Parent duty roster
Whose turn for oranges this week?
Every junior team needs a parent on the scorebook, someone with the oranges and a ground marshal in the hi-vis. FairTurns shares those jobs across the families on your team and puts the season on one link.
Free, with no limit on people or dates. No card.
The team manager ends up doing every job
At the start of the season the coach asks for a volunteer team manager, and one parent puts a hand up. A week later that parent is also cutting the oranges, keeping the scorebook and wearing the ground marshal vest, because nobody else was sure whose turn it was.
A paper roster on the clubhouse fridge doesn’t reach the parent who drops off and leaves. A message in the team chat gets buried under photos and “what time is warm-up?”. By the time someone asks who is on oranges, it’s 8:20 on Saturday and the game starts at 8:30.
What helps is a list every family can see before the weekend, with each job named and each family’s turns counted, so asking for help stops being personal.
How FairTurns shares the team jobs
Each job named
Add positions for Oranges, Scoring, Goal umpire and Ground marshal, each with one place. Every game day gets one family on each.
Turns counted per job
Fill gives each empty job to the family with the fewest turns at that job, so the same parent isn’t on the scorebook every week.
Only the jobs people can do
Limit the scoring to parents who know the scorebook, or the ground marshal to adults with a working-with-children check. Nobody is put on a job they aren’t set up for.
Kids in two teams
Put a family on both teams. Inside the club, FairTurns won’t put them on duty at two overlapping games.
Carnival weekends
A family away for the rep carnival marks those days as Away, and Fill leaves them off. Nobody has to explain.
A link for the team chat
Post the public roster link once. Parents open it on their phone, see the next six Saturdays and plan around their turn.
Set it up
- 01
Create the club
Create your organisation, then a team for your age group, such as U10 Gold.
- 02
Name the jobs
Add a position for each parent duty, with one place on each.
- 03
Add the families
Paste the team list by parent name, or send the join link to the team chat.
- 04
Set game day
Click the first Saturday, set the times and choose “Every week on Saturday”.
- 05
Fill and post
Press Fill for the season and share the roster link with the team.
When you want it to run itself
On Pro, parents who have accepted an invitation get the week’s jobs by email on the day you choose and a reminder before their turn. If they can’t make it, they say so from the email and the next family in line is put on and asked, so the team manager isn’t chasing on Friday night.
A$1 a month per organisation, paid 1 to 5 years at a time. See Pro and pricing
Good to know
- A typical team needs four to six parent jobs a week. With twelve families that’s a turn every two or three weeks, which most parents will happily do if they can see it coming.
- Ask at the first training who already has a working-with-children check, and set those parents up for the jobs that need one.
- Parents don’t pick their own Saturdays: Fill puts them on, they see it on the link, and anyone who can’t make it lets the team manager know.
- The public roster shows names to anyone with the link, so use parents’ first names or “Patel family” rather than the children’s full names.
- When the draw shows a bye, cancel that Saturday. It can be brought back if the game is moved.
Questions
What jobs go on a junior sport parent roster?
Usually oranges or half-time snacks, scoring, timekeeping, goal umpire or linesperson, ground marshal, and sometimes a canteen or BBQ shift. Add each one as a position and FairTurns puts one family on each per game.
Can the team manager run it for just one team?
Yes. A team manager can set up one team on their own, or the club can create one organisation with a team for every age group and give each team manager the moderator role for theirs.
What if a family can only do some jobs?
Set that family up for the jobs they can do, and Fill only puts them on those. Families with no limits set can be put on any job.
How do new families who join mid-season get turns?
Add them and press Redistribute. It shares the remaining Saturdays out again, moves as few families as it can, and shows you who gains or loses a date before anything changes.
Is it free for a whole club?
Yes. Every team, family and Saturday is free. Pro, which adds the email reminders and automatic cover, is A$1 a month for the whole organisation.
Free templates and guides
Team duties roster template
Parent duties for a junior sports team: oranges, scoring, goal umpire, jerseys and first aid.
How to make a volunteer roster
Roles, headcounts, away days and a roster people can check: a volunteer roster that lasts the season.
Positions and headcounts
Name the jobs on each date and how many people each needs. Nobody gets a job they’re not set up for.
Similar rosters
Club canteen and kiosk
Every family takes a canteen shift, the season is mapped out, and one link shows who’s on.
Junior footy and soccer duties
Goal umpires, water runners, canteen and pack-up for home games, shared across the club’s families.
Netball duties
Scoring, timekeeping, umpires and association duty weeks for a netball club, on one shared roster.