FUNDRAISING & PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

Annually we have three fundraising and participation requirements for the team.  This is to ensure the equipment is up to date and travel expenses for the coaches are paid.  The cost of running a competitive team is extremely high and we ask all of the parents for a small contribution towards this.  We have two fundraisers and one event requirement.  All of these fundraisers are required by each family.  

LAP-A-THON: generally, takes place during swim practice time.  We ask that each family either donate $150 or gather pledges.  We ask that each swimmer provide a lap counter person during the event or designate someone to do it.  This event takes between one and two hours depending on the child’s age.  This event has no point value towards required team points. Families wishing to not participate will be charged the minimum donation fee following the deadline for funds submission.

TEAM HOSTED MEET: the team will rent a pool and host a USA Swimming official swim meet. This requires an abundant amount of volunteer effort where we have a meet director, lead volunteers, and busy workers. The meet director is in charge of the meet and has numerous responsibilities before, during, and after the meet.  Job sign-ups will be available well in advance of the meet.  Points earned at a team hosted meet do not count towards the required quarterly points. Each family is expected to contribute at least 6 hours of volunteer work.

SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIP MEET: is generally in the middle of the summer season.  It is imperative to arrange any summer plans around this meet.  Each team attending this meet is required to be in charge of numerous aspects of running the meet and volunteering is a requirement.  Each family must volunteer at least six hours. If we host/co-host this meet, the points do not count towards quarterly points.  

The penalty is payable immediately and will be assessed in the next monthly billing cycle, following the month of the meet.  The dates of these volunteer events will be given with ample notice to plan to attend.

There are additional volunteer requirements for each family. Please see below under "Parent Participation Requirements" for more information.  We track volunteer hours electronically.    

PARENT PARTICIPATION 

Parent support and volunteer participation is necessary.  All parents are expected to be a contributor to Hurricane Swimming and supporter of The Hills Swim and Tennis Club.  The fundraising requirements are a small part of what is required.  We are required by Pacific Swimming to provide support at all swim meets.  We also are required by The Hills Swim and Tennis Club to make sure the swimmers are behaving and abiding to the clubs policies at all times.  

LEAD VOLUNTEERS: The Hills relies on parent support to help operate the volunteer efforts.  We offer a few lead roles that are exempt from any volunteer penalties. These lead roles include:

• Meet Director: Responsible for the total organization of our fundraiser meet. This is a compensated position. This is currently held by Portia Soderberg
• Job Coordinator: Volunteer management and team communication.  This is currently held by Portia Soderberg
• Event Coordinator: Planning and communicating of quarterly team events.  This is currently held by Jessie Bushell 
• Stroke and Turn (Official) Coordinator: Managing required officials’ duties and recruiting new officials. This is currently held by Shana Vuori
• New Parent Liaison: Introducing new families to the team. This is currently held by Nel Latronica
• Team Canopy Management: Organizes, repairs, and manages the team canopies and supplies. This is currently an open position.

When an opening occurs, the head coach will look to find a new parent to fill the spot.  Each position has a general job description and additional requirements.  

SUPPORTING AT THE HILLS: As we share the facility with its club members, it is important that we maintain a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment. To help support our growing swim program and minimize the impact of our increasing number of swimmers, we have created several club shifts for our swim families: 

Locker Room Monitor - Involves spending a few minutes helping ensure the locker room remains clean, safe, and orderly; also involves reinforcing club expectations and encouraging swimmers to follow locker room rules. 

Family Hot Tub Monitor - Involves supervising our Junior Group swimmers using the family hot tub after practice and ensuring club rules are followed. 

Hot Chocolate Wednesday - This is a seasonal shift where a parent prepares and serves hot chocolate after practice for our Junior group swimmers

WORKING SERVICE HOURS AT SWIM MEETS: Swim meets rely on families to help ensure they run safely and efficiently. As a participating team, Hurricane Swimming may be assigned timing, officiating, or other responsibilities by the meet host. The job required from our team depends on the number of swimmers registered for the meet and will be fulfilled through family service hours. 

If your swimmer is registered for a meet, your family must be available to work service hours if Hurricane Swimming is assigned meet jobs. If you expect to be unable to work at the meet, please do not register your swimmer for that particular meet. 

Timing: Each team attending a meet is typically assigned a minimum number of lane timing positions. Timing is one of the simplest ways to fulfill service hour requirements, and requires no previous experience. 

Lane Timing may include one or more of the following: 

● Operating a stopwatch 

● Pressing an electronic timing button 

● Recording swim times 

Job assignments from the host club are typically received during the week of the meet. Once they are available, our Job Coordinator will post the available shifts as a sign-up on our team website, and notify families when registration opens. 

