Volunteers
If you are from Osoyoos and love the game of curling and want to get up close and personal with some of the finest female curlers on the planet, you might want to consider becoming a volunteer for the 2018 Scottie’s Tournament of Hearts.
The search is on for volunteers for the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, which is set to take over the South Okanagan Events Centre (SOEC) in Penticton from Jan. 27 to Feb. 4 next winter.
“We’re looking at around the 400 mark … for the number of volunteers we need to run a huge event like the Scottie’s Tournament of Hearts,” said Gord McNabb, the general manager of events operations with Curling Canada, the national organization in charge of major curling events in this country.
The women’s national championship curling tournament is one of the most popular sporting events in the country, so it has never been a problem recruiting volunteers and McNabb doesn’t anticipate there will be any problem filling volunteer positions for the 2018 Scottie’s.
“We have a large number of volunteers who follow us every year from city to city because they want to be part of this event,” said McNabb. “They not only enjoy being volunteers, but they get to meet different people from different cities all over Canada.
“We’re already recruiting volunteers for the 2018 Scottie’s and we’re very confident we will have another wonderful group who make sure everything runs very smoothly.”
Volunteers are needed for a wide variety of duties before and during the bonspiel, said McNabb.
One key volunteer position is working as part of a team that will attend promotional events in Penticton and across the South Okanagan, he said.
“We will need a team to work with Curling Canada to get out in the community and promote the fact this world-class curling event is coming to Penticton and the Okanagan Valley,” he said. “Properly promoting and marketing the event is a big reason why the Scottie’s continues to be a huge success year after year.”
Some of the volunteer positions that will need to be filled include transportation, timers, statistics, organizing the opening and closing ceremonies and dozens who will fill a variety of positions in the Heart Stop Lounge, which will be packed with fans and competitors throughout the week-long competition, said McNabb.
Neil Houston, Curling Canada’s events manager, will be visiting Penticton on a regular basis over the coming month to make sure the volunteer recruitment drive is going smoothly and that the local organizing committee is doing everything needed to ensure the 2018 Scottie’s Tournament of Hearts is a huge success, said McNabb.
About three weeks before competition begins, Houston will make the move to Penticton and work daily with the local organizing committee to ensure the final touches are in place so the tournament runs perfectly once the curlers from across Canada start arriving, he said
Besides getting to watch world-class curling and the crowning of a new Canadian championship team, there are other benefits to becoming a volunteer, said McNabb, including:
- Receiving official volunteer clothing.
- Access to the Heart Stop Lounge with live entertainment
- Limited edition volunteer pin (not available to the general public)
- Volunteer handbook
- Invitation to the volunteer appreciation party
- Access to the venue when not on shift. Seats are available based on capacity, reserved seating is not provided. For those volunteers who want reserved seats, it is suggested that they purchase tickets.
In order to become a volunteer, you must be 19 years of age or older as of Jan. 27, 2018 and dependent on response from volunteers, all applications may not be required/accepted.
Every effort will be made to assign volunteers to their area of choice, said McNabb.
By applying to become a Volunteer for the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, volunteers must agree with:
- Contributing a minimum contribution of 30 hours volunteer service will be required for the event (flexibility can be arranged if necessary).
- Volunteers are required to wear official event uniform at a cost of $100. This fee also contributes to the volunteer reward package detailed under “Benefits of Volunteering” listed above. This fee will be collected when you register online. At the same time you will choose your uniform size and submit a photograph for your accreditation.
- Authorization to perform a background check for those volunteers working in the banking area and those working with Junior Stars.
- Authorization for photographs to be taken and used by Curling Canada.
- Photo identification is required for accreditation.
- We will use email to communicate with volunteers. Please provide your email address when applying through this volunteer system. Adjust your privacy settings on your email account to allow the receipt of emails from us.
Anyone wishing to volunteer should go online and visit www.curling.ca/Scotties.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
