Sports events would not happen without volunteers. From the estimated 70,000 volunteers required at an Olympic/Paralympic Games through to the five or six volunteers who may be required for a small community activity, they are vital to all events – in fact, most Event Organisers are also volunteers!
The emphasis of these Top Tips is on local to county level events, but the basic principles apply, whatever the scale of event you are involved in.
You may also find it useful to refer to the runningsports Top Tips ‘Events – Information for Event Volunteers’.
You can jump directly to the main topics on this page by clicking the links below:
> so what is different about the event volunteer?
> recruiting volunteers for your event
> managing the recruitment for your event
> managing your volunteers before the event
> on the day
> post-event
> further information and useful contacts
> download PDF version
so what is different about the event volunteer?
People have many different reasons for becoming a volunteer, some wanting long-term commitments, some wanting highly skilled roles and some wanting to work with a particular group. Event volunteers have the same range of reasons for getting involved as any other volunteers, but the following reasons/needs are common:
- Enjoying the excitement and ‘buzz’ of events.
- Not having the time for long-term and regular volunteering commitments.
- Having particular event skills (eg strong organisational skills, technical expertise in a specific sport – judging, timekeeping, result collation, health and safety – announcing, etc).
- Wanting to develop their skills fairly quickly, to make them more employable.
- Wanting to improve their CV (young people in particular, although not exclusively) without making a long-term commitment (they may be hoping to go away to university, etc).
- Wanting to gain experience in a particular area of work (eg tourism, event management, in a particular sport, etc).
- Wanting to change careers and wanting a short introduction to possible new areas of work.
- Wanting to learn about different cultures/activities.
- Wanting to meet new people and have fun.
Remember – it is important to help your volunteers achieve at least some of their objectives, as well as running a successful event.
The runningsports Quick Guide ‘Managing Events’ provides further information about how to run a successful event (available from this website) and the rest of these Top Tips give you help on how to be more effective when working with your volunteer workforce in particular.
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recruiting volunteers for your event
As already stated, you will definitely require some volunteers to help at your event, but be aware that it can be easy to fall into the trap of recruiting your volunteers before you have assessed what you will need doing. There is nothing more demotivating than being asked to help at an event, only to arrive and be told that there is nothing for you to do, or that your role is not really necessary.
Early in the planning of your event, you will establish the ‘Functional Areas’ (this is a term used to describe the different services you will need to deliver when running an event, eg entries and performer support, site team, health and safety, etc – see the runningsports Quick Guide ‘Managing Events’ for further information relating to these areas) that will help you manage and deliver services, and the Event Committee, who will help you deliver the event. For both the Event Committee and the Functional Areas, you will need to establish:
- if they need to be further sub-divided
- what type of roles will be required to deliver the functions
- what skills will be required to ensure the roles are filled
- how many people you require in the roles identified
- the organisational structure (eg who will be in charge of what and which roles are the ‘active’ workforce).
By undertaking the above assessment of your workforce needs, you will have established the roles you need to recruit into, the skills that are required, and how many people you need.
It is advised that you create a role outline (role description) for each position, which gives a brief breakdown of activities the volunteer will be asked to undertake and the skills/qualities which are required in the position (role outline templates available from this website).
Finally, you will need to ensure that the club understands and has agreed that volunteers are not a ‘free’ workforce. They will need to be offered at least reasonable expenses and, potentially, they will need a uniform and food (depending on the size and length of the event).
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managing the recruitment for your event
The first people you need to recruit are the Event Committee and (if it isn’t you) the Event Coordinator. Once these roles are established and responsibilities are agreed, you can either:
start the recruitment of other volunteers as a central function
or
give the responsibility of recruiting volunteers to each Functional Area Coordinator/Supervisor
Whichever option you choose, you should consider appointing a person to support all the volunteers at the event. Some clubs have appointed a ‘Volunteer Coordinator’ who manages volunteers on a day-to-day basis (this is good practice). If you have a Volunteer Coordinator in your club, it is important that they are informed about the event as soon as possible, as they will help you, your committee and all those responsible for Functional Areas to recruit volunteers in a coordinated manner.
Your event volunteers are likely to be people who have a connection to your club already, but you will almost definitely be able to attract people who don’t normally get involved on a day-to-day basis, such as family members and friends of club participants. If you still need to attract more people, you may want to think about the following sources:
- The local volunteer centre (often known as a volunteer bureau)
- Uniform groups*
- The county/regional sports governing body
- The county sports partnership (CSP)
- Other local clubs/organisations
- Local authority leisure departments
- Colleges and universities
- Schools*
- Large companies (some have employee volunteering schemes)
- TimeBank
- Higher and further education institutions
- www.do-it.org.uk (where you could advertise your volunteering opportunities)
- Event volunteer programmes that some cities/areas have, eg Manchester’s Post Games Volunteers, the Newham Volunteers Programme in London, etc.
