VARYING APPROACHES TO VOLUNTEERS
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Races proceed cautiously with return of community support. By Leah Etling
Events are taking a variety of approaches to volunteer assistance for the 2021 racing year. Some will dial back or forgo volunteer involvement to avoid health risks, while others have developed unique approaches for the uncharted territory of 2021. With most events operating at a reduced participant capacity and seeking to limit person-to-person contact wherever possible, there are dual challenges in retaining volunteers – many are often local retirees – and keeping them safe and healthy during a mass participation event. “It’s going to be important (for our industry) to reach out to our workforce to better understand what their concerns are as we continue to develop our mitigation and production plans for our events. We want to work with them to gain people’s confidence that we will have the proper resources and plans to create a safe and secure event for our constituents,” said Michael Nishi, Chief Operating Officer of Chicago Event Management (CEM). Nishi expects that CEM
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will have no issue filling volunteer spots this year, but final numbers and plans for the October Chicago Marathon are not yet complete. “We know that this year will be a challenge when it comes to recruiting volunteers, and we need to be creative when it comes to identifying different groups. We will need to rely on volunteers, we just need to find new resources, such as non-profits, sports clubs, community groups, and others to fill the ranks,” Nishi said. Events are taking a variety of approaches to volunteer assistance for the 2021 racing year. Some will dial back or forgo volunteer involvement to avoid health risks, while others have developed unique approaches for the uncharted territory of 2021. With most events operating at a reduced participant capacity and seeking to limit person-to-person contact wherever possible, there are dual challenges in retaining volunteers – many are often local retirees – and keeping them safe and healthy during a mass participation event.
