The majority of sports would not be able to continue if people did not give up their time on a regular basis. Triathlon is no different, and it is important for you to recognise the ways in which the volunteers at your club, within your region and at the races you participate in, help out.

Why should you recognise your volunteers?

In comparison to the effort volunteers put into helping our sport, recognising their work takes hardly any time at all. It doesn’t have to cost anything and will make them feel good about what they are doing for the club/race/region.

How should you recognise your volunteers?

How you recognise your volunteers is completely up to you and will depend on how frequently you want to show your appreciation, the funds you have and the time available.

• A face to face ‘Thank-you’ is often more effective than people think. It lets the volunteer know that what they are doing has been noticed.
• Make a phone call or send a text to your volunteers- perhaps after an event, or a club training day to thank them for their hard work.
• Send stories, pictures, or case study material about your volunteers to British Triathlon, which can then be used to give examples of good practice or simply to recognise the efforts of our referees. E-mail Ali Sibcy with any potential articles.
• Create a ‘uniform’ for your volunteers- perhaps create a T-shirt, sweatshirt or hat that all your volunteers can wear to feel part of a team.
• Organise a mid-season social, making it clear it’s to say thank-you to all the volunteers. ‘Thank-you’ always gets said around Christmas time, but it doesn’t only have to happen then!
• Annual Awards- Many clubs within Triathlon already host annual awards dinners, and present awards to volunteers within the club. If you don’t do this, this is certainly something to think about. Not only is it a great chance for all the club members to get together, it is also a good way to make sure that people’s efforts are recognised more officially.