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Yachting, like a lot of sports, couldn’t operate without volunteers
Volunteers played a huge part in the success of the 2016 Aon Youth Sailing World Championships. Photo: Sailing Energy / World Sailing.
Whether it’s a coach or race official, parent helper or committee member, they all play a part to make the sport what it is. And they often do it with little thanks. This week is an opportunity to recognise them, given it's National Volunteer Week.
Volunteers played a huge role in a couple of major regattas held in New Zealand over the past six months – the 2016 Aon Youth Sailing World Championships and the World Masters Games, both at Torbay.
About 300 volunteers, some from outside Auckland, were on hand for last December’s Youth Sailing World Championships to make sure the regatta ran smoothly and the 379 sailors and 109 coaches had everything they needed to perform at their best.
The total number of on-the-water volunteer hours alone amounted to 5976, when calculating the input of race officials, mark layers and safety boats as well as boat drivers.
Team managers were glowing of their praise of volunteers, with one saying the “volunteers were the pinnacle of the success”.
It played a part in seeing the 2016 Aon Youth Sailing World Championships taking out the event excellence category at the recent New Zealand Sport and Recreation Awards.
“Our sport wouldn’t survive without them, and not just our sport,” Yachting New Zealand chief executive David Abercrombie said. “Every sport in New Zealand, especially at grassroots level and at events, relies on the generosity of volunteers to help.
“They are a critical part and it’s hugely appreciated by Yachting New Zealand as a governing body.”
Impressively, about 100 of the approximately 150 volunteers who helped out at the sailing during April’s World Masters Games had been involved in the youth world championships.
The most common form of volunteering is coach or instructor (12.6 percent), followed by parent helper (11.4 percent), officiating roles (7.3 percent) and administration roles (6.2 percent).
- Volunteers are needed to help run the village during the visit of the Volvo Ocean Race to Auckland from February 24-March 18, 2018. For more information, see here.
