Hello IP Stingray Families!

Good news!!! We have a volunteer for Referee next year! Jason Parkhouse has most graciously volunteered to “step up” from his volunteer position as Starter to be our new Referee.

That being said, we now are seeking a volunteer (or two) that can fill the role of Starter beginning next year. This volunteer position only needs to be filled for home meets (~3x per year). It is ideal if it is the same person for each meet, but it does not have to be.

We would, ideally, like to be able to train next year’s Starter during our two home meets this year (next week and week after). If you are interested in filling this position for next year, please reach out directly to Skip Jensen ([email protected]) or Jason Parkhouse ([email protected]) to let them know. Also, if you are curious and would like a bit more information, below are the typical responsibilities / duties of the Starter position.

The Starter position is an official’s position that is filled by the home team for each meet. The starter has the responsibility of starting each event by saying “Take your mark” and then “firing” the starting gun / horn. If there is not an Announcer volunteer, the starter also typically announces each event and heat. For instance… “Event 15. Boys 11–12-year-old 50-meter Freestyle. Heat 1 of 2.” Finally, the starter is responsible for briefing the Timers before the beginning of each meet. The Starter does NOT need to be qualified as a Stroke and Turn official. The position can be filled by anyone that is comfortable with projecting their voice over a loudspeaker and running a Timers meeting. In fact, we have a script the Starter can follow / read for the Timers meeting.

If you feel like this might be a good volunteer position for you for next year, please let Jason or Skip know so that you can shadow them for at least one of the two home meets this year.

Thank you for considering!