New 2014/2015 Short Course Service Credit Protocol – Effective Immediately
Since our serving opportunities change from season to season, we adjust our requirements according to the opportunities that are available each season. The changes that are made depend on how many meets we are hosting and how many Non-Cast meets we attend. That way we can make sure that the requirement is fair & achievable for each family. This season’s requirements must be fulfilled between September 1st 2014 thru March 31st 2015
**PLEASE make note, on your calendars, of the non-Cast hosted swim meets we will be attending this season (see home page “Upcoming Events”) and the following Cast hosted meets (below). That way you can attempt to avoid schedule conflicts during these times.
The meets that we are hosting this season are;
(October 11) – 14 & Under Pentathlon (1 day meet)
(October 12) – Senior Meet (1 day meet)
(January 9-11) – ABC All Ages (3 day meet)
As most of you are aware, there are plenty of opportunities to serve at our Cast hosted meets. Another way you will need to serve this season, is to sign-up for timing slots at meets that we attend. You can also become an official, which covers all of your seasons’ service requirements, as long as you serve a minimum of 15 hours officiating. (If you are interested in officiating, email me & I will direct you accordingly).
FYI; Whenever there is an opportunity to serve at any swim meet, you will receive an email notifying you that you can go to the home page of the website and click on the “job-sign up” link, next to the event & choose how you would like to help. As you can see above, there will be 5 different days that you will have an opportunity to serve at a Cast hosted meet.
PLEASE READ THE PROTOCOL BELOW VERY CAREFULLY
This season we will require each family to serve a minimum of 15 credits/hours of service. HOWEVER, please note how the service credits must be served. Out of the 15 required credits, each family will be required to serve 10 of the 15 credits helping at our own Cast hosted meets. The other 5 required credits MUST be served by timing at non-Cast meets. Notice that there is not an option to serve them however you would like. You must follow the protocol as is, in order to receive your fulfilled credits. Additionally, this season, if your swimmer qualifies & attends the championship meets (Winter Age Group known as WAG, Senior Classic, or Junior Olympics), you will be required to serve an additional 3 service hours, per family, at EACH meet attended. (This excludes “relay only” swimmers). For example, if your swimmer attends all three championship meets, your family will be responsible for serving 3 hours at each meet, totaling an additional 9 service hours/credits, which equal $180 that will be owed if they are not fulfilled. NOTE: At Meets like Senior Classic, some swimmers drive themselves to the meet and all the work of serving is left up to the few parents on deck. This new protocol will require all families/swimmers represented at these meets, to help in some way, throughout the weekend, working together to accomplish whatever jobs are expected of Cast. The championship meets are run by SI swimming and therefore, require all teams attending, to do many different volunteer jobs.
All Service Credits will be $20/per credit that is NOT served by the end of the season. The following are a few examples, to make sure there is a clear understanding of how this will play out, & hopefully answer any questions you may have.
Example 1 - If a family chooses not to serve any of the required 15 hours, they will be charged $20 x 15 hrs = $300, at the end of the season. Additionally, if their swimmer goes to any of the three Championship meets and again, the family does not fulfill any of those extra service requirements, they will be charged $20/per credit not served.
Example 2 – If a family serves 12 service hours at our Cast hosted meets, but only serves 3 hours timing at other meets, equaling a total of 15 served credits, they will still be charged $20 X 2 credits (for timing) = $40. Even though they completed 15 service hours, they failed to complete the hours as the protocol required. This is NOT to discourage anyone from helping more than is required, it is to ensure that all families are getting involved at all the meets their swimmers attend, and being held accountable to help in some way.
Example 3 – If a family serves 14 hrs at our Cast hosted meets & 5 hrs timing at other meets, they will have successfully completed their service credits, because they followed the protocol as required, and even went over & beyond to offer additional help at our Cast hosted meets
Example 4 - If a family serves the required 10 hrs at our Cast hosted meets & the required 5 hrs timing at other meets, they will have successfully completed their 15 hours of service credits. However, if they have swimmers who qualified for any or all of the three Championship meets (mentioned above), they will also be required to serve a minimum of 3 service hours per meet their swimmer attends. Therefore, they must fulfill those hours as well, in order to complete all service credit requirements.
Please understand that our preference is not to invoice your account for un-served credits, at the end of the season. Rather, Cast NEEDS & WANTS your service throughout the season. Our team is successful due to all of us working together to help run smooth efficient meets & everyone pulling their weight, in some way, shape, or form. We are intent on working a program where many hands do equal work, rather than few hands over extending themselves. If you have any questions regarding this next season’s requirement, feel free to email me.
Martha Ornelas is our Service Credit Coordinator. She has requested that you send her your service credits as you complete them, rather than families waiting till the end of the season. When you email her your hours completed, be specific. Your email should include your full name, your swimmers full name, where / how you served your hours (be specific) and the length of time you served. It’s important to be clear, so she can verify that you served your hours according to the protocol.
Example to follow:
Lanell Lenzkes (volunteer)
Bay & Megan Lenzkes (swimmers)
14 & U Pentathalon on Oct 11th
Snack Bar 9am-11am / Runner 11am – 1pm = 4 hours total
Also, Martha has requested that you send her ALL of the hours you fulfill, even if it exceeds your required hours. It will help her monitor how many hours are actually being served. Her Email is
Below, are ideas for younger swimmer families who struggle with completing their required hours.
NOTE: Some families, with younger swimmers, have shared that it is difficult to serve at our Cast hosted meets, & wanted ideas on how to achieve their required hours. If you are one of those families, read below for ideas in order to serve your requirements;
Choose serving opportunities in which you can help prior to the meet starting, (You can help transport supplies from Kroc pool to the Meet pool, help with setting up for the meet, program sales prior to the meet starting, or check-in.) After the meet ends you can help with (clean-up, Transporting supplies from Meet pool back to the Kroc pool). The Deck Marshall is also a great job as well, because it allows you to walk around the deck, making sure swimmers are safe & your own swimmer can walk around with you, and you have more flexibility to still help your swimmer with their events. You can also donate food items to the snack bar/hospitality, because all food items have a specific service credit associated with them. Finally, you may also consider helping at a Cast hosted meet in which your swimmer is not swimming at, such as the Senior meet on Oct 12th. Many families with younger swimmers will do this, because they don’t have the responsibility of their swimmer while they serve and help. You can also attend non-Cast hosted meets that your swimmer is not swimming at, to fulfill your timing requirements (look on the home page of our website, under “upcoming events,” to find the list of all meets we will be attending).
Lastly, if you join the team in the middle of the season, or you take an extended break, please notify me as your required service credits will be prorated, depending on your situation. Thank you for reading this longwinded protocol. If you need clarity on anything, please email me ASAP, as you are now responsible for fulfilling your requirement. Lanell Lenzkes (Cast Treasurer & Board Representative)