Job Vacancies and Volunteering

Running a club the size of Lowestoft & Oulton Broad Swimming Club needs the help of as many people as possible. We have a very broad range of volunteers incorporating people from all walks of life. Many of our volunteers have their own lives outside of swimming with a full- or part-time job and looking after family but still find the time to do that little bit and support the club. There are many jobs in our club - with many of them you don’t even have to know anything about swimming!
Here is our Volunteer Policy.
Our Workforce Co-ordinator is Peter Williams (andyholland_275@fsmail.com).

We currently need the following volunteers...

Assistant Treasurers	To collect training fees on a fairly regular basis e.g. once per week, agreeing a rota with the Treasurer.
Gala Desk organiser	Duties would be buying raffle prizes and selling the raffle tickets and taking the drinks around to the officials. Ideally find volunteers to collect the entrance money. You will need to be over 18 years old and able to give up a couple of hours per month.
Coaching staff	Poolside Helpers/Level 1/Level 2 or Level 3, for a few hours per week. We currently require help with Club Zone on the following days: - Sunday night from 19:30 until 21:30. Wednesday morning from 06:30 to 07:30, Wednesday nights from 18:00 to 19:10 and Friday morning from 06:00 to 07:30 & Friday night from 18:45 to 20:10. if you could.
Helpers at Ashley Pool	Advance Notice: Some of our Ashley Helpers will be going to University/College in September. Do we have anyone who could take over from September onwards?

Here are the jobs that our volunteers do, to keep the club running smoothly:

Teaching and Coaching	All our Teachers and Coaches are ASA qualified, insured and CRB -checked. Poolside helpers - must work alongside a Level 1 or Level 2 teacher Level 1 Teacher - can be responsible for a group, under the supervision of a Level 2 Teacher or higher Level 2 Teacher - can be responsible for the whole pool area, working with Helpers and Level 1 teachers ASA Club Coach - takes responsibility for developing competitive squads, working with teachers and helpers. Our Club Coaches are Simon Pickering, Brian Rivett, Jill Walker & Pat Stebbings. We are unique in Suffolk inhaving so many staff qualified at this level The club will largely fund you getting a qualification, provided you have a committment to volunteering wit us on poolside. The current qualification structure will change over the next year or two.
Helping on poolside	We need helpers, who need not be qualified, particularly at the Learn To Swim sessions. Our disability sessions need near-one-to-one support. We always need competent swimmers who can demonstrate good technique to young, developing swimmers. We are grateful for parents who help set up the pool before and after sessions: Lane ropes; flags; kickboard/pullbouys.
Officiating at galas and meets	A L&OBSC gala or meet can need the following, as a minimum: 6 timekeepers, 6 judges, 2 chief timekeepers and 2 referees. We always have to provide some officials when we send teams to away fixtures, usually a timekeeper and judge. Open Meets and County and Regional Championships need larger number of officials. If possible the County Champs need: 8 timekeeepers, 8 timekeeper/judges, 8 other judges, 3 chief timekeepers and3 referees. there may also be a Jury of Appeal, to handle protests. This needs another 3 officials. On a busy weekend we may have a home novices gala, send two teams to away galas and have swimmers at open meets or championships. We need a lot of qualified officials! Remember - NO OFFICIALS, NO GALA. Timekeepers - start their timers when a race starts and stops it when the swimmer finishes. If there are two timekeepers per lane, they need to average their times and pass it on to the chief timekeeper if required. Style judges - walk along the sides of the pool and report cases where swimmers are not following the rules of swimming. Judges DO NOT DISQUALIFY SWIMMERS - they report to the referee, who willdecide whether teh swimmer should be disqualified. Finishing judges - watch the finish of a race and decide the order of finishing. If both judges, one each side of the pool, agree then that is the official result. If they disagree, the referee fills in the gaps. Turn Judges - watch the swimemrs turning at the ends of the lanes and reports infringements to the referee. Starter - starts each race Referee - responsible for the smooth and safe running of the gala. determines the results of each race. Disqualifies swimmers who break the rules of swimming. We provide training courses. The qualification structure is changing.
Other staff at galas/meets	We usually need the following: Clerks of course (formerly, Competitors Stewards) - this is a busy and responsible job that need a clear head. You are responsible for making sure swimmers are in the right place at the right time. This is the most important factor in galas finishing on time! Recorders - we usually need two, to take the results from the referee and write up the results sheets. This can be very hectic and again needs a cool and clear head! Timing operators - prepare the electronic timing system for galas and meets, run the electronic timing system on the day, generate results Announcer - the job speaks for itself! Entry Desk - we need people to collect money, give out programmes and make sure those with cameras sign the Video Logbook Refreshments - make up soft driks ro water to take around to the officials at intervals. if you want to take one of these jobs on, we will wherever possible let you shadow a more experienced person before you do it for real.
Committee & Administrative roles	Committee is headed by three offcers: Chairman - the spokesperson for the club and sets the style and tone of the organisation. Preserves order at meetings and ensures decisions are made, recorded and acted upon. They ensure that everyone has a voice. Secretary - the main channel for correspondence for the club, reporting regularly to Committee, convenes meetings, prepares agendas, ensures minutes are written up and distributed. They prepare for general meetings, including obtaining nominations for Committee and preparing an annual report. Treasurer - manages and advises on our financial resources, reports back to Committee, maintains club accounts and prepares forecasts and budgets. The remaining members are elected in a general capacity. Many members take on specific roles in the administration of the club, but most could be done outside of Committee, or split between more than one person: Admin Officer, Assistant Treasurers, Club Championships Secretary, Club Shop, Diasbility Liasion Officer, Fixtures Secretary, Minuting Secretary, Open Meets Secretary, Records Officer, Team Managers, Vice-chairman, Volunteer Co-ordinator, Welfare Officers
Management Board	Four members are appointed by Committee - Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Head Coach. Five are elected by Committee, from Committee.
Representing the club to other bodies	We send representatives to meetings with Suffolk ASA, Suffolk Swimming Action Group, various swimming leagues, faciltiies managers and other partners.
Publicity	We need people to write reports for the newspapers and local radio. We need people to publicise and promote ourselves more effectively to current members, the local community that we serve and to potential members, partners and sponsors.
Fundraising & sponsorship	We always need help preparing applications for grants and following up leads. this does not involve cold-calling! We run social events to help raise funds. We are always grateful for any help we can get.