Thinking of Volunteering?
WADAC offers many volunteering opportunities for people with all types of skills and abilities. If you are able to help us in any of the following ways then the club would love to hear from you:
- Track and Field Officials
- Coaching
- Event day support
- Team manager
- Behind the scenes support
Anyone can volunteer in the club. You don’t have to be an athlete or a parent to get involved and you don’t even have to have an interest in athletics!
WADAC is grateful of anytime you can give to helping at the club, even if you can only give 1 or 2 hours a month! The amount of time needed varies according to the role you choose so please read the information below on the roles available.
Track and field officials
We are very keen to recruit Track and Field Officials. Every athletic meeting, from an open club meeting right up to international level, requires Officials.
No experience is necessary as full support and training will be given to anyone who is interested and courses run throughout the year and are funded by the club.
As well as providing you with an opportunity to gain new skills, officiating also provides a fantastic opportunity to network and socialize with people from other clubs as at every meeting you may be working with someone new. You will also have the opportunity to go to away matches and visit facilities all around the country.
Once qualified as an official it is your choice to decide whether you would like to officiate at club events or whether you would like to qualify further and work your way up the officiating ladder, possibly even to international meetings!
See below for a brief description of all the officials duties. On the officials course you will select which discipline you would like to do and focus on this area (as an official you are not expected to do all the jobs below!)
Starter
As the name suggests, the person who starts the race. Keep an eye out for those false starts!
Marksman
Before the starter can send the athletes on their way the starters assistant organizes the athletes into their appropriate races and lanes. Is everyone wearing a number?
Track Judges
A close race and no photo finish, someone has to decide who finished where. You may also have to keep track of how many laps everyone has done during a long race or judge the relay changeover. Will they get the baton handed over within the box?
Timekeeper
All track athletes want to know how long they took to complete their race – it’s the timekeepers job to record this. Will you time any new records?
Field Judges
Measure long Jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, javelin, discus, shot, hammer, you need to decide which are no jumps or throws. There is lots of variety in this role and within one match you might get to do a few different events but you won’t be expected to do them all at once! Will it be a red or a white flag?
Endurance official
A cross country or road race with hundreds of runners in it needs a lot of organization! Endurance officials can be responsible for a wide variety of things including course management, health and safety, managing the finish line and organizing the runners. A role for those who enjoy being outside…whatever the weather!
Coaching
Becoming a coach can be very rewarding for both coach and athlete. As a coach you will be responsible for motivating and encouraging our athletes to develop themselves.
For further information please visit the coaching section of our website.
Coaching opportunities are available at the following times:
- Tuesday nights at the athletics track
- Tuesday nights at Kings School 6:45-8pm for Sports Hall (September to April)
- Thursday nights at the track 5:30-6:30 for Quad Kids
- Thursday nights at the track 6:30-8pm for main club session
If you’re not sure if coaching is for you, then why not come along to sessions and help in other ways. Coaches always need extra helpers to deliver sessions in terms of someone to help measure throws, raking the long jump pit and timing athletes runs
Event days
The club hosts a number of events throughout the year and we are always looking for people to help.
There is a number of roles available including announcer, runner, manning the results desk and helping with the refreshments tent. Some of the jobs can be done on a rota basis so that you do not miss your son, daughter or relative competing in their event. WADAC also always has the best cakes available on the refreshment tent and are always looking for budding bakers to provide cakes for home matches, so if you would like to show off your Mary Berry bakery skills then please get involved!
Team Managers
As a team manager, you play a crucial role in the success of the team. It’s up to you to pull together the best team possible and to get the most out of them at competition. You’ll be a figure of respect and inspiration to your team and more athletes will join as a result of the club’s success. Remember it’s not always about the athletes winning – sometimes it’s about them doing their best or even improving on their personal best. The best team managers make all competitions fun and exciting and ensure good team morale; this approach leads to long term success by retaining and developing athletes for longer.
Behind the scenes support
There are a number of other roles at the club which operate in the background but are vital to the running of the club.
There are a number of roles which are already filled but the club there is several which are available and will be advertised here soon!
If you would like to discuss any of these roles further then please get in contact as any extra help will be much appreciated please email comcoach@wadac.org.uk or talk to George McCallum, Club chairman or Laura Payne, Community Coach, at a training night.