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The club and the sport as a whole cannot operate without the help of parents, friends and keen volunteers; fulfilling roles from taxi driver, nutritionist, teacher, coach, timekeeper, judge etc..
The technical roles are described below, and you do not need any special skill to get started - other than to be able to press a button on a stopwatch - and you are even trained in doing this properly.
You do not have to be an expert swimmer to be able to help on poolside, so if you fancy learning a bit more about the technical side of the sport, volunteer now by talking to the coaches. You can start by shadowing the coaches as they teach and guide the swimmers, and within a short time you will learn the key aspects of each stroke. If you just want to brush up on the techniques for each stroke have a look at the guidance notes from the excellent 'Flying Start' coaching programme.
There are so many ways in which you can help, and this page explains some of the roles of technical officials (also known as STOs), pool-side coach and teachers, and other support (including galas and fund raising)
All galas in Midland district need qualified and probationer Swimming Technical Officials (STOs) from around the area to run the event.
Kathy Geddes organises this effort, and your help can make a huge difference to her workload.
Check the STO Calendar for what events are coming up, and for information on how to volunteer.
| STOs | Pool-side | Other Support |
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Being a technical sport, events simply are not allowed to run if there are not enough technical officials on poolside. From the start of competitive swimming, all swimmers have to comply with the technical rules, which cover starts, strokes, turns and finishes. If learned at an early stage, swimmers will rarely receive disqualification for infringement - having said that there was the famous case of an Australian Womens Relay team disqualified at the Olympics one year..... Ouch! The Scottish Swimming web site has information for technical officials.
The starting point for all technical officials, even the international judges, is as a timekeeper - something which requires no more than a moderate amount of hand-eye coordination! In most cases electronic timing is used, and manual timing is only a backup activity, with simple rules for determining the official time if there is more than one stop-watch timing a lane.
Full
training is given, and timekeepers undergo a probation period, working at ten
events, before being 'certified'. You are rarely the only person timing on
a lane, and there is always the Chief Timekeeper to provide help, or a
replacement watch if yours fails for some reason.
Ready to sign up? Email events@pcsc.org.uk
or talk to Susan Coe on Club nights.
Want to talk to a timekeeper to find out what it's like? - ask any of the committee and many parents of older swimmers.
Having passed the timekeeper course, the next stage is the judges. The different judging roles include:
Chief Inspector of Turns
Inspector of Turns
Stroke Judge
Chief Finish Judge
Finish Judge
After a period of study, shadowing other judges, and workshops, passing the written exam enables you to take on the above roles. Judges Briefing Notes will appear on the site in due course. Being a judge teaches you all of the technical aspects of the sport, which is a real help in supporting and guiding your son or daughter.
Once you have your timekeeper 'badge', you will be invited to take the judges exam.
Just a parent....
Even if you remain 'just a parent' and don't get involved in running the club or events, you play a very important role in the success of the swimmer. Celebration, encouragement, support, cajoling, taxi service, kit provider and a shoulder to cry on - all of these things are in your remit. You will very quickly learn to carry your child's personal best times for each event and distance in your head (or on a scrap of paper in my case!); remember who the main competitors are; wish that you could swim as far, fast and competently as the kids!
We are extremely fortunate, at Perth City, to have an excellent team of coaches, led by two of Scotland's top coaches - Ann Dickson and Ann Hewitt. Getting to the top of the coaching profession takes years and years of practice and experience, updating your knowledge as the sport develops. Even if you don't aspire to these heights, your first step onto poolside is all it takes to begin to really help the swimmers.
At first this is a daunting task, the more experienced swimmers certainly know more than you do, and may or may not be inclined to listen to you (after all they are still teenagers!). Persevere! After a short period, the 'sets' or training programme will make sense to you too; and by listening to the other coaches you will pick up on the key points for each part of each stroke and race element (diving, turns etc).
In time, key coaching notes will be added to the site so that your encouragement and guidance keeps in line with what the swimmers are hearing on poolside.
Volunteer now by emailing events@pcsc.org.uk or talk to Susan Coe on club nights.
Each year the club arranges one 'home' league match for each of our teams (we currently have one in the premier league and one in division 1), as well as the annual club gala in the autumn. Making these events work takes a number of helpers other than technical officials; announcers, raffle sales, juice monitor, marshalling - all are needed to make our visitors welcome and to achieve an efficient and enjoyable programme of events.
Before each event a notice is posted on the board asking for volunteers. It only takes a small amount of your time to make a big difference so please sign up as soon as you see the notice.