All parents with swimmers under the age of 16 are also required to be members. Refer page 7.
Parents (or their delegate/s) must be on hand at Club Night and swim meets in case of illness, injury or for disciplinary reasons.
The children are here to have FUN. Please do not try and live your life through your child. Let them enjoy swimming and leave it to the Coaches to give them instructions.
The Waterworx Amateur Swimming Club is run by volunteers. For us to be able to provide your child with a structured competition, it needs your involvement. Parent participation is essential in supporting and assisting in the running of the Club – please remember that the Members of the Management Committee also have children swimming at Club Night. Some examples where parents will be required to assist, include, but are not limited to:
~ Timekeeping (note: a minimum of 16 timekeepers are required before we can commence Club Night)
~ Marshalling, Check Starter
~ Fundraising endeavours (e.g Bunnings Barbecue)
Parents MUST supervise all their children when at Club Night - children under the age of 13 are not to be dropped off at the pool, unless you have arranged for another parent to supervise them.
It is also important to note that the indoor pool and toddler pool are out of bounds on Club Night, as it is essential that children remain near the main pool and listen for their races to be called; no running allowed on the pool deck; and children must behave in the marshalling area
As per the declaration when you register with Swimming Queensland, all Members must abide by the rules, regulations and policies. These are available on the Swimming Queensland website www.qld.swimming.org.au select: ‘about us’ ‘SQ/SAL Policies, Procedures and Rules’ and Includes - Junior Sport Policy, Member Welfare Policy, Child Welfare Policy, Behavioural Guidelines.
~ Encourage your child to participate in swimming for their enjoyment, personal satisfaction & improvement;
~ Children are not miniature professionals;
~ Focus on the swimmer’s effort and performance rather than winning or losing;
~ Encourage your child to abide by the rules and accept judgements made by officials;
~ Support all efforts to remove verbal and physical abuse from the sporting environment;
~ Assist in setting realistic personal goals related to your child’s abilities;
~ Be an example to your child and others. Appreciate good performances by all participants;
~ Never ridicule or yell at a child for making a mistake or performing below expectation;
~ Cheer and give positive feedback to all swimmers.
~ Show your appreciation of volunteers, coaches, officials and administrators – without them, your child could not participate.
~ Respect the rights, dignity and worth of all participants, regardless of their gender, ability, ethnicity, cultural background or religion.
All parents are required to assist with Timekeeping duties - don’t worry if you have never done this before. A Chief Timekeeper is always available to show you how to use the stop watches and assist if you have any difficulties.
Without the aid of parents, we simply cannot run Club Nights - a minimum of 16 timekeepers is required to operate 8 lanes of the pool, in addition to the other duties of Marshalling, Starter, etc.
To ensure that Club Nights start promptly at 6.15pm, please ensure you arrive at the pool and sign-in by 6.10pm – a ‘Volunteer Register’ will be placed on a table near the timekeepers on Club Nights. For insurance purposes, all volunteer officials must sign-in each Club Night.
Timekeeping is a great way to meet and socialise with other families within the Club.
It is the responsibility of ALL parents attending swim meets to assist with Timekeeping duties. The host club will assign a lane or number of timekeeping positions to be filled by each of the visiting clubs.
To ensure that timekeeping duties are shared across all parents evenly, a roster will be prepared at the beginning of each meet. If you know that you will be leaving early please ensure that you advise the co-ordinator so that they can roster you earlier in the day. It is important to note that at large events a period of two hours per parent is sometimes required.
All Members of the Management Committee are required to participate in our Member Protection Policy by competing and lodging a Blue Card application. All other parents are also welcome to apply for a Blue Card at no cost . Please contact the Secretary.
· Offered by Swimming Australia
- Technical Official - for those parents who are interested in becoming a ‘technical official’, Swimming Australia offers a free National Technical Official Accreditation Program. Candidates are required to complete the assessment within an on-line Learner Guide and then be assessed by a Swimming Queensland / Training Officer.
Below is a list of the Units of Competency available under the National Technical Official Accreditation Program:
Unit of Competency courses: General Principles of Swimming Officiating; Starter – Level 1; Check Starter; Marshal; Timekeeper; Chief Timekeeper; Inspector of Turns; Judge of Stroke; Recorder; Referee – Level 1; Referee (Specialist Extension) Open Water Swimming; Referee (Specialist Extension) Swimming with a Disability; Self Management for Advanced Technical Officials.
Certified Courses Unit of Competency: Announcer, Finish Judge; Operator of Automatic Officiating Equipment.
Practically Assessed Addition Levels Unit of Competency: Starter - Level 2, Referee - Level 2; Starter – Level 3; Referee – Level 3
- Member Welfare Course - this free on-line course has been developed by Swimming Australia as part of the Member Welfare and Child Protection policies. It covers a range of information that anyone involved in Swimming Australia should come to understand. The course is for Swimmers, Coaches, Officials, Parents and Administrators. The courses cover a range of topics and targeted topics for each of the roles in Swimming.
· Organised by the Club
Technical Official Training: 6.45pm – 8.45pm on Friday, 19 August 2011
A ‘Free’ Technical Official Training information evening, conducted by Swimming Queensland Officials, Suellen Hardie and Diane Greene, is being held at 6.45pm on Friday, 19 August 2011. RSVP by 12 August 2011.
The evening is aimed at parent members and swimmers (16 years & over) who are interested in learning the Rules of Swimming and the basic competencies required to undertake the roles of Timekeeping, Check Starting and Marshalling. No prior experience necessary. It is also suitable for those who wish to update their qualifications in these areas.
Training will be conducted in line with the National Technical Official Accreditation Program created by Swimming Australia, in conjunction with Swimming Queensland and other State and Territory Swimming Associations.
Information Sheets
if you would like an ‘Information Sheet’ on Timekeeping, Starting or Judging – please speak with Leila McFerran (Vice President / Chief Timekeeper).