Parent Handbook 2009-2010

Points

PLEASE HELP OUR SWIMMERS; WE NEED YOUR HELP THROUGH POINTS NOT YOUR DOLLARS

The BAC programs cannot run without parental support and all families with children participating in the BAC programs (except those in the TYM group) are required to assist in the running of the club. A point system has been developed to encourage volunteers to participate in ways that are manageable within everyone's busy lives and which spreads the work more fairly across the entire club. The point system and processes are explained below. Thanks to those who give tirelessly season after season and thanks to those who join us in helping to make our swimmers achieve their potential.

• A. The Point System Explained
• B. Type of Help Needed
• C. Double Points and How to Earn Them
• D. Away Meet Timing
• E. Major Meet Core Teams
• F. How to Sign Up & Find Out About Available Jobs and Point Requirements
• G. Tracking Points
• H. Communication Process
• I. What Happens if you do not earn sufficient points
• J. Frequently Asked Questions
• K. Contact Information

A. The Point System Explained

Jobs and Points

We have a number of jobs that parents can help out with. Each family is required to earn a certain number of points, depending on which group their most advanced swimmer is in. Points are associated with each job that parents work. There are 2 types of job groups; A) Jobs at Major Meets which are run by our club (The Berkeley Aquatic Club Long Course Winter Invitational in January, Short Course Junior Olympics (JO) in March and Memorial Day in May) ; B) Club jobs which are critical to running our club such as running smaller meets for our age group swimmers, maintaining the pool, helping with writing and club organization. See section B for more details.

Points required and penalties

The number of points required is determined by what group your swimmer(s) is in (See table below). All Groups except TYM and Streaks are also required to earn points working at our Major Meets (whether or not they have swimmers in the meets.) We need everyone to volunteer at these major meets both because they are a major fundraiser for the club and because it is part of our obligation as members of New Jersey Swimming to host some of the NJ swimming meets. Point requirements are per family, not per swimmer. You are required to satisfy the point allocation associated with the highest swim group your family member(s) participate in. (For example, if you have a Senior and a Blues swimmer, your point obligation is that of your Senior swimmer.)

While the majority of our volunteers do the work they commit to, there are those who do not. We therefore have no choice but to assign penalties for jobs committed to but not worked as it difficult to find a replacement at the last minute.

•  If a volunteer signs up and does not show up the penalty will be a $100 fine applied to their next bill. If a true emergency arises, you can always find a substitute or if it is too late, call the meet director to let them know.

•  If parents do not satisfy their point requirement at the end of the season, there will be a $240 payment per point. We will work with you to help you find ways of fulfilling your point requirement. Please reach out to us early and do not wait until July or August. Please remember though we prefer to have your time and not your money!!!

If you have extenuating circumstances that will not allow you to earn your points, please talk to a board member. Often, we can find you a job that will fit in with your restrictions. If you truly have unique circumstances, we will take that into consideration. Please do not wait until July or August to contact us. Please contact us as early as possibl

How many points you need is determined by what group your swimmer is in:

*Note: Major meet points in excess of your requirement will be counted as club points but excess club points will not be counted as major meet points. Major Meet points can ONLY be earned at the three major meets: Winter Long Course Invitational, Short Course Junior Olympics and Memorial Day.

If you join Berkeley after November 1: Your point requirements will be prorated as shown in the table below. Families joining after Memorial Day are exempt from earning points for that year.

	Junior, Senior	Join Date (if after 11/1)*
		After 11/1 and before Cera Ve®	After Cera Ve® and before JOs	After JOs and before Memorial Day
Total # of Points to be earned	5.5 points	4.25	2.0	0.5
Required Point Split	2.5 Major Meet (mandatory) 3.0 any jobs - Club or Major Meets	2.25 2.0	1.25 0.5	0 0.5
Penalty at end of season:	$240 per point not worked
	Streaks, Snappers, Blues	Join Date (if after 11/1)*
		After 11/1 and before Cera Ve®	After Cera Ve® and before JOs	After JOs and before Memorial Day
Total # of Points to be earned	2.5 points	1.5	0.5	0.25
Required Point Split	0.5 Major Meet (mandatory) 2.0 any jobs - Club or Major Meets	0.25 1.25	0.25 0.25	0 0.25
Penalty at end of season:	$240 per point not worked

If your child changes groups after October 1: You are still responsible for all points obligations of the original group. If your child is promoted to a higher level program, you will be responsible for any increases in points, pro-rated by month. For example, if your child moves from Juniors to Blues or Dolphins in January, you still are responsible for earning 5.25 points.

