Volunteering opportunities

[Paul Frost]

There are lots of opportunities to get involved with World Orienteering Championships 2015 in Scotland. Some jobs have been filled but there are lots still open. The page with all the details of volunteering at WOC2015 has just been updated. So have a look down the list and see if there is anything where your skills, knowledge or experience could make a difference.

Linda Cairns (Volunteer Manager for WOC2015) also has a blog, that is all about volunteering, and a recent entry titled Volunteers hold British sport together is worth a read.

There is so much talk about volunteer burnout and that perhaps we shouldn't start new projects/activities/events because of the strain on volunteers. The olympics showed how many people there are out there prepared to give up their time to help others. The trick is how to find them.

I find the most success by asking specific people (not a generic "can any one help" ), making it clear what you expect them to do and then giving them the tools/knowledge to carry it out. Then afterwards, thanking them and a debrief about how to make it a better experience in the future.

There are many ways that we can do more with less people and less experienced people:

• Use pre or part completed templates for things like risk assessments, permission requests, planning files etc.
• Re-use old courses/events. Even if a few will remember, the majority won't, and it's better than no orienteering at all. It could be a good training opportunity for both planners/organisers and competitors.
• Keep things simple, perhaps just 2 courses based on your likely participants, you can't please everyone so don't try, just make it clear to them who you are targeting.

Events like the Purple Thistle show that you can provide a good experience for 200-300 people with only a handful of volunteers. So don't put off expanding you clubs activities because you don't have enough volunteers, make it simpler and you'll get more new volunteers, and those you already have can achieve more for the same amount of hours.

[SeanC]

Re-using old courses could be a selling point for some people. Try and beat your old time/old score etc. It would probably work well at the local events aimed at new/occasional orienteers or those that don't want mega technical orienteering. And would of course reduce map costs and planning time. Probably would work better for score events? An ideal use of permanent courses perhaps, a series of events just using the permanent courses to see if you can beat your/the/the age class course record? Do any clubs do this?

[andypat]

For me the key point in any of these ideas is to appropriately communicate exactly what you are doing to your target audience. If you are putting on an event which uses permanent markers instead of SI and flags, make sure people know this in advance, and also what courses you are putting on. Same goes for reusing old courses. Otherwise there will be some people who will be disappointed and think twice about coming to the next one. I know this sounds obvious but its not always the case that clubs do this.

[Paul Frost]

... appropriately communicate exactly what you are doing to your target audience...

I often wonder if there should be a single key on the keyboard to add the word "Communicate", as it should be used more often, both in writing and thinking.

[andypat]

Has anyone tried this before for volunteers?

http://www.volunteerscotland.org.uk/Home/

I wondered if people looking to get into outdoor leadership work etc might not value some of the volunteering opportunities provided by orienteering, if we put them out there?

[SeanC]

We often worry about burning out our volunteers, but a related problem is volunteering deterring the non-volunteers. I must admit to feeling a little guilty when I get emails or read website/newsletters etc which ask for help and I choose not to.

I wonder how many people we put off the sport in this way? People without the time or the inclination to volunteer wont all tolerate a leisure activity that makes them feel bad. It probably depends how you're asked though. The "YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOU.VOLUNTEER OR THE SPORT WILL EXPLODE AND DIE" type broadcast is probably the worst approach from this viewpoint. On the other hand at the finish of last weeks Kent Night Cup, the organiser said in a matter of fact way "fancy collecting in controls" and off I trotted for an extra 2k. Part of the beauty of that approach is that it taps into the volunteers who don't mind volunteering but don't want to commit to volunteering. I don't suppose you can run WOC like that though.

[Paul Frost]

I find the most success by asking specific people (not a generic "can anyone help" )

This is an important point, the general call can make those who can't help feel guilty and it may be unnecessary, as they don't have the skills you are looking for in the first place.

Another good reason to talk to newcommers in detail, as well as making them feel welcome you get to know what their skills are and how likely they are to respond to offers of volunteering opportunities.

[Sunlit Forres]

How right you are Paul (& Sean). Hope your wee 'procedure' has been a success.

[SeanC]

Another good reason to talk to newcommers in detail, as well as making them feel welcome you get to know what their skills are and how likely they are to respond to offers of volunteering opportunities.

The standard time trial/colour coded/regional/badge orienteering event is a pretty rubbish way of meeting people though.

So if you're club is running short of volunteers there seems like an obvious way forward:

Organise less big time trial type events and replace with more mass-start/mass-finish ending in a pub type events, or replace with trips to other clubs big events (with meeting points and shared transport).

After a few beers, maybe some of those 2015 volunteer slots will get filled.

[Sunlit Forres]

You must have read my mind Sean. Went to see the mannie at the local Legion Club this afternoon to see if he'd mind me sitting at his bar to run an informal night event next Thursday. Found 40 yellow course maps in the garage left over from an event last year and thought it might be fun in the dark. Start your SI Card in the pub, run half a mile to the 'old' start, do the course and finish back in the pub where a pint shall await. The beer drinking becomes a chasing start and I'll be well in the lead. So organising can have its benefits after all.

This, of course, is all part of my services to orienteering - the club is opposite the registration venue for Moray 2013 and they want to open the club up to all you orienteers. I'll report back on the quality of the beer in a week's time but they do seem a really friendly bunch.

[King Penguin]

I used a British Legion club in Brum as the start / finish venue for one of our Night Street League events last winter and they could not have bee more accommodating or helpful.

[Ravinous]

Why the secrecy? 'Position filled.' Why not put the lucky persons name?

[frog]

Alot of people like me will have jobs where the holiday rota, especially for school holidays isn't decided more than a year in advance.
Many if not all of these jobs require you to be around for the event.