Officials: Officials play an important role in ensuring swim meets are conducted fairly and according to rules. The entry level position to this is to “shadow” a real official. Shadowing counts towards any requirement (from our team, and towards a family’s quarterly service hours requirements). Hurricane Swimming is required to provide certified officials, including Stroke & Turn Judges, as determined by Pacific Swimming Zone 2. If the club does not meet its officiating requirements, Pacific Swimming may assess fines to the team. Families interested in becoming officials are encouraged to do so. Hurricane Swimming reimburses all certification-related expenses and provides additional club benefits (see the registration packet for details). Pacific Swimming also provides benefits to certified officials, which may include VIP parking and complimentary refreshments at meets. Certified officials who work at least two full shifts per quarter receive a quarterly service hour credit in recognition of their contribution to the club. 

Additional Jobs: Additional jobs and description can be found here: Service Jobs and Description

SWIMMER PARTICIPATION IN MEETS

This is a competitive swim team and attendance at competition is required.  Each quarter every swimmer must compete at least THREE days(Meet Sessions) of combined swim meets.  Swimmers who fail to do so will be fined $75 per day missed.  In total, $225 fine per quarter will be added to families who fail to abide by the team competitive requirement.

PARTICIPATION HOURS SYSTEM

SERVICE HOURS REQUIREMENT

Families are required to earn 5 service hours per thirteen-week quarter. New Hurricane families are exempt from this service hours requirement during their first quarter, but are encouraged to learn and familiarize themselves with the various Hills Club Facility and meet service jobs. New families are not exempt from other fundraising requirements. Points may be earned in various ways. Service hour points may be earned in various ways - See examples listed here:

In some cases, the Job Coordinator may adjust and award additional hours/points to families taking on multiple canopy shifts at a meet or taking on a canopy shift that requires handling more than 3 canopies.                                                                                   

Only 4 non-meet service hours are eligible per quarter

PARTICIPATION IN SWIM MEETS IS REQUIRED TO MEET THE FULL SERVICE HOURS REQUIREMENTS

Families with all participating swimmers age 16 and over: only need to complete THREE service hours due to the fact that swimmers may drive themselves to practice and competitions.  However, swimmers may be asked and are expected to step up and volunteer as team leaders.

SERVICE HOURS PENALTIES 

Penalties are in place to ensure that service jobs are shared fairly among families. Every family plays an important role in supporting the team. Our program can only be successful with the efforts and hard work of its members. Besides being a gratifying way to spend your time, it's also a great way to get to know other people on the team. 

INCOMPLETE SERVICE HOURS 

If you fail to accrue the required quarterly service hours or choose not to participate, a non-participation fee of $50.00 per service hour short of the required 5 quarterly minimum will be charged. Penalties will be assessed quarterly. 

ASSIGNED SHIFTS 

As previously mentioned, if your swimmer is registered for a meet, your family should be prepared to fulfill service hours if our team is assigned meet responsibilities. The number of shifts assigned to our team is directly proportional to the number of swimmers we have registered. For meets with numerous required shifts, our Job Coordinator may assign any unfilled roles as fairly and evenly as possible among participating families. If you are unable to fulfill a shift—whether one you signed up for or one that was assigned to your family—it is your responsibility to find a replacement. Note that arranging shift coverage is not the responsibility of the Job Coordinator. You may reach out to other families on the team to swap or cover the shift. Be sure to notify the Job Coordinator by the first business day after the event so the correct family receives credit for the shift. 

Failure to show up for a shift—without prior coverage arranged—will result in a No-Show Penalty being charged to your family account (see next section). 

NO SHOW PENALTY 

A NO-SHOW penalty will be enforced if you don’t show up for a shift you signed up for OR to one that was assigned to you. Not showing up to a shift is considered unsportsmanlike conduct - it is inconsiderate not only to the person who had to cover the shift but also to the other families who could have taken the shift and fulfill their service hours requirements. 

The family fine for a NO-SHOW is negative 5 service hours per shift missed. You will NOT be charged if YOU pre-arrange with another family a proper coverage for your shift. You still will have the opportunity to sign up to get those service hours back. 

MAXIMUM PENALTY 

Families who fail to complete any service hour or participation events may receive the maximum of $2,000 penalty per year. 

CREDITS AND EXEMPTIONS 

Families are welcome and encouraged to work additional service hours beyond the required quarterly requirement. While this support is appreciated, additional service hours are not carried forward or applied against future requirements. Please ensure that your family’s required service hours are completed each quarter. If a medical situation prevents your family from performing or completing the required service hours, you may request an exemption by submitting appropriate documentation in a timely manner, during the applicable quarter, not after the season has ended.