2026 Family Participation Information
It is the goal of the Greatwood Geyser Swim Team to run smooth and effective meets. In order to reach our goal, it is the policy of the Greatwood Geysers all families be required to volunteer for a minimum total of 3.0 volunteer points during the Geyser swim season, not including MOC or All-Stars (if your child participates in these events volunteering is mandatory). For the 2026 swim season, a good policy is that if you have a child swimming at a meet, you must volunteer at that meet.
One of our most important and hard-to-fill positions is for Stroke Judges, which requires training before the season beginning, so please review and sign-up for positions early. If you know the strokes and a swim background we encourage you to stop in at one of the Stroke Judge Clinics before the meets start. Our new website will enable easier sign-ups, but positions are filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so log in and grab your favorite position before someone beats you to it. Click here for a description of the various volunteer positions.
IMPORTANT VOLUNTEER INFORMATION
If family volunteer obligations are not met during the season, the swimmers in that family will not be allowed to register next year with the returning swimmers. Those families who have not fulfilled their obligations will have to register with new swimmers and potentially be placed on a waiting list. In addition, a $250.00 fine will be billed. NOTE: Volunteer requirements do not apply to Geysers Development Lessons participants unless you also have a meet team swimmer.
2026 Volunteer Update
If your child/children are swimming at a meet, someone from your family needs to sign-up to work a shift during that meet. Your family will have to fulfill a minimum of 3.0 volunteer points for the season to remain in good standing. Everyone's participation helps the meets to move smoothly.
Job Sign Up for Families
Welcome to the Greatwood Geysers Swim Team! We are ready for another great season and that can only be accomplished with YOUR help. In order for our meets to run smoothly, your family must volunteer at every meet you have a child swimming. This will help each family easily meet their minimum 3.0 volunteer point requirement. If you fail to fulfill your volunteer commitment, you will be required to register as a new swimmer and provide a $250 fine. More details about our Family Participation Policy can be found by clicking here.
Did you know that each home meet (running 8 lanes) requires 89 working positions per meet, and away meets (running 6 lanes) require 66 jobs per meet? Family participation is essential for our meets to run successfully.
We will have various volunteer opportunities available at all 5 of our swim meets. Additional volunteer opportunities for our Prelims. and Finals meets later in the season will be added as the details become available.
Sign-ups are done online using your Swimtopia account and only take a few minutes to complete when you are logged into your account. They will open after our season kick-off party so check your email for more specifics on the exact date and time.
Below are the easy steps to help you on your way to supporting getting started:
SIGN UP STEPS
- Go to greatwoodgeysers.swimtopia.com and login
- Click on the "Schedules" (just click, don't select from the drop-down menu) OR click on the green "View all" link next to "Upcoming Events" on the right side of the home page screen to see all the meets
- Click on "Job Sign-up" next to the meet that you want
- Select the name of the person that is signing up for a shift*
- Select the jobs that you would like to work and then click "Save Assignments"**
- If you need to edit your sign-up, simply click on "Sign-up for Jobs" and de-select the job you would like to change and click "Save Assignments"
*the person that signs up MUST BE the person that actually works the shift. Also, remember that only registered adults will be able to sign up for shifts*
**If you hover over the circled "i" next to the job, a brief description of that job will appear**
Thank you all for your help and dedication to the Greatwood Geysers! See you poolside!
VOLUNTEER POSITION DESCRIPTIONS
Tent Parent – Full meet position
You, along with at least one other parent, will be responsible for taking care of a group of swimmers during the meet. Your duties will include but are not limited to marking all swimmers for races, making sure any heat sheet discrepancies are brought to the attention of the tent coordinators, line swimmers up and escort them to and from all races, ensuring that all swimmers in your tent are accounted for at all times, and making sure that each swimmer is properly signed out at the end of each meet. You will also need to escort the 10U swimmers to and from the restrooms if needed. This is a very important position as you are responsible for each child in the tent. You must stay with all the children until they are checked out by their parent at the conclusion of the meet.
Ready Bench – Half meet position
You will be responsible for making sure swimmers are in the proper lanes and that any open lanes after the first heat are filled in to help maintain a smooth meet flow. This is a great job for someone who likes being near the action of the pool.
Stroke Judge – Half meet position
Responsible for assessing the legality of a swimmers stroke execution. This is a great job if you like being in the heart of the action as you will be poolside during your entire shift! NOTE: Each stroke judge must attend an annual stroke clinic to be certified to officiate at a meet. Once you sign up for this position you will receive all of the clinic information and schedule for the current season. This is a perfect job for parents with prior competitive swimming experience with a keen/impartial eye for details. We can not hold a swim meet without enough stroke judges on each team so plan on working half of every meet.
Timers – Half meet position
Responsible for timing events. You will get sometimes wet in this position! There will be 3 timers in each lane consisting or a mix of both Geyser and the opposing teams parents. If volunteering for the first half of the meet, you must arrive and be in your assigned lane 20 minutes prior to the start of the meet. If volunteering for the second half of the meet, you must be in the assigned lane before the end of the first half. This is a great job if you love being in the heart of the action.
Scribe - Half meet position
Responsible for recording team name, swimmer number, and all 3 times from the timers in your lane. If volunteering for the first half of the meet, you must arrive and be in your assigned lane 20 minutes prior to the start of the meet. If volunteering for the second half of the meet, you must be in the assigned lane before the end of the first half. You will get wet in this position. Great spot if you want to be in the heart of the action.
Starter- full meet for home meets
This person must be stroke judge certified with an outstanding understanding of swim meets. This person starts each event with the bull horn and calls fall starts.
Runner – Half meet position
Responsible for collecting timing slips from the scribes and taking them to the scoring table. If volunteering for the first half of the meet, you must arrive and be in your assigned lane 20 minutes prior to the start of the meet. If volunteering for the second half of the meet, you must be in the assigned lane before the end of the first half. This is a fast paced position that will keep you moving for the majority of your shift--wear your comfy shoes!
Scoring – Half meet position
Responsible for scoring the meet and recording all swimmer times in the team database. This is a predetermined crew prior to the first swim meet. Please contact the crew lead if you are interested in joining this team.
Ribbons – Half meet position
Distribute ribbons to swimmers after each race in the ribbons area.
Galley – Half meet position
Sell snack items and drinks at the home meets.
Set up / breakdown crew – Half meet position
For home meets we will have two different set up options. The first will be on Sunday night prior to the meet. The second will be on Monday early afternoon to complete any set up that cannot be done the night before. The set up crew will be responsible for physically setting up all tents, tables, ropes, barriers ect. required for the meet. The breakdown crew will breakdown the meet and packs everything up.
Photography – Half meet position
Photograph the meets. This is a closed crew. If you are interested in being part of this crew please contact the crew lead. The majority of the people that participate on this crew are doing so as free credits in addition to their six required family credits.
Parking attendant- before/1st half meet position
This is a great position for a work from home parent with flexible hours who can be at the pool at least 1 hour prior to the event. You will be making sure only cars with reserved parking placards are allowed into the parking lot as well as the few parking spots that are reserved on the far side for tennis access.
Team Banquet Party Planner
This individual plans the end-of-season banquet that takes place at the conclusion of All-Stars. A great celebration for the whole family to come out and acknowledge each swimmer's achievements over the summer.