If you want to participate in volunteering during a sport event, you have to get accepted. If you should get accepted, you have to apply. If you want to apply, you need to know, that applications are being accepted, somewhere, by someone and how such procedure looks like.
It’s quite logical;) But not always so simple. Few tips related searching for volunteering possibilities and recruitment itself below.
How to search for volunteering?
- Get to know, that such event will take place
However trivial it sounds, it’s real important and not so easy step. There are so many sport events that happen. World Championships, European, leagues, cups, grand prix, meetings, qualifications, Olympics, universiades, summer ones, winter ones- and all this to even multiply by number of sport disciplines. Few happen every year, others every second year or every four. Additionally, federations all the time restructure something and change formula and dates.
It’s not easy to follow all this regularly.
That’s why it’s best to focus on smaller part of events. Everywhere you will not go anyway, and by trying to search everything, you will find almost nothing;) Choose and search for those, which are mostly interesting for you because of particular sport. And then because of other factors: lasting time (few last for a month, others only two days), place (someone will prefer big European cities, someone else less obvious destinations) or just type of event (bigger, more famous events or more chamber).
Of course there are events, which almost by default are appealing to high numbers of candidates, and we almost all want to participate. It’s worth to remember, that experience during smaller tournaments can help in stepping out during recruitment (although it’s not the rule!)
2. Get to know about that earlier
When organized promotion in host city starts, buses are full in posters and local portals inform, that few tickets are still left, it’s usually too late already to apply for volunteering.
You should search for info about recruitment when the look of such posters is not even designed yet;)
It’s not a written rule of course, but from my observations it seems, that recruitment for bigger events in Poland gets usually opened around half a year before the event (football even earlier). For smaller ones, it is one or two months beforehand.
In other European countries recruitment process starts even earlier.
Besides you should look at Olympic Games and Word and European Championships in football and take care of dates even two years before. For the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which will take place in July and August 2020, the application deadline was December 2018.
3. Search for info here:
- As in everything, via grapevine. One friend will read one thing, second will find something else, you can share. Of course firstly you should participate in few events to meet interested in this topic friends. Then such good networking will growJ
- Sport federations social media profiles and their website, as well as profiles and websites of event
Practically every bigger event has own internet site and separated social media profiles. Recruitment should be announced always on the website, sometimes also on social media. It’s worth to follow both, so basically four places.
On social media portals there exists something like posts reach. In short, not every person, who likes any profile, will see all its posts. That’s why, if you care about any event more, check also sometimes their website.
- Profiles and websites of volunteers centers
- Ask google
If you know exactly what you are searching for, and you will precise the question, recruitment form can even show up as first result. It’s worth to search also in the language of the host country
- Local media and sport portals- especially those specializing in particular sport
- Portals, profiles, websites about sport volunteering
- Frankly speaking, there are not so many like this. It was a bit surprising for me for some timeJ
Also, that’s why I decided to write about that on my blog. If you want to get news about this topic, sign up to my newsletter.
How the recruitment is carried out?
You already know, that specific event will take place, where and when and you know that recruitment process has just been started. You apply. Most often by form. It happens, that you have to create whole ‘volunteer account’, where you fill the form and you can check your status.
What do you need to prepare? Photo and passport.
How much time it takes? This varies depending on the questions, but as standard it’s useful to have half an hour free.
What are the questions about?
- Personal details, contact details.
- Foreign languages knowledge.
- Other skills (for example technical).
- Role preference, how much you know about particular sport.
- Size of t-shirt, jumper or trousers.
- Experience in sport volunteering or any other volunteering.
- And descriptive ‘why do you want to take part in volunteering’, ‘what you can contribute’ or ‘what do you expect’. These are my favourite ones, I suspect, that not only mine;)
What happens after sending the application?
It depends on the event. Applications are just reviewed and after some time you get information about acceptance and role.
Sometimes language test to complete online may happen.
Sometimes interview. Or on site or via Skype. Possibly interview together with few people with group activity, some small ‘assessment center’ (although such events with few steps recruitment happen less often).
I took part in such group activity during recruitment to Rio and honestly, until now I wonder why it happened this way;) short and banal exercise, not good internet connection so you could barely hear and the only introduction you could give was your name and country.
But, fortunately, it doesn’t look like this always.
I hope that the above tips make this topic a bit closer to you and help at least slightly. And from the person who asks friends ‘but how at all did you know, that there is such possibility’? you will become the person answering such questions;)
