers and volunteers.  Booking venue, ordering awards, organizing and recruiting awards committee volunteers to help etc. This position will also work with the Coaches to order awards that are received through out the year, such as “swimmer of the month”.

End of the Year Party and Awards Committee Members

Annual Volunteer: The end of the year party and awards event is to recognize the dedication and hard work through  the swim season and award the achievements of swimmers and volunteers.  Members are needed to help plan and run this event.  The committee member will take direction from the awards committee lead/Secretary.  This is a great entry level committee role.

Social Committee Members

Annual Volunteer: Support coaching initiatives for team building activities inside and outside of the pool environment. Organizing social events to bring swimmers and parents together to build the CTSC community.  This is a great entry level committee role.

Travel Chaperones

Solicited or Event Volunteer: Good organizational and interpersonal skills is a must.  Selection for travel chaperones is decided by the senior coaches as per the CTSC travel policy.

Travel Coordinator

Annual Volunteer: For non-team travel meets, the coordinator will arrange to hold a block of hotel rooms for attending CTSC members near the swim meet venue or a financially reasonable location.  May book group dinner reservations where and when feasible depending on swim meet schedule.  Ensure booking information is included in swim meet sign up information package. Team travel meets, the coordinator will arrange charter transportation, hotel accomodation etc. develops quote for swimmer travel fees to be included in sign-up information package.

Officiating- Competitive Program

Swim meets are an essential part of the sport of swimming, it allows athletes to test their skills and reach their swimming potential.  They provide swimmers with the opportunity to compete in their home pool and  have the potential to provide an important source of revenue for the club.  Home Meets are an integral part of the annual fundraising program, which keeps our swim fees affordable for most families.

It takes a team of dedicated volunteers to run a well organized and successful swim meet. There are a wide variety of jobs required to run a swim meet.  Each session requires about 32 officials and 10 to 15 non-officiating workers helping with food hospitality, raffle and heat sheet sales, award ribbons, and set up and tear down.  Each membership family is expected to fulfill a minimum of 3 officiating shifts at each of our home meet(s). Members with more than one swimmer are encouraged to volunteer for more than 3 sessions although it is not mandatory.

Most importantly, we need to continue to grow and mentor our club’s officiating skill level and members must continue to progress their officiating skills each year. A member of each swim family will be required to complete a course each swim season until they have completed all the SNC level one and parts of level two (Stroke and Turn and Chief Timer). Exempt courses for the majority of members will be clerk of course, chief finish judge/recorder scorer, starter and meet manager courses.  Ideally, the club will have 2 people trained and qualified in each of these positions. Officials Coordinator will seek mentoring opportunities particularily for members that show an interest in a certain officiating position or have a certain skill set.  In addition the Officals Coordinator may ask certain members to continue their training and take additional courses to ensure the club maintains enough qualified officials to run home meets.

More information to come at the start of the 2019/2020 Swim Season.