Ask most parents at the poolside who runs their swimming club and you will get a vague answer: “the committee”, or “a few volunteers”. Ask which of those volunteers to speak to about a missing invoice, a safeguarding worry or a gala entry, and the answer gets vaguer still. Yet a club runs far more smoothly when everyone, on the committee and off it, understands who is responsible for what.
This guide sets out the main swim club committee roles and responsibilities, from the four core officer posts that every affiliated club needs down to the extra roles that larger clubs add as they grow. It is written for UK clubs affiliated to Swim England, and it draws on Swim England’s own expectations for how a club should be run. Use it to write role descriptions, to fill a vacancy, or simply to work out who should be dealing with the email in your inbox.
The short answer: what a swimming club committee looks like
Almost every affiliated swimming club is run by a management committee of volunteers, elected by the members at the annual general meeting. Swim England expects an affiliated club to have, at a minimum, a chair, a secretary, a treasurer and a welfare officer, along with a coach or teacher involved in how the club is run. These are the posts your constitution will name.
Clubs then add further roles as they need them: a membership secretary, a competition secretary, a fundraising coordinator, a volunteer coordinator, a communications lead. The exact mix is up to the club, but the four core officers are the foundation, and one of them, the welfare officer, is a safeguarding requirement rather than an optional extra.
The four core officer roles
Chair (or chairperson)
The chair leads the committee rather than the club’s swimming. Their job is to keep the whole thing pointed in the right direction: setting the agenda with the secretary, running meetings so decisions actually get made, and holding the other officers to account for the things they have agreed to do.
A good chair does not try to do everything. They make sure the right person is doing each job, step in when something falls between two roles, and represent the club to Swim England, the pool operator and the wider membership. When there is a difficult decision or a dispute, the chair is usually the one who has to steer it to a fair conclusion. The role is as much about people as paperwork, and it benefits enormously from a chair who runs focused, well-chaired meetings.
Secretary
The secretary is the administrative engine of the club. In practice this role covers:
- Meetings. Calling committee meetings and the AGM, circulating the agenda in advance, and giving members the proper notice the constitution requires.
- Minutes and records. Taking accurate minutes, storing them, and keeping the club’s key documents (constitution, policies, insurance, affiliation records) somewhere the whole committee can find them.
- Correspondence. Being the point of contact for members and for Swim England, and making sure important messages reach the right officer.
In a lot of clubs the secretary is the person who quietly holds everything together. It is a demanding role, and it is the one most worth protecting with a proper handover when the post changes hands.
Treasurer
The treasurer looks after the club’s money and, just as importantly, the club’s confidence that the money is being looked after. Their responsibilities include collecting membership fees and other income, paying the club’s bills, keeping clear accounts, and presenting the finances to the committee and to members at the AGM.
The treasurer also owns the systems that money flows through: the bank account and signatories, the Direct Debit or fee-collection setup, and the budget for the year. It is the role most exposed to burnout when it is done on spreadsheets and bank transfers chased by hand, which is one reason clubs so often find their treasurer is the first to quit. Good financial controls, such as two signatories on payments and a second person reviewing the accounts, protect both the club and the treasurer.
Club welfare officer
The welfare officer is the club’s lead for safeguarding, and unlike the other roles it is a firm requirement. Every Swim England affiliated club must adopt Wavepower, the governing body’s child safeguarding framework, and appointing at least one club welfare officer is part of meeting it.
The welfare officer is the first point of contact for any child, parent, coach or volunteer with a concern about a young person’s welfare, poor practice or possible abuse. They help the club put Wavepower into practice, make sure concerns are recorded and referred correctly, and keep safeguarding on the committee’s agenda. Under the current Wavepower, the welfare officer must be independent: not related to, or in a close relationship with, the chair or a coach or teacher at the club. The role also carries specific training expectations, including a Swim England safeguarding course, the Time to Listen qualification and an in-date DBS check for the welfare officer role. Our guides to what Wavepower actually requires and to DBS check tracking go into the detail.
Head coach or lead teacher
The head coach is not always a voting committee member, but Swim England expects a coach or teacher to be involved in how the club is run, and most committees include one. The coaching lead owns the poolside programme: squad structure, session content, the coaching rota, and the development pathway for swimmers. They are the bridge between what happens in the water and the decisions the committee makes about money, membership and facilities. Keeping the coaching voice in the room stops the committee from making administrative decisions that do not work in practice for squad training.
Common additional committee roles
As a club grows, the four core officers cannot carry everything. These are the roles clubs most often add, and it is worth writing a short description of each so responsibilities do not overlap or fall through the gaps.
- Membership secretary. Owns the joining process, the membership records, renewals and the annual Swim England registration. In a busy club this is a substantial job in its own right, which is why many separate it from the general secretary. See managing membership renewals.
- Competition or gala secretary. Handles meet and gala entries, licences, and the logistics of running competitions and galas. At a spring gala this becomes one of the most intense roles in the club.
