Champion volunteers

This article appears in the July 2009 edition of Sportshorts.

Profiling the efforts of sporting volunteers in NSW

Steve McMillan

• Age: 49
• Years volunteering to sport: 34

Current club/association(s):

• President, Armidale Sports Council

Previous role(s):

• Publicity Officer, Armidale Old Boys Rugby
• CEO and Publicity Officer, New England Rugby Union
• Committee member for Centrals Cricket, Armidale
• Junior cricket coach and recorder

 

Why do you volunteer?
I started off wanting to give something back, and liked the fact I could contribute, to the clubs I have been involved with.

I’m also passionate about my community. I was also determined to get the message out about the many great local sports stars we have in Armidale. My current work with Armidale Sports Council is focussed on ensuring that if people want to play their chosen sport in Armidale, there is a facility to do that. We work closely with Council to make sure we have fantastic facilities in our community.

How many hours a week do you dedicate?
Somewhere between 8 and 16 hours.

What’s the key to getting people to volunteer for sport?
The best way I’ve found is to simply ask. Ask a person to volunteer if you know that person would benefit your club or organisation. Many people probably would help out, but never get asked.

We also need to better understand motivations and that people volunteer for a number of reasons - their children play the sport, they play the sport, or they just want to be involved, love sport and want to contribute. For me I enjoy being a part of something worthwhile. Maybe a bigger picture solution to the volunteer problem is to have some small component of compulsory sport club volunteering built into sports-oriented University degrees, or even the year 11 and 12 curriculum.

What are some of the barriers to volunteering?
It is no secret that there has been an erosion of volunteers and I think this is due to many reasons. Years ago, people volunteered to the committee etc. after they finished up playing a sport. The popularity of Masters Sport has grown – it’s certainly well followed in Armidale – and these days, people prefer to continue playing sport, rather than take-on a committee or another job.

There are also lots of rules and regulations sporting clubs need to meet, as well as many more committee positions to fill. When some people read the ‘fine print’ in these positions, they just walk away saying “I will not do that, too much responsibility”. People also need to work more these days and shops are open all weekend – changes in our community which impact volunteering. I guess that’s the point, society has changed and the way clubs obtain volunteers will need to change too.

What’s been your most rewarding moment?
The achievements of the Armidale Sports Council in the past two and a half years have been terrific. We have done some very good things, with the support of the sporting clubs, the sports council executive, Armidale Dumaresq Council and our newly appointed sports coordinator Jasmine Galletly.

Another highlight for me was receiving the 2000 Australian medal for services to sport when involved with rugby. In cricket, it’s been rewarding watching all the players I coached go onto bigger and better things.

What would you spend your time on if you didn’t volunteer?
It would be boring! I cannot see myself not being involved in sport in some way. Sport has been a part of my life for 43 years, either playing or coaching or volunteering for different clubs. I cannot imagine life without it.

We want to hear from you!

Do you know a champion volunteer? We’re looking for champion volunteers to profile in upcoming issues of Sportshorts.

Volunteers can be ‘champions’ for all sorts of reasons – e.g. innovations and great ideas, hours dedicated, helping to grow your sport and making sport special for others. We want to hear about a range of volunteers.

Email your nomination and briefly (100 words) tell us why they’re a ‘champion volunteer’. Email Shannon Dixon.