VOLUNTEER TODAY AT PRLAC
PRLAC is a volunteer-run community sporting organisation. No one from our centre is paid.
Every week, we require a large team of parents and volunteers to help ensure we can deliver a quality and efficient Little Athletics program for our athletes.
This is why we need your help. We don’t expect you to have an athletics background or experience, all we ask is that you are willing to help and give things a go!
Without enough volunteers, our program can be delayed, or even cancelled. We need your support so our athletes can enjoy their Little Athletics experience each week. Many hands make light work!
IMPORTANT: It is the expectation and a condition of membership that all families (irrespective of how many athletes from your family compete) must complete a volunteer duty on a minimum of six weeks of centre competition. Failure to do so will unfortunately mean your child is ineligible to compete in our Centre Championships and receive trophies at our End of Season Presentation.
In addition to the six weeks of centre competition, all age groups will also be rostered on throughout the season to assist with Set Up on a rotation basis. Set Up commences from 7am and involves setting up the field events, marquees and timing gates – the program does not set up by itself!
PRLAC uses an online portal, SignUpGenius where families can select roles for their parent duties. The portal is available for the entire season.
There are a range of different roles that require different levels of commitment however we do understand that it may be difficult for some families to volunteer due to extenuating circumstances. If you are one of these families or have any questions, please communicate this with us and start a conversation. You can contact us at prestonreservoir@lavic.com.au or reach out to our Volunteers Coordinator.
We don’t expect any person to be an expert or to have any previous experience. However, it is expected that parents will help out when required, so that the many tasks to be done on the day are done by many, not just a few
If you have signed up for a duty through our SignUpGenius:
- Please sign in with our Volunteers Coordinator at the finish line and collect your volunteers vest (and any additional resources such as folders, lanyards, walkie talkies)
- Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the commencement of competition as we hold a volunteers briefing which is an important meeting for all our volunteers and officials before the start of each week’s competition.
We will provide assistance and training to all officials and parents who are willing to help the athletes complete their events. So please join in the Centre’s activities with your children by offering to help each week. Helping at an event is a great introduction to official duties and puts you right in the middle of the action.
WHAT CAN I HELP WITH?
There are many ways to get involved each week – the best part of all is it gets you closer to the action! Most of our roles require no previous athletics experience – just some enthusiasm to give things a go!
| EVENT OFFICIAL | This is a very rewarding role which involves being responsible for the running and coordination of field events. You will be allocated to a specific field event (such as Long Jump, Discus, Javelin etc) and ensure that the event runs smoothly according to the competition rules with assistance from age group helpers. Without this role, field events will be unable to proceed. If you are interested in an event, this is perfect for you. Support and training is available to help you feel more comfortable and to grow your confidence. |
| AGE GROUP HELPERS | One of the easiest ways to get started which involves following the age group around to each field event. You may be required to: * Measure * Raking sand pits * Retrieving a Shot Put, Javelin or Discus * Recording performances on our results sheet * Helping organise athletes waiting for their turn * Assisting the event official. |
| MASHARALLING | If you have little ones that you are looking after during Little Aths, this is perfect for you as it is only required when events are ‘called’ over the PA. This involves walking out athletes from the Call Room to the events throughout the program and involves working as a team with other marshallers (2-3 required). |
| TRACK ROLES | There are some fantastic roles helping with our track program including: * Starting races (with our electronic starting device – training provided). * Helping enter results at the finish line (no athletics knowledge required) * Finish Line assisting (helping organise athletes post race to be scanned at the finish line and placing numbers on the track – no athletics knowledge required) |
| FIRST AID | This involves being able to attend to any person injured at our centre. Parents assisting with this duty must hold a valid First Aid Certificate which is to be forwarded to prestonreservoir@lavic.com.au for our records. If you have little ones that you are looking after, this is a great one for you as it is only required should an athlete injure themselves – we will call over the PA should we need our First Aid to attend to an event/athlete. |
| CANTEEN & BBQ | Our Canteen and BBQ are important parts of our Centre and our main fundraising initiative! We are always looking for more hands in the kitchen! Roles may include: * Serving customers * Selling food and uniform items * Making and serving coffees with the coffee machine * Cooking on the BBQ * General canteen assistance No athletics knowledge is required! |
OFFICIATING RESOURCES
Little Athletics Victoria has provided some great online resources aimed to support parents and volunteers in assisting running events at weekly centre competitions. Resources include videos, event cards and downloadable documents which are a great start to gain an initial understanding of the basic rules of events and roles.
