CATS Volunteer Requirement 2025/26
The CATS are a non-profit, member and volunteer run organization. It is through the volunteer efforts of our swimmers and their families that the club is able to function. We encourage family participation to reduce program costs and ensure the successful operation of the club.
Beginning in 2025/26, the club will accomplish this goal through a credit-based mandatory volunteer program. When members work together as a team more can be accomplished. In addition, the CATS will require one person per family with swimmers in Junior Novice and above to take an officials clinic (Level I or higher) through Swim Ontario.
The club urgently requires officials to run meets at our home pool. Home meets are a large source of fundraising dollars that our club relies upon.
The fee structure and required volunteer points are assigned to each swimmer based on their group assignment. The points are calculated to match the opportunities to volunteer within the swimmer’s level. Every point earned by volunteering equals 1 credit toward the swimmer’s maximum point fee. No credits are given over and above the number of assigned points.
$1 = 1 point: There is a $1 value for each volunteer point, and this is charged at the time of registration. Once your point maximum has been reached your volunteering commitment has been completed and you will be provided with a refund. All volunteer points must be completed to receive a refund.
As part of the new 2025-26 season registration, each family will be able to sign up for administration and support duties. Requests for participation for swim meets will come before each individual meet. For duties at CATS-hosted swim meets, sign-up will be on a first-come, first serve basis. Families who volunteer beforehand must still sign-in with the meet manager/designated official representative prior to the start of the session.
CATS swimmers not participating in specific swim meets who volunteer their time to aid in the meet’s organization will also be credited points. All volunteer accounts will be tracked through each family’s online account. It is each family’s responsibility to record their volunteer service in case a secondary submission is required.
This is not meant to be punitive, and we encourage any parent to contact a member of the Board if they have an obstacle to meeting these requirements.
Calculation of Points & Fees
Credits and refunds will be applied and reconciled at the end of each session (there are 3). Credits in excess of the annual amounts do not carry over to the next season. This fee is revenue neutral should the family point commitments be met. The fee will be treated like a uniform deposit set on each family’s account at the time of registration.
- Group
- Gold
- Silver
- Bronze
- Senior Novice
- Junior Novice
- Kittens
- Points
- 400 pts
- 300 pts
- 200 pts
- 100 pts
- 50 pts
- 0 pts
- Fees
- $400
- $300
- $200
- $100
- $50
- $0
*There is no additional increase in volunteer fees if a swimmer advances to a higher level group throughout the season
*Volunteer fees are paid in full at the time of registration and refunded upon completion of the FULL point commitment. Points cannot be prorated to next season.
*Families with multiple swimmers will be required to obtain points for the swimmer in the highest group ONLY. E.g. Child 1 (Gold), Child 2 (Bronze), Child 3 (Junior Novice) = 400 points in total.
Volunteer Categories:
Administration and Governance:
| Position | Description | Points |
|---|---|---|
| President Incoming: Thea Cameron Outgoing: Todd Nie | Chair of the CATS Board of Directors, presides over all Board meetings. Official CATS spokesperson and representative. Liaise between Board and Head Coach. Oversee all governing and administrative activity carried out by the board. | Full Family Commitment |
| Vice President Incoming: Alex Dorevich Outgoing: Thea Cameron | Fills in for President as required; Looks after club promotion and acts as a publicity and media liaison. Attends Board meetings, assists in the club’s administrative duties, projects, event organizations, and various other tasks. | Full Family Commitment |
| Treasurer Incoming: Chris Brown Outgoing: Erin Ingard Rau | Creates and updates club budget, makes regular reports to the board regarding club finances, works directly with club bookkeeper on all financial matters related to the club. | Full Family Commitment |
| Secretary Laura Brown | Produce and distribute minutes for Board meetings and Annual General Meeting. Maintain and organize all board files and written material, distribute Registration info to members in August. | Full Family Commitment |
| Fundraising Chair Erin McBride | Works with Treasurer on fundraising goals for the club, organizes and oversees all fundraising initiatives by the club. | Full Family Commitment |
| Director-at-Large Donna Goodwin | Attend board meetings and assist in the club’s administrative duties, projects, event organizations, and various other tasks. | Full Family Commitment |
General Team Support:
| Position | Description | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment and Clothing Manager | Order, store and distribute team gear including the collection of monies for the gear. This includes swimsuits, events t-shirts, team jackets, and apparel. | 200 pts |
