Pre-Swim Meet Volunteer Recruiting: Why Do It?

Last updated on December 28th, 2022 at 04:06 pm

Stress and time.  Why is it that we always have plenty of stress and never enough time — especially when it comes to running swim meets?  This post cannot give you more hours the day of the meet.  However, it does show how pre-meet volunteer recruiting makes meet hosting more sustainable for both you and your team. It yields:

  • Easier problem-solving
  • Reduced stress
  • More effective ways to communicate
  • A larger pool of potential volunteers, and
  • A better experience for volunteers which leads to more being willing and able to help next time!

Now that’s a great return on your investment!

This post is the fourth in a series showcasing principles of recruiting and retaining volunteers which features 20+ Ways to Get Swim Meet Timers and Other Volunteers

Reasons to Start Recruiting Volunteers Before a Swim Meet

Why bother with early volunteer recruiting when you may still need to find more at the meet?  A list of possible answers is below.  You’re welcome to leave others in the comments section.

Easier problem-solving

Before effective recruiting can begin, some pre-meet planning needs to occur.  The more answers to common questions you can share early on, the more willing and able people are to help.

  • Detailed pre-meet planning sheds light on questions and potential problems before the “crunch time” of the meet.  Problem-solving is easier “on paper” before all the pieces are in play.  This is especially true if there is still time to address those problems. Fixing foreseen problems results in fewer issues at the meet.
  • Pre-meet planning and prep enables the use of “reusable” information or tools, like what is available in the Tool Kit section of HostGreatMeets.com (see sidebar or scroll down.) These resources were designed to fix many common problems.
  • Having time to act and the chance to seek help from others, if needed, decreases much of the stress in problem-solving.

Preserves Key People

Every volunteer organization has them, the “10% of the people who do 80% of the work.”  These Wonder-women and Super-men are worth preserving. Early recruiting helps to make meet hosting more sustainable because it:

  • Allows Admin Help.  Because meet planning and volunteer recruiting start early, bigger jobs can be broken down so other parents can help the key leaders. Not only is the work spread around, but more chances for growth become available to more swim parents. It allows them to develop in a position without asking them to take on too much, too soon.  This can foster their increased commitment to the team. One example of this type of admin help is people who work at the Volunteer Check-in Table.
  • Reduces the demand on them during warm-ups. Pre-meet planning and recruiting reduces the demand on key leaders during warm-ups in a couple of ways. First, some (if not all) of the volunteer positions are already filled. Second, the way to process and train volunteer meet workers is not only established, it’s also staffed.
  • Increases the Accountability of Others. By clearly conveying volunteer assignments before the meet, it’s easier for key leaders to hold others accountable to help at the meet.

 More Effective Ways to Communicate

Have you ever heard something over the loud-speaker at a swim meet and had to ask, “What did they say?” The shoulder-shrugging, “Who knows” look” is a common response. It’s even worse when the only loud-speaker available is the starter microphone. Pre-swim meet volunteer recruiting uses more effective means of communication like the meet announcement, email, website and an online sign-up.

Ups the Number of Potential Volunteers

Of course pre-meet recruiting doesn’t create more people.  Yet, it can increase the number of potential volunteers by giving others time and incentive to act by:

  • Reaching out to individuals and teams. When the meet host issues team lane (or seat) assignments, teams organize timers from their ranks for the meet.
  • Giving early notification of volunteer needs and/or assignments, gives teams and individuals time to prepare. This can increase the number of willing and able volunteers.
  • By establishing the need for volunteer help early on, some will change their swim meet role from spectator to volunteer meet worker. Of course, this will not happen for all. However, you don’t need all, just some.
    • This is something organizations with a good meet hosting culture do — they work to change the swim meet role of their people from watchers to helpers.

A Better Experience Means Easier Recruiting Next Time

People who have a good volunteer experience are more likely to help again. Early planning and recruiting can promote:

  • Mentoring. Knowing the names of volunteers in advance makes it easier to pair new and experienced team parents together to time, or work in another position.
  • Fewer “Fires.” Early planning and problem-solving results in fewer fires, or crises, at the meet.
  • Clear, Consistent Information and Expectations create emotional safety and lead to better performance by volunteers at all levels.

 Conclusion

Investing in pre-swim meet volunteer recruiting yields impressive results not only to the meet host, but also to key meet leaders and those who work the meet.  It helps make swim meet hosting more sustainable and all, especially swimmers, benefit from that.

Preparing for a swim meet? Check out The Ultimate Swim Meet To-Do List. Then, get a bird’s eye view of Who does What at Swim Meets. Both include easy-to-follow links to related information. Doing a smaller, simpler meet? Host a High School or Developmental Swim Meet will help.

Need more help? See 20+ Ways to Get Swim Meet Timers and Officials: 20+ Ways to Get them for Swim Meets


Also, discover a few things you can do to Increase Safety at Swim Meets. Find ideas to implement before your meet as well as last-minute quick and easy tips!

Series Navigation<< Recruit Volunteers Before a Swim Meet8 Ways to Ask for Swim Meet Timers >>

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