MCDL relies heavily upon parent volunteers during the season to help as table
workers, Judges, Referees, and especially the glamorous Team Representatives.
We also ask for pools to volunteer to be the host of their Divisional Meet
or one of the two Allstar days. Between Divisionals and Allstars, the
Allstars is the easiest since the MCDL Board runs all of the events. All we
need are a few items in place. (If interested, see the Allstar section below)

Within each Division, there needs to be a Division Coordinator. This is quite
often the Team Reps of the pools who offer to host Divisionals, but it is not
a requirement. A Division Coordinator could be a nice and organized person from
a different pool who helps to direct the Team Reps of the hosting pool. As
with any title, the Division Coordinator will also be expected to do a few
additional responsibilities. Any of these responsibilities could be delegated,
but they need to be done. Some of these responsibilities are listed below:

A week prior to the Divisional Meet:
+ Download the Divisional Volunteer Form spreadsheet and send it to all pools in your Division.
Ask them to fill in their Pool column with adults and then send it back to you ASAP so you
can fill in a Master spreadsheet. Tell them to avoid putting Judges in events with their own kids.
NONE of these volunteers should be new to their positions. This is not the meet to learn!
Use your best judgement in creating the Master schedule - what teams of people will work best together?
Redistribute this Master Spreadsheet to each pool so they can notify their volunteers.
Ask a Team Rep from another pool to coordinate this for you (i.e. delegate!).
+ Arrange to pick up any forms, ribbons, shirts, & trophies from Ways & Means.
    Plan to use fast-talking (but clearly annunciating) people as announcers;
    Put easy-going, even-tempered, experienced people at the Table positions.
    Place good veteran people as Referees if at all possible;
    Use fair people as Judges (fair meaning unbiased, not so-so or average!);
+ Download the Divisional Meet Scoring pdf and have it at the Divisional Meet table.
+ Download the Divisional Meet Results pdf and have it at the Divisional Meet table.
+ Download the Allstar Volunteer Form spreadsheet and have it at the Allstar SIgnup table.
+ Download the Allstar Volunteer Form spreadsheet and have it at the Divisional Meet.

This is a MUST!
Arrange for 2 Team Reps (delegate!) to be THE persons to grab each of the
Allstar qualifying divers (top 3 or 4) to commit to Allstars and make them fill
in an Allstar Dive sheet. Also ask those parents to volunteer for a Table/Judge
spot at Allstars and fill in the white cells in the Allstar Volunteers spreadsheet.
Of course, they can buy an Allstar shirt too. Do this before they leave the Divisional Meet.

Optional, but really nice:
+ Print/Copy (50+) Divisionals Programs.
Some pools print out a Divisional Program. This is nice but not a requirement.
If you choose to do this, please send an email to records@mcdiving.org and
ask for the statistics of divers over the season. If you wish, you can print them
in a booklet and make them available to spectators. Ask if any of the other
pools want to do this as a task (delegate!)

By 7AM on the day of Divisionals:
+ Set up the pool area with tables, officials chairs, and a good PA system.
+ Provide coverage for sunny or inclement weather (tents or sun umbrellas)
+ Provide DD calculators, pencils, score cards, and paperweights for table.
+ Post the schedule of events and the respective volunteers.
+ As pool fundraising, provide snacks, food, and beverages including coffee!
Make sure as a Host that you plan for concessions. Since it is a morning meet,
have coffee and cocoa, doughnuts, and other items depending on the weather...
(lots of water, fruit, and ice if it is hot, and lots of coffee if it is cold, etc).

+++ Start the Meet at 8AM On Time !!!

During the Divisional Meet:
+ Allow each group enough time to warm up just prior to their event.
+ Announce and distribute Trophies and Ribbons during warmups as follows:
  for example, awards for event 1 shall be given out before event 3, and
  awards for event 2 shall be given out before event 4, etc.
+ Ask the Top 4 divers about Allstars participation and Allstar Shirts immediately.
        Give them an Allstar sheet and have them pay for shirt if buying one.
  +++ AT THE SAME TIME --> ask for parent volunteers for the Allstar Meet!

Immediately after all events have concluded and ribbons have been awarded:
+ Award the two trophies to the Dual Meet and Divisional Meet winning Teams.
+ Hold WildCard meeting with Team Reps and contact Allstar wildcard divers.
+ Sign/Check all results sheets and input ALL the results on the MCDL website.
+ Put your feet up, get a Shirley Temple, and book a spa retreat for yourself.

As Division Coordinator, you run the meet, or you can designate a Meet Secretary
to run the meet while you act as a floater to resolve issues without
disrupting the flow of the meet. The meet should be fun for the divers AND the
volunteers and it should run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Important!
If any behavior warrants, such as unsportsmanlike behavior, out-of-control
parents, coaches that are not putting safety first, or other attitudes that
are not within the expectations of the MCDL, please confer with the Meet
Secretary and the Meet Referee(s) to decide if a warning should be given.
If a warning is needed, the line of communication from you as the
Divisional Coordinator should be directly to the Team Reps first. Each Team
Rep is responsible for their pool's divers, coaches, and parents. You are
required to notify the Team Reps and give one warning before asking anyone
to leave. The Team Rep is expected to convey the warning. Once the warning
has been given to the Team Rep, if the behavior continues, the offending
person(s) may be ejected with forfeiture of their team if they do not comply.

If you have reason to believe that a volunteer is under the influence of any
impairing substances, please confer with the Meet Secretary and Meet Referee(s)
about the situation and handle it appropriately. For example, if you believe
that a volunteer is drunk, ask for a conference with Meet Officials before
asking them to leave their volunteer position and recruiting someone else. Or,
you may simply fill their position, thank them for volunteering, and ask them
to take a break. Tell everyone they have the flu or a gastro-intestinal issue,
but get them out of a volunteer position! (Yes, sadly, this has happened.)
If there are any problems, contact one of the MCDL Board members immediately.

Allstars
As Division Coordinator, you will be relied upon to provide the best of your
Division when it comes to volunteers to help us run the Allstar Meets. You will
know who are good judges and who are better judges, who works well at a table
when there is stress and who doesn't. This is important for us to know when
we, the MCDL Board, schedule volunteers for the two Allstar days. Right after
Divisionals, we ask each Division Coordinator to provide names of people who
can help with Allstars, and it will help us tremendously if you give us the
names of the best volunteers from your Division.

Pools who volunteer to host an Allstar day of events are only expected to:
+ Set up the pool area with tables, officials chairs, and a good PA system.
+ Provide DD calculators, pencils, score cards, and paperweights for table.
+ As pool fundraising, provide snacks, food, and beverages including water!
+ If possible, close the pool to the community except during warmup time.

Please volunteer your pool to either host Divisionals or an Allstar meet.
The net profit from concessions is usually well worth the setup and planning.
Also, you are not alone. The MCDL Board will be happy to help you. All you
need to do is ask us.

If you have any questions, please send us an email at board@mcdiving.org

9/1/2004 CoordinatorNotes.txt