Volunteering
The Okanagan Athletics Club, as with any other non-profit society, is only as strong as its members make it. We depend entirely on the involvement of our parents and athletes and ask each family to volunteer a minimum of 20 hours within the season to help.
There are plentiful Volunteer opportunities throughout the season, the biggest and most important one being our Jack Brow Memorial Meet on June 30-July 2, 2023 our biggest event and our largest single source of annual revenue.
An up-to-date list of volunteer opportunities is available at the track during practices. Our Volunteer Co-ordinator (Karen Hatch) will be happy to discuss any upcoming opportunity and/or register you to volunteer.
There are many other opportunities to volunteer with the Club too, including:
- Helping at our Twilight Meets
- Pre-planning & organizing meets & events
- Parent helpers at practices
- Equipment Clean-up & Inventory
- Board Members
In addition, the OAC is fortunate to have many dedicated parents and volunteers who, through their personal interests or employment, have certain skills or connections that can help support the needs of the Club. This has typically taken many forms such as computer/web skills, food services, materials and equipment supply and even discount accommodations. These have all been a huge benefit to the Club and have helped reduced the time demands and costs the club incurs.
If you wish to volunteer in any capacity, want more information or have a skill or connection that the Club could benefit from, please feel free to contact our Volunteer Coordinator.
More details and timing for Volunteer Opportunities will be outlined in future emails and Newsletters.
Officiating
Officials are an important part of the sport of track and field, playing a pivotal role in leading the progression of events at a meet while maintaining the rules of play for all athletes. As a parent or athlete, becoming an official is an excellent way to gain a deeper understanding of the sport.
Officials are a completely volunteer group, responsible for judging the four main areas of a meet; field judges, track judges, timekeepers and starters. Officials receive specialized training and certification, achieving increasing levels of knowledge and responsibility from levels 1-3 at the provincial level to levels 4-5 at the national level.
The Club, in conjunction with BC Athletics, regularly hosts training courses for those interested in becoming officials. The Level 1 official’s clinic is suitable for anyone with a desire to be more involved and no specific knowledge of track and field is required. The course is only two hours long, costs nothing, and provides a person a basic understanding of the sport and officiating. Upon completion of the clinic, and 24 hours of officiating at differing meets, an individual is eligible for designation as a Level 1 Official.
Through the period that most kids participate in Athletics, parents will likely have volunteered at countless meets and all of this time would be eligible for credit towards officiating status. Why not take the minor extra step and attend one of the Level 1 officiating clinics to put that volunteering time towards accreditation as an official? It helps the club by increasing the internal knowledgebase and adds credibility and capability in hosting our own meets.
Also, officiating is not limited to adults. The BC Athletics U18 program allows members as young as 13 to become officials. Plus, BC High School students can use their Officiating time towards School volunteering credits required for graduation.
If you’re interested in getting more info about becoming an official, please contact the Club’s Officials Coordinator.