| Media and Promotion Liaison | Work with the Coaches & Vice President to prepare & distribute the newspaper articles for CATS, as well as advertise and promote the team through various places throughout the year. This job requires a volunteer to work throughout the season. | 300 pts |
| Team Meet Manager Donna Goodwin | Organizes accommodation and food, and chaperones team meet. | Full Family Commitment |
| Team Meet Chaperone | Chaperones team meet, assists with food prep and delivery. | 300 pts |
| Group Manager/Social Coordinator (1 per group) | Organizes a Facebook or WhatsApp group for group parents/guardians to assist with team communication and planning for away meets. Arranges and plans 3 social events for the group (1 per session) – e.g. bowling, dinner/movie, beach party, arcade/xplay, etc. Volunteer must be hands-on at all events. | 300 pts |
| Head Group Manager/Social Coordinator Nicole Hawrysio | As above for their swimmer’s group – but also acts as the leader of all group managers, provides assistance and input where necessary, holds meeting at beginning of season to help each manager set up group communication and understand their role. | 350 pts |
Swim Meet Management and Officials:
| Position | Description | Points | Official Level Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Club Officials Chair Nicole Stewart | Responsible for registering officials and liaising with Swim Ontario, organizing training sessions, and administrative duties at club hosted swim meets. Will also keep track of club official volunteer hours at away meets. | Full Family Commitment | Level 2 |
| Club Officials Administrator | Assisting the COC with all admin tasks related to club officials. | 300 pts | |
| Meet Manager Samantha Black | Organize and run CATS-hosted swim meets. Oversee CATS-sponsored meets and coordinate their meet management. Obtain Swim Ontario sanction for CATS time trials and ensure sufficient officials. With Head Coach and Board, participate in Swim Ontario meet bidding process to secure CATS hosted meets. | Full Family Commitment | Level 2 – Meet Manager |
| Electronic Timing Coordinator | Responsible for operation of the electronic timing system | 75 pts per session | |
| Referee | On deck for the session, the Referee is in charge of the conduct of the swim competition. Must be at least Level 3 (orange) and taken Referee Clinic. | 100 pts per session | Level 3 |
| Starter | The starter’s role is to ensure a fair start for all swimmers. May be asked to judge turns and relays in the start end of the pool. | 100 pts per session | Level 2 – Starter |
| Stroke & Turn Judges | Judges of Stroke (walks along the pool length) and Judges of Turn (at both ends of the pool) ensure swimmers follow the rules for each swim stroke and turn. | 75 pts per session | Level 2 – Strokes and Turns |
| Chief Finish Judge | Chief Finish Judge’s primary role responsibility is the determination of the official placing and results of a race. | 75 pts per session | Level 2 – Chief Finishing Judge |
| Timer | Ensure swimmer’s name, lane, heat number, etc. is correct. Accurately start and stop watch and record finish times. Timers do not cheer for swimmers (regardless of team). | 50 per session | Level 1 |
| Chief Timer | Chief Timekeeper must maintain a constant check on the accuracy and the efficiency of all Timekeepers. | 75 pts per session | Level 2 – Chief Timekeeper |
| Clerk of Course | Aids in the office administration of swim meets and act as the liaison between meet organizers, coaches, and officials. | 75 pts per session | Level 2 – Clerk of Course |
| Marshalls | Organize swimmers by event, heat, and lane prior to all meet races. | 50 pts per session | none |
| Safety Marshalls | Ensure that all warm-up and intermission pool regulations are abided by. | 50 pts per session | Level 1 – Safety Marshall |
| Runners | Collection of heat sheets. Hand out food items. | 25 pts per session | none |
| Meet set up | Assist Meet management in meet set up tasks. | 25 pts | none |
| Meet take down/clean up | Assist Meet management in meet take down and/or clean up tasks | 25 pts | none |
| Meet food and beverage coordinator | Organizes food and beverages for officials and coaches | 100 pts | none |
General Fundraising Coordination:
| Position | Description | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsorship | Secure a Corporate Sponsor and receive 10% of the sponsorship value in points. | 200 pts per Platinum sponsor 100 pts per Gold 50 pts per Silver 25 pts per Bronze |
| Poinsettia Sales Assistant | Assist club Fundraising Chair with advertising and coordinating the sale of poinsettias. Provide information to members, distribute purchases | 50 pts |
| Silent Auction Assistant | Assist club Fundraising Chair. Collect and set up auction items and create sales sheets. This volunteer must also be available to set up and work at the silent auction during the awards banquet. | 100 pts |
| Tag Day Assistant | Assist Fundraising Chair in organizing and running tag day. This volunteer must be available to help run Tag Day throughout the day. | 75 pts |
| General Helpers List | Volunteers will be contacted by event coordinators for help and assistance on club projects. | 25 – 50 pts per task |
*In order to encourage officials gaining meet experience, we will be offering points for volunteering at away meets. Please make sure to record all sessions volunteered for and the position held, and report these to the Club Officials Chair, Nicole Stewart.