Parliament Panthers

We LOVE Our Volunteers!

For New Parents: We will host new parent orientation during the first week of afternoon practice. We recommend volunteering to be a meet/table worker, the announcer, or volunteering for concessions.

For Returning Parents: We recommend that you attend a meet/table worker and/or judges clinic and consider volunteering for either of these positions.

If you're an experienced judge (at least two seasons or experience with other teams), we recommend that you attend the referee clinic and consider volunteering for this position.

2026 NVSL Training Sessions
All of the following volunteer training sessions for 2026 will be in-person (you only need to attend one for training). Locations listed below are Northern Virginia Swimming League (NVSL) Pools unless otherwise noted. If there is a sign-up link, we will post here and/or send out via e-mail. We'll also send out reminders via Swimtopia or e-mail with any further instructions that we receive.

Tableworkers Clinic @ Overlee
Sunday, May 31, 9:45AM

Judges Clinic @ Overlee
Sunday, June 1, 10:45AM

Referee Clinic @ Overlee
Tuesday, June 3, 6:30PM

Judges Clinic @ Chesterbrook
Tuesday, June 9, 6:30PM

Referee Clinic @ Hamlet
Sunday, June 14, 1PM

Judges Clinic
Week of 6/21; date, time, location: TBD

Referee Clinic @ Springfield Church
Saturday, June 27, 3-5PM

Date TBD: New Parent Orientation (at Parliament Pool during afternoon practices--signup form will be sent out via Swimtopia and e-mail)

Who Are Those People in White Shirts and Blue Shorts?

Those people are the parent volunteers! Most youth sports only require three or four parents to run the team, but diving isn’t like that. You can’t run a dive program without significant parental help. The great thing about most volunteer opportunities for diving is that they are right there where the action is and you won’t miss your diver’s turn on the board.

Volunteer Requirements
Each family is asked to volunteer at 3 dive meets during the season. All materials for the Referee, Judges, Announcer, and Table Workers are provided. At the time of registration, you may elect to opt-out of the volunteer requirement for an additional payment of $300. We don’t want your money though, we want your help! And the best way to learn about what dive is all about is by being part of the action. Panther families are amazing volunteers and we look forward to the same this year.

• How to Sign Up to Volunteer for a Meet
  • Click on the SignUp Calendar tab on the top of this page.
  • Look for the meet and click on the meet/event and follow the tabs volunteer.
• What to Wear as a Meet Volunteer
  • A white top and navy blue bottoms (no blue jeans, please).
  • Nothing with your team's name/logo.
  • This applies to ALL meet volunteers except for those working concessions.

Concession Donation
In addition to volunteering, every family is asked to donate items for concessions (determined by last name) to help get our season started. You will receive information via Swimtopia or e-mail on what items we need from your family and when to bring those in.

Volunteer Roles
Below is a list of volunteer positions. Please don’t hesitate to ask about any of these before you sign up for them!

Positions That Require NVSL Training
Referee: The Referee is the chief official of a dive meet. He/she is responsible for the conduct of the meet and is the final authority on the interpretation and enforcement of all diving rules. All referees must have been certified by NVSL Diving within the last two years. Individual participation in the NVSL Diving Referee's Clinic constitutes certification. Individuals must have served as a judge within the NVSL for at least one season to be eligible to attend the referee's clinic and receive certification. The Referee shall serve for the entire meet and must be 19 years of age or older.

Positions That Do NOT Require Training
Judges: Training is Recommended but not Required. Five judges serve at each dive meet to score each dive. Two judges are provided by the home team; three by the visiting team. If there is a shortage of judges, the number of judges may be reduced to three. (This is not recommended and should be utilized only in an emergency.). Judges shall be placed in appropriate positions on one or both sides of the diving area within the closest field of view perpendicular to the flight of the dives. Judges shall serve for the entire meet and must be 19 years of age or older. There is no requirement of training to be a judge; however, NVSL Dive does offer judging clinics prior to each NVSL Dive season and those who wish to volunteer as a judge are highly encouraged to attend.

Announcer: This job involves announcing the event information over a sound system so that spectators and divers can follow the flow of the meet. He/She announces the events and the divers. The Announcer announces the dive and the degree of difficulty involved, and calls the scores shown by the judges. The Announcer also provides the names of event winners, the meet score, and other pertinent information. The announcer sits at the main table with the other table workers.

Table Workers: The table workers capture and calculate the score of each dive, determine the order of finish for each event, score the meet, and prepare ribbons for the participants. There are five table workers needed to work a dive meet; 3 home team volunteers and 2 visiting team volunteers. These assignments do not require training; they do, however, require close attention to the meet and to accuracy. NVSL Dive does offer a Table Worker training session once each season.

Set-Up: For home meets, at least two volunteers are needed to arrive no later than 4:30pm to put up canopies, move tables/chairs/benches, and do anything else that is needed to ready the pool deck for the meet.

Concessions: We need at least two volunteers in the kitchen and two volunteers at the concession tables.