Parent Participation
Genesee Mountain Thunder is entirely volunteer-run by parents. Our volunteer parent board manages the organization, and parent volunteers make it possible to run our meets, events and other team activities throughout the summer.
Every family is expected to participate. If your child is swimming in a meet, your family should plan to volunteer for a shift at that meet. Without parent volunteers, we simply cannot run a swim meet.
How volunteering works
Volunteer opportunities are posted in SwimTopia throughout the season. Families should prioritize:
- Home meets: If your child is swimming, please sign up for a shift. Home meets require the largest number of volunteers.
- Away meets: If your child is swimming, please sign up for an available shift.
- Team events and other roles: Families—particularly those with younger swimmers who may not participate in many meets—can also volunteer at social events, fundraisers and other team activities.
The team uses a volunteer point system to help distribute the work fairly across families:
- 1 swimmer: 10 participation points
- 2 swimmers: 16 participation points
- 3 swimmers: 20 participation points
If your child is entered in a meet and your family has not selected a volunteer position, you may be assigned to an available shift. Sign up early so you can choose the job that works best for you.
If your swimmer participates in the League Meet, State Meet, Last Chance Meet, C/D Meet, or Pentathlon, parent volunteering is required for that meet.
Parent Participation points will be monitored through through the SwimTopia Portal throughout the season. If participation points are not met by the end of the season, you will be charged $400. To see your point total, login to Swimtopia and go to "My Account" (top right) you will see a point summary.
There are lots of ways to help
Meet-day jobs include (see the Parent Handbook HERE for full role descriptions):
- Timers
- Officials
- 8 & Under swimmer assistance
- Tent/watches support
- Volunteer coordination
- Meet setup and teardown
- Concessions
- Heating
- Runners and hospitality
- Results/IT
- Ribbons
- Parking and safety
- Merchandise
- Families can also help with activities such as Bagel Fridays, social events, the July 4 bake sale, fundraising, League and State meets, and the year-end banquet.
No swim-meet experience is required for many positions, and we will help new volunteers learn what to do.
More information: Parent Handbook HERE!