If your child leaves the club: You will be responsible for earning all points of the original group or paying $240 per unearned points. If you plan to work to fulfill your point obligation, developing a signed points earning plan with the points recorder will be sufficient to affect your release.

B. Type of Help Needed

Club Position

•  Facilities maintenance - we are fortunate at BAC to have our own facility, but with the benefits comes the responsibility of maintaining it.

•  Organizational activities -these activities help to assist:

•  Newcomers or swimmers changing groups - Try-Outs and orientations

•  All families through communications- website, e-mails, and educational sessions

•  With fundraising activities - Food Coupons, Swimalong, etc.

•  Swimmers - team spirit activities and Splash Flash newsletter

•  Club management - Board positions, Volunteer Coordinators

•  Publicity- external publicity and internal Splash Flash publication  

Swim Meet Positions

•  Developmental swim meets, Dual Meets and in house meets for our Age Group swimmers - Snappers, Blues, Dolphins, TYM and Streaks (require up to 20 parents to help for each of these). Positions include Timers, Marshals, Admissions etc.

•  Major Meets: The Winter Long Course Invitational (name changes from year to year); New Jersey Short Course Junior Olympica; Memorial Day Invitational (all meets run at Rutgers University .) These meets require an incredible amount of volunteer effort in order to be successful. Volunteer positions include: Timers, Safety Marshals, Admissions, Awards, Concessions, Announcers, Computer Operators etc. There are also Major Meet Core Teams that you can volunteer for - see section E.  

•  No other meet counts towards major meet points.

Officiating: Become an official by taking a New Jersey Swimming sanctioned class, passing on line tests and then fulfilling an apprenticeship. Once you are an official, you can officiate at any meet in New Jersey and earn points (even if BAC is not attending the meet.) Out of state meets we are attending will also earn you points. Apprentices can earn points at our in house meets.

C. Double Points and When You Can Earn Them

•  During August turnaround , when our facilities are given a fall-cleaning, points are doubled AND you can choose to have the points count towards the previous year (the one ending in August) or the next year.

D. Away Meet Timing

•  All parents have an obligation to time at away meets, i.e. meets sponsored by other clubs This is an expectation amongst all swim clubs in New Jersey

•  We try to make this easier for our members by awarding ¼ point for each session timed, which counts towards your non-major meet commitment.

•  We will ask for timers for away meets to sign up for the meets on line and will track who times throughout the season.

•  Families who officiate at away meets are not expected to time at away meets. If no one volunteers for a session, a family with a child swimming that session will be assigned to time.

•  Did you know? We only get information about these away meets 72 hours before the meet, that's why we can't inform you of details until the 2 days before.

•  If you officiate at a non- BAC sponsored, NJ or USA sanctioned meet (whether or not BAC is attending the meet) you will be awarded ¼ point. We encourage our officials to work at other meets both because it's an obligation of BAC to provide officials and because officials from other teams officiate at our meets. To receive credit, turn in a copy of your officials card to the Away Meet Timing Coordinator.

•  Officials also earn 1 point for becoming certified. This applies to new certification (whether becoming a stroke and turn official for the first time or moving to a higher level of officialdom) or for taking the class and passing the test for becoming recertified.

E. Major Meet Core Teams (see section B, Major Meet)

There are 6 Major Meet volunteer core teams: Hospitality, Officials, Technical, Admissions, Safety Marshals and Timers. Each team has a team leader and "core" team members. By forming these volunteer teams we now have several "seasoned" parents in each area who are enthusiastic and committed to doing the job and to help train and recruit others.

If you choose to volunteer as a Core Team member:

•  Families with Jr/Sr swimmers will be asked to commit to 10 sessions. They will receive 2.5 points for these 10 sessions.

•  Families with Age Group swimmers will be asked to commit to 4 sessions. They will receive 1.0 points for these 4 sessions

•  After the commitment is reached (or exceeded!) you will receive an extra 0.5 points.

•  You will be asked to work in the same area (e.g. timing or hospitality or admissions, etc.) each time you work. Some of the teams have slightly different requirements. Please see the team leaders for specifics.

•  You will be allowed to sign up before non-Core Team members.

•  Families with Age Group swimmers will be asked to commit to 4 sessions. They will receive 1.0 points for these 4 sessions

•  After the commitment is reached (or exceeded!) you will receive an extra 0.5 points.

•  You will also be asked to help less experienced workers and to attend a brief (e.g. during practice) training session. Depending on the core team more than one training session may be required.

Sign-up and points

Sign up is at the beginning of the season for the job you want to do all year. An invite e-mail will be sent out for this early sign-up which you can do by contacting the team leader for that particular core team.

