The Evolution of Expense

What exactly do clubs offer to volunteer...

People who volunteer often get involved with volunteering in several different spheres of activity. After time they will concentrate on those activities that :
- provide a good social experience
- demonstrate that their input is valued
- provides decent facilities/tools/equipment for the volunteers
- are well organised so that volunteers can get on with the jobs that they are their to do.

Above all - VOLUNTEERS ARE NOT FREE LABOUR! Maintaining a team of enthusiastic and competent volunteers is not cheap and requires work.

I do a lot of umpiring for team racing - do I prefer to go to an event where:
- club members provide accommodation in their own hous;
- tea and coffee are available at the umpires briefing;
- the RIBs are dry, well maintained and the motors have been warmed up that morning
- hot drinks and packed lunch are provided on the water
- the club offers the first drink as we get off the water
- a simple but hearty dinner is provided

or the event where we know that none of these will be provided.

The same can apply for mark layers, sandwich makers, race secretaries, and all the other volunteers who make an event or a club a success.

If a club has difficulty finding volunteers don't blame the volunteers. They are probably down the road helping organising a rowing regatta, a junior rugby blitz, a fund raiser for a local charity... To borrow a quite - Do not ask what volunteers can do for your club, ask what your club can do for the volunteers.

Simple things count:
- the social on the Sunday evening after the competitors have left, or the annual volunteers party
- if you are selling event branded gear do you offer volunteers a distinctive version (different colour for instance) as a gift or at cost price
- a reduction in club fees for regular volunteers
- holding a pre-event briefing for all volunteers, and an after event de-brief
...

'the pompous arrogant tw*ts' should pay for the volunteers! Entry fees and club subs must provide the finance to recruit, operate and retain an enthusiastic group of volunteers.

In our club a PAT who was also a b(w)anker somehow got to be running the regatta committee. We finish the day with a BBQ. Traditionally the volunteers, including the students on safety boats, get a voucher for a drink and a steak. In his mad search for a profit from the day this PAT decided that only the adult volunteers would get a steak. The teenager and student volunteers would get a burger.

In a remarkable display of solidarity the adult RIB personnel threatened to go on strike. The free steak was, in reality, a real symbol of the clubs appreciation of the volunteers input. Our friend the banker had completely failed to realise this.

We nearly lost a team of mark layers and patrol boat drives who had been in the club for many years.

Bear in mind that some of the misplaced pressure on cost is often due to the way that clubs are forced to keep subs down to keep elements of the membership happy, leaving very little wriggle room for freebies.  

Originally posted by Rupert If running an Open, then it should be taken into account in the fee charged.

I think there is a problem with some clubs seeing opens as cash cows.
Whack up the entry fee, charge more for beer and food, cut back on mark laying and committee boats..

When I volunteer to do rescue boat at an open, why should I expect much different treatment than doing a normal club duty? I'm not even missing club racing.

There are a few clubs I'm in no rush to go back to, because the open meeting seemed to be run more for the benefit of the host club than for the competitors. Then you wonder why turnouts are low...

We run our opens alongside club racing, so the team have more to deal with. A free lunch and a thank you at the end doesn't seem too much to give them.

Big opens at sea will have far more people volunteering to help, often with long days, on top of their normal duty day.