Race Volunteering Policy

Guidance on Race Volunteering as a Good Deed

Matt Garnett
Matt Garnett GoodGym Bristol runner

January 15, 2018

Have your own GoodGym story to share with the community? Email getinvolved@goodgym.org and we'll be in touch.

Outline:

As highlighted in the GoodGym Race Team 2017/18 Plan; we would like to propose some guidelines for having Race Volunteering as a Good Deed. This will promote GoodGym to a wider audience and enable GoodGym to give something back to the running community. This is aimed to supplement the work GoodGym does supporting isolated older persons and community groups, not replace it.

GoodGym Race volunteering is defined as when a GoodGym group offers to marshal or assist in setting up, facilitating, or pacing at an organised race.

Policy

  • Race volunteering as a GoodGym group should be posted as a group run,
  • There must explicitly be an element of 'Get Fit', as well as 'Do Good' on the event,
  • If there is no 'get fit' - it's just volunteering; so, it should be posted as a Party.

  • The ‘Get Fit’ element should be comparable to a normal group run.

  • Race volunteering should not be seen to negatively impact on attendance at missions and group runs.

  • GoodGym should be prominently acknowledged to be volunteering, (with branding, flags & T-shirts) not just a group of individuals.

  • It will be up to the trainer or taskforce member to ensure the race is suitable and that GoodGym will be adequately represented - in accordance with scrutiny of group runs at present.

Implementation

  • These should be in addition to a normal weekday group run
  • They should be led by a trainer, run leader or taskforce member.
  • GoodGym is highly unlikely to pay an invoice relating to organising a race volunteer session

Examples

  1. parkrun takeover preceded by a 5K lap of the course - Yes
  2. Manning a feed station as a group - No - (no 'Get Fit' element - post as a party)
  3. Manning a water station with 20 minute fitness session before the runners arrive - Yes
  4. An individual parkrun volunteering - No as per parkrun policy you should volunteer four times per year if you regularly parkrun - you are of course awesome for volunteering though!

Questions

email: Raceteam@goodgym.org or ask GoodGym Central team.

Have your own GoodGym story to share with the community? Email getinvolved@goodgym.org and we'll be in touch.
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