At the heart of every successful sporting event lies a dedicated team of volunteers, whose commitment and energy are as essential as the athletes themselves.
Much more than mere support staff, volunteers are the indispensable force driving the event’s seamless execution. They are the unsung heroes, the backbone supporting every facet of the event, from registration to refreshments, and security to cheering squads.
Just as athletes train rigorously for their moment in the spotlight, volunteers play an equally vital role in ensuring the event runs seamlessly. Without their tireless dedication, rigorous preparation, and passion, the event itself would lack the pulse that propels it forward.
This is why mobilizing volunteers isn’t just a logistical necessity to successfully host a sporting event—it epitomizes the collective strength and shared objectives that define successful hosting.
Lake Charles, La.
“Volunteers do so much for us,” says Eric Zartler, senior vice president of sports for Visit Lake Charles. “We lean on them tremendously, as we couldn’t pull off events successfully without them.”
One of the biggest events hosted in Lake Charles is the Louisiana High School Boys Basketball Championships, an annual event held each March. It’s also an event for which the CVB relies heavily on volunteers. “We’ll have anywhere from 120 to 150 volunteers that work the basketball championships with us,” Zartler adds. “This is our poster event for our volunteer base. It’s one in which our volunteers really shine and make the event what it is.”
With 40-plus teams arriving in Lake Charles for the event, the CVB turns to its volunteers to help host and manage the participants, with a volunteer team host coordinator that assigns teams to hosts and checks in to ensure all volunteers are fulfilling their assigned duties. “They do a lot for us, and there is no way our staff could do what team hosts do and provide for us,” Zartler says. “I give them all the praise in this event specifically because there is absolutely no way we could manage it with our team alone. They have really taken ownership, and they look forward to it every year.”
The volunteers not only look forward to it, but they go out of their way to welcome teams when in town for the event. “We’ve had these volunteers welcome some of the visiting teams into their homes, feed them, and even take them out for meals, which is all above and beyond,” Zartler adds. “They really build relationships with the coaches once they are assigned to a team. And, of course, if that team comes back the next year, we keep the same volunteer with them because the relationship is already there.”
Although they’ve tried other avenues, Lake Charles CVB relies heavily on recruiting through word of mouth and volunteers bringing in their friends to join. “We’ve tried social media, online forms, putting press releases in the paper, and even going to local club and church group meetings, but word of mouth has really suited us best,” Zartler shares, suggesting reaching out to the retired educators to recruit as well. “We have been incredibly successful with utilizing the help of retired educators for volunteers,” Zartler explains.
Zartler notes the many benefits that come with recruiting retired educators, such as their decades of experience around kids. “They’ve worked with kids, they know how to talk to them, and where any concerns should be,” he says. “We’ve been really fortunate to create good relationships with retired educators in our area. I would suggest anyone getting in front of them and sharing options of ways they could get involved. In our experience, they really enjoy being around the events, and they are amazing to work with as well.”
Snohomish County, Wash.
The Snohomish County Sports Commission has taken a similar approach, though instead of retired educators, they’ve turned to other local groups within their community: high school athletic departments, booster clubs, students needing community service hours, and local service organizations like the Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lions Clubs. “Local businesses are also a good place to look because many are always looking for ways their employees can give back and volunteer,” says Tammy Dunn, executive director of the Snohomish County Sports Commission.
The sports commission continues to look for ways to build upon its volunteer base, and for the last year or so it has been putting together its own database so that they are prepared when the need is presented. “Our database is still fairly new, but we’re trying to create better services and provide them readily when an event organizer expresses the need,” Dunn says.
One difference is the Snohomish County Sports Commission doesn’t manage the volunteers directly. “We connect them with the event organizer, who may already have a volunteer coordinator, rather than trying to coordinate volunteers ourselves,” Dunn says.
She stresses the importance of continuing to build relationships within the community so that the volunteer pool is maintained. “It all goes back to the community,” Dunn adds. “It’s so important to get to know people so that you know who to call when an opportunity arises, and you can connect them with the event organizer. That’s why it’s so important to us to connect with our
local organizations, from the service groups to the chamber of commerce to local high schools. Getting to know them and understanding what their needs are allows us to keep them engaged and maintain the volunteer base needed to make each event that’s hosted here successful.”