Benefits of being a core team member:

•  You can plan your schedule/calendar and work the meet sessions you prefer.

•  At the end of the year, you will receive an extra half a club point for fulfilling your 10 or 4 session commitment to the job.

Do you HAVE to be a core team member in order to work a position or earn your Major Meet points?

No. Those who want to participate as core team members and can fulfill that commitment may do so. Those who decide not to become core team members may still sign-up on-line prior to each Major Meet. The on-line sign-up will reflect the number of open volunteer positions that still need to be filled.

F. How You Can Sign Up, Find Out More About Available Jobs And Point Requirements?

•  Job descriptions for age group and major meets can be found on the website.

•  For meets - volunteers are required to sign up at each session. You will be notified through our BAC group e-mail system which will provide a link for on-line sign-ups. You will also be able to access the sign-up webpage by going through the BAC website.

•  For club positions - volunteers sign up with any one of the coordinators: Meet Operations (Major Meet, Try-Out jobs), Facilities (Facilities maintenance, cleaning jobs), Communications (Orientation Materials, Team reps, Website, E-mail Splash Flash, Publicity jobs), Fundraising (Food coupon Sales, Wrapping paper sales, Auction help, etc ), Volunteer (other club related positions).

G. Tracking Your Points

What You Need To Do

Sign up with the right people and keep track of points worked as a back-up.

What The Club Will Do

A Points Coordinator will collect the volunteer lists and points from the individual coordinators - Meet Operations, Fundraising, Volunteer, Communication and Facilities coordinators.

This person will track points and provide periodic updates to families, the Board and Coordinators.

H. Communication Process

What You Need To Do If You Think You Will Not Be Able to Fulfill The Position You Have Volunteered For:

•  For all major meets - as much advance notice as possible (preferably 3 weeks, at minimum 2 weeks, last minute notification in unusual situations only) to Points coordinator, Meet Operations Coordinator or Team Leaders to allow sufficient time to identify additional Major Meet related jobs where possible.

•  For club points - as much advance notice as possible to be given to Volunteer Coordinator and alternative/additional jobs identified where possible.

•  Hardship situations will be reviewed on an individual basis and approved and documented by the Board

I. What Happens If You Do Not Satisfy Your Point Commitment and Have Not Followed The Communication Process Outlined Above

•  At the end of the year, if you have not satisfied your point requirements, and have not contacted the volunteer coordinators to find ways to do so, families will be billed $240 for every point not worked. This will be a last resort, but one that will be enforced. Note for perspective other clubs fine their families $50 - $60 per session for Meets or $200 per half point for club related commitment.

•  Failure to show up for a committed position without advance notification will result in a $100 fine.

•  Point allocations, changes and exceptions will be recorded and tracked.

J. Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is BAC so different from other clubs, encouraging parents to volunteer? All competitive clubs find a way to encourage volunteerism. Many clubs in New Jersey and in other states, mandate participation at all meets (not just Major Meets) and fine their parents any where from $200 to $500 for not working at one session. By comparison, we are working hard to strike the right balance between encouraging volunteerism and making it fair to all. At many clubs you are assigned a session and job and have no choice.

2.   Are there fewer jobs than points? - There are more jobs than points and this continues to grow. Many people are working duplicate jobs and would be glad to have someone volunteer to do part of what they do.

3.   Why do Senior parents never pull their weight? - The Senior team's families led the pack in fulfilling their point requirement: 70% earned max. points or more.

4.   Why should we work at major Meets when our child does not swim at these meets? Working at these meets, ensures they are run well, which increases participation and income for the club, which in turn keeps fees at a manageable level. For perspective, running our major meets provides about $300 per family in income for BAC. Because these meets aren't dual meets, like summer swim leagues, for example, your child might not be swimming in the meets that your club is running. That is the nature of NJ swimming. However, we all have to work together to provide a variety of meets so that all swimmers have meets at their levels to attend. So, for example, your swimmer may not attend JO's (which we run) but will attend 9/10 championships (which we don't run.) Swimming is a volunteer intensive sport!

5.   I am still confused, whom can I talk to? - an age group rep, any Board member, come to orientation sessions

6.   Will verbal job agreements be honored? - No . Please make sure that if you have volunteered for a job (Major Meet or Club specific) that you note it in the space provided on the parent commitment. You will be receiving this commitment with your first bill and will need to read, sign and return it to BAC .

K. Contact Information

Please see contact list.

Thank you for your continued support of our club and for all your volunteer hours that go into making this club successful!