*Note: If you are using young volunteers you will need to be aware of and adhere to child protection policies – see runningsports Top Tips ‘Young People as Volunteers’ or contact the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) for further guidance.
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managing your volunteers before the event
As you are unlikely to see most of your volunteers on a regular basis, it is good practice to write to them and give them the following information:
The aim of the event. What time you expect them to attend the event and the total time commitment expected. What they should wear (or details of the uniform they will be wearing). Whether food and drink will be available (you should provide food if the event is longer than half a day and drinks should be available anyway, particularly if it is likely to be hot). Information on breaks (although this can be flexible). What tasks they will be expected to complete (a written role outline for all volunteers is good practice). Where the event is and where they should report to on arrival. Who they should report to when they arrive and who they should speak to during the event if they have any concerns. Any travel/car-parking information (car-park passes if applicable). A code of practice (this does not need to be long – see Top Tips ‘Information for Event Volunteers’ for details of what you may wish to include in this document). The smoking policy/information relating to smoking at the event. Any health and safety information that may need to be read and understood before the event. Any forms which may need to be returned to you before the event (CRB disclosure information, emergency contact details, medical information, etc). Any other information which is specific to your event. An expenses claim form or information on how to claim expenses. If you have produced one, a volunteer handbook (this should have contact details, emergency procedures, where first aid is available, key contacts – with their area of responsibility – background to the event and all of the above information). You may wish for them to write back to you to confirm their attendance and to share any special requirements they may have (eg food requirements, access issues, health issues, etc). The easiest way to do this is to produce and send out a short form with the above communication.
It would also be useful for your Functional Area Coordinators or your Volunteer Coordinator to call all the volunteers prior to the event. This will ensure that all volunteers have understood the information that has been sent out. Remember, some of your volunteers may have learning difficulties, dyslexia or other disabilities and written communications are not always the best way of communicating with them.
If your event is very large or needs particular skills, you may need to consider providing some training or an orientation event for the volunteers. If this is the case, ensure that volunteers are aware of this requirement, and can attend, before they make a commitment to your event, and let them have training and/or orientation dates and information as soon as possible.
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on the day
If you have done the groundwork with your volunteers before the event, you should have very few problems or things you need to do with them on the day. However, all staff – volunteer or otherwise – will need to attend an event briefing. This briefing will reinforce information already sent out to the volunteers in their handbook or briefing letter and will introduce any issues that have arisen at the last minute.
You should also allow enough time to answer any questions from the volunteers at this point – don’t forget that they are your public face during the day.
Disciplineis always a difficult issue to tackle with volunteers, as they have given up time for your activity. However, there are still reasonable standards of behaviour which should be adhered to (put them in your code of practice) and you shouldn’t be afraid of taking appropriate action if a volunteer breaks any of the rules. As with all paid staff, it is important that the volunteers know what the rules are before the event and what the consequences of breaking them will be. Don’t allow other volunteers, staff or participants to suffer because you don’t want to upset one volunteer who has overstepped the mark.
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post-event
After the event, it is really important to thank all of the volunteers – don’t forget the Event Committee if they are volunteers! This can be done in a variety of ways, but the easiest and most cost-effective is a short post-event meeting where you thank everyone, followed up by a letter, postcard or email, thanking them for their time and energy. If you have a slightly larger budget, you may buy them a small thank-you gift or throw a party after the clear-up. The important thing, however, is to say thank you. They have made the event a success and you will probably want them to help again next time!
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further information and useful contacts
For local volunteer centres, visit: www.volunteering.org.uk
Alternatively, contact them at:
Volunteering England (London)
Regents Wharf
8 All Saints Street
London N1 9RL
Tel: 0845-305 6979 Fax : 020-7520 8910
Email: volunteering@volunteeringengland.org
For contact details of your NGB, visit: www.sportengland.org
Then click on ‘get resources’, ‘useful links’, then ‘governing bodies of sport’.
TimeBank
2nd Floor
Downstream Building
1 London Bridge
London SE1 9BG
Tel: 0845-456 1668
Fax: 0845-456 1669
www.timebank.co.uk
Student Volunteering England
Oxford House
Derbyshire Street
London E2 6HG
Tel: 0800-0182 146
Email: info@studentvolunteering.org.uk
www.studentvolunteering.org.uk
British Universities Sports Association (BUSA)
20–24 Kings Bench Street
London SE1 0QX
Tel: 020-7633 5080
Fax: 020-3268 2120
www.busa.org.uk
Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU)
NSPCC National Training Centre
3 Gilmour Close
Beaumont Leys
Leicester LE4 1EZ
Tel: 0116-234 7278/7280
Fax: 0116-234 0464
Email: cpsu@nspcc.org.uk
www.thecpsu.org.uk
runningsports • PO Box 35 • Leeds LS12 4XY • Tel: 0800 363373 • Email: info@runningsports.org
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