Volunteering

Vikings Volunteers, Welcome!

Winter Maintenance Volunteer Responsibilities

Volunteer Responsibilities and Onsite Protocol-LB

Volunteer Responsibilities and Onsite Protocol-SGS WM

We are continuing with our volunteer fee requirement for Summer 2023.

It takes a village to run a successful swim club…or at least a large group of engaged, enthusiastic, and committed parent volunteers! Luckily for Vikings parents, volunteering for our summer swim club is also an extremely fun way to connect with other swim families and enjoy the hours we spend poolside together.

Everything you need to know about your volunteer obligations are set out in detail below. We have also created a Volunteer Log Sheet (click here) for you to record your volunteer hours and submit to our Volunteer Coordinator at the end of the season.

If you have any questions about your volunteering responsibilities or opportunities, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, or any other member of our Executive listed on our website.

NOTE: Volunteer Fees and Duties apply to the summer session ONLY.

**Now, please read on to find out what we need from you, and how you can get involved!!**

To ensure that our volunteer responsibilities are shared equally and fairly, we ask every Vikings family to complete a certain number of volunteer hours over the summer.

At the time of registration for the summer season, we will require each family to provide a volunteer fee deposit (see below for deposit amounts). To receive a refund of all or part this deposit at the end of the summer season (Sept 2023), each Vikings family (regardless of the number of swimmers in the family) must complete volunteer hours for the Club. To receive a FULL refund of the your volunteer deposit, your family must complete 17 volunteer hours. These 17 hours are in ADDITION to the volunteer hours required at the Vikings Meet, Regionals and Provincials set out below.

If you complete fewer than 17 volunteer hours, you will receive a partial / pro rata refund of your deposit. For example, if you complete 10 out of 17 volunteer hours, you will receive a refund of $150 (i.e. each volunteer hour is equal to $15).

The rules regarding deposits and refunds are the same for all Vikings.

Our volunteer fee deposit and hour requirements for the 2023 season are as follows:

All Families: 17 Hour Minimum OR $255 (deposit of this full amount taken at registration).

**If you volunteer as a timer during the last shift at a swim meet, you will earn 1.5 volunteer hours for each hour you actually volunteer during the last shift. SO! If you complete a 2 hour timing shift, you will earn 3 volunteer hours!**

PLUS (i.e. in addition to the above 17 hours):

All swimmers: 8 Hours at the Vikings Invitational Swim Meet, July 17-18, 2023. Each family will be scheduled for 4 hours per day (for a total of 8 hours) on the weekend that we host our annual Swim Meet at Watermania in Richmond! (See below for more information about this meet.) These volunteer hours are MANDATORY.
ALL Swimmers: Regionals (early to mid August) and Provincials (mid to late August). If your children are swimming at either or both of the Regional or Provincial meets in August, you are expected to volunteer at these events as well. These volunteer hours are MANDATORY.

As set out above, families must pay their volunteer deposit at the time of registration. Families who complete all or part of their required volunteer hours during the season will then receive a full or partial refund of this deposit at the end of the summer season, depending on the number of hours completed.

*If advance deposit of the summer volunteering fees creates a financial hardship for your family, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteers@vancouvervikings.com prior to registration to discuss alternate payment arrangements regarding these amounts.

The Vikings offer many different ways to participate and contribute as a volunteer – there is something for everyone!

Club Activities and Functions. The Club organizes and presents a variety of social and other events throughout the season, beginning with our Blue & White in May. You can take on the task of organizing these events or activities, or agree to fulfill certain duties during the event itself (set up, take down, etc.). We will regularly put out a call by email for volunteers for particular events and jobs that need to be done, so keep your eye out for these!
Vikings Volunteer Group Leaders. We are always looking for engaged and enthusiastic parents to “lead” the various volunteer projects within our club (e.g. Fundraising, Social Events, etc.). If you are interested in taking on a leadership role in any of our volunteer areas, please contact any member of the current Board.
Swim Meets. Starting at the end of May, the Vikings compete in a different swim meet nearly every weekend of the summer, right up until Provincials in late August. (Each summer, you can find information about the meets we will attend on our Event Calendar.) These weekly meets offer the immensely enjoyable volunteer activity of timing swimmers on deck during their races – trust us, this is easy and fun! Each family can sign up for one timing shift when you arrive each morning at a swim meet, and sign up for subsequent shifts one hour after the start of the meet. Additionally, you can work as a stroke and turn judge, place judge, or referee, all of which require specific training, which we will offer to those who are interested.

As we explained above, in addition to your minimum 17 volunteer hours, your family must also work a minimum of 8 hours at the annual Vikings Invitational Swim Meet, hosted by the Vikings Swim Club at the Watermania in Richmond in mid July (July 17-18, 2023). Be sure to save that date! Hosting this meet helps us to offset our costs and keep our fees as low as possible – and it is because of our parents’ active participation at this event that the Vikings are able to offer the kind of high-quality, organized, and enjoyable swim meet that we have become known for.
All Vikings parents must do their part by contributing food and / or performing on-site tasks, such as set-up/take-down, on-deck duties (e.g. timing), marshalling, ticket sales, silent auction, food service, etc.
The Volunteer Coordinator will create a master schedule of all volunteer shifts for the weekend, and we will advise of your assigned shifts prior to the meet. Please note that it may not be possible to accommodate everyone’s shift preferences.
If you work more than the required 8 hours at this meet, the additional time can be credited towards your minimum 17 hour requirement.
Although we expect ALL Vikings families to participate in the Viking Invitational Swim Meet, we understand that sometimes, things happen. Please contact our Volunteer Coordinator as soon as possible if your family not be able to attend this event so that we can arrange alternate duties for you to complete in advance of the meet.

Each family must log and record its completed volunteer hours, and have these hours verified by the Volunteer Coordinator, or a coach or executive member. To earn credit for the work you have done, please submit a completed Volunteer Log Sheet (click here) to the Volunteer Coordinator at volunteers@vancouvervikings.com in September after the annual Awards Banquet. We will send out a reminder by email when these are due.