- Fundraising coordinator. Plans fundraising activity and, increasingly, leads on grant applications, which need someone to own the paperwork and deadlines.
- Volunteer coordinator. Recruits, rotas and thanks the volunteers a club depends on, from poolside timekeepers to raffle sellers. A dedicated coordinator is one of the best defences against volunteer burnout.
- Communications or media lead. Runs the newsletter, website and social channels, and keeps parents informed so the committee is not answering the same questions individually.
- Team manager. Looks after swimmers at away galas and meets, checking in entries, marshalling age groups and being a point of contact on the day.
Smaller clubs simply fold these duties into the core roles. The important thing is not the job title, it is that someone owns each responsibility and everyone knows who.
Who does what: a quick reference
| Role | Owns | Typical first port of call for |
|---|---|---|
| Chair | Leadership, direction, chairing meetings, representing the club | Disputes, big decisions, external relationships |
| Secretary | Meetings, minutes, records, correspondence | Notices, documents, “who do I email?” |
| Treasurer | Fees, payments, accounts, budget | Invoices, refunds, financial questions |
| Welfare officer | Safeguarding, Wavepower, concerns | Any worry about a child’s welfare |
| Head coach | Squads, sessions, coaching rota, pathway | Training, moving squads, poolside issues |
| Membership secretary | Joining, renewals, Swim England registration | Membership queries, new starters |
| Competition secretary | Meet and gala entries, licences | Entering a gala, entry deadlines |
Making committee roles and responsibilities work together
Roles on paper are only half the job. The clubs that run well are the ones where the boundaries are clear and the gaps are covered.
- Write it down. Agree a short description for every role and share it with members so parents know who to contact about what. This single step prevents a surprising amount of friction and duplicated effort.
- Mind the overlaps. In small clubs one person often wears two hats. Combining secretary and treasurer weakens your financial oversight, and the welfare officer should stay independent of the chair and coaches. Where you must double up, add a check, such as a second signatory or a reviewer.
- Protect the handover. Roles change hands, usually at the AGM. Knowledge that lives only in one volunteer’s head walks out of the door with them. A proper committee handover and a shared set of systems keep the club running through the change.
- Support new officers. Someone stepping into a role for the first time should not have to work it out alone. Point them at their first thirty days and pair them with the outgoing officer for a season where you can.
How committee roles are elected and filled
Officer roles are elected by the members at the annual general meeting, for the term the constitution sets, commonly one year with the option to stand again. Nominations usually need a proposer and a seconder. If a role falls vacant partway through the year, most constitutions allow the committee to co-opt someone into it until the next AGM.
Because the constitution is the document that actually governs how your club fills its roles, terms and any limits, it is worth reading before you plan an AGM or restructure the committee. Our guides to running your first AGM and to the legal requirements around club AGMs cover the process in full.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main roles on a swimming club committee?
Most swimming club committees are built around four core officer roles: a chair, a secretary, a treasurer and a welfare officer. Swim England expects an affiliated club to have these, plus a coach or teacher involved in the club’s running. Beyond that, clubs commonly add a membership secretary, a competition or gala secretary, a fundraising coordinator, a volunteer coordinator and a communications lead, depending on their size.
Does a swimming club have to have a welfare officer?
Yes. Every Swim England affiliated club must adopt Wavepower, the governing body’s safeguarding framework, and appointing at least one club welfare officer is part of that. The welfare officer is the first point of contact for any concern about a child’s welfare. Under the current Wavepower, the welfare officer must also be independent, meaning not related to or in a close relationship with the chair or a coach at the club.
What does a swim club secretary actually do?
The secretary is the administrative and communications hub of the club. They call meetings and circulate the agenda, take and store the minutes, handle correspondence with members and with Swim England, keep the club’s key documents and records, and make sure the AGM and committee meetings happen properly and on notice. In many clubs the secretary is the person who holds the club together week to week.
Can one person hold two committee roles?
It is common in small clubs, but do it carefully. Combining the secretary and treasurer roles, for example, weakens financial oversight because the same person records decisions and controls the money. Swim England’s current safeguarding rules also require the welfare officer to be independent of the chair and coaches, so that role in particular should not be doubled up with them. Where you must combine roles, add a second signatory or a reviewer to keep a check in place.
How are swim club committee members elected?
Officer roles are normally elected by the members at the annual general meeting, for the term set out in the club’s constitution, which is often one year with the option to stand again. Nominations usually need a proposer and a seconder. If a role falls vacant during the year, most constitutions let the committee co-opt someone until the next AGM. Always check your own constitution, as it is the document that governs how your club fills its roles.
Clear roles are easier to run when the systems behind them are shared, not stuck on one volunteer’s laptop. Swimly is club management software built for UK swimming clubs, bringing membership records, billing and Wavepower compliance into one place the whole committee can see. See pricing to find out how much committee time you could hand back.