[La traduction en français est en bas!]
If we've set this up right, your volunteer time at Chelsea Nordiq should be fun, familiar, and a great opportunity to learn something new!
Volunteer Policy
Sounds scary but it's not. We require members to pitch in time to help with important club needs. No skiing experience necessary!
Like so many clubs, Chelsea Nordiq has defined volunteering commitments for club members. We recognize that many people already volunteer significant hours (thank you!). In addition, we are looking to increase involvement across all members and all aspects of the club. We see a great future with a big, happy volunteer force and a club that is known as the best supported with the most amount of fun together. In the next section you can find places where you may want to contribute.
How do we track hours? We use ivolunteer for most events and it tallies hours. But the best tracker is you! You will know if you have pitched in enough and when you still have room to do more. Each and every hour is so appreciated by each and every one of us. Everyone wins when we all show up! Questions or want to discuss this? Please contact our President [at] chelseanordiq.ca
Volunteering commitment
Racing Programs: (U10 Pee Wees, U12 Midget, U14 Juvenile, U16+ Junior, Biathlon Racing)
• Minimum 16 hour commitment per athlete membership standard across racing programs (biathlon+nordic); no opt out
• Parents: In recognition of the high amount of need for volunteers to sustain the amount of race action or range maintenance and to recognize the club’s contribution to racing, parents must volunteer at events lead by their respective programs (as well as being encouraged to volunteer for other events): Peewees and Midgets program are volunteer leads for the Super Sprints, Nordic Race and Midgets programs are volunteer leads for Eastern’s or Nationals whichever is in our region. Biathlon and Nordic Race are volunteer leads for Chelsea Biathlon Race. U8 Atoms and Adventure Rabbits are volunteer leads for the Cookbeiner
• Ski Swap volunteering is a club wide event and all members are called to action
• Athletes (12 and older) must volunteer twice per season into other programs plus help with events
Adventure, Mountain Biking, Biathlon Bears:
• Minimum 10 hour commitment per athlete membership standard across adventure programs; no opt out
• Plus parents must volunteer at one club event (specifically, Adventure Rabbits and Atoms are volunteer leads for the Cookbeiner)
• Ski Swap volunteering is a club wide event and all members are called to action
• Athletes (12 and older) must volunteer twice per season into other programs plus help with events
Jackrabbit/Bunny/U8 Atoms/Mini-Adventure
• A parent assists with one session per season (1-2 hour commitment) standard across jack/bunnyrabbits or assists with the Jackrabbit Jamboree
To read more about our club volunteering, please download the full description of each program's commitments. [Download Volunteer Commitments in progress]
What to do and Where to sign up?
Volunteering is both club-wide at our fundraising and club events and it's ad hoc during your program's year.
We have tried to capture all areas that typically need your help. The list is below with something for those who like club-wide events, those wanting to be outside doing stuff, those who like strategic direction, or those who want to work in the background on their own schedule. But sometimes your program will need specific help as well. Please get out and meet all the other great volunteers. Everyone has a different side to them that you will discover when you work alongside one another!
Program Coordinators & Coaching - Program coordinators work together with our head coach to help with communication and planning for programs as a whole. In addition, there is always need for parent volunteer coaches in our Jackrabbit, Adventure, and Racing programs. There are Coaching certification courses offered. Coaches and parent leaders are the backbone of our club and your involvement in any capacity is always needed and most appreciated.
Events - We have 5 big club-wide events that run every year. They are described here and this is where we have how-to guides on what volunteering for these events entails. To sign-up to help, go to our club's iVolunteer website. For Easterns or Nationals, you will receive emails with directions on how to sign up. Usually it's at Easterns iVolunteer site.
Committees - Please speak with our Executive Director/Head Coach Moe Samm or email headcoach [at] chelseanordiq.ca . We usually have the following running in the background and you can follow this link for more detail:
- Program
- Trails and Facilities
- Grants and Sponsorship
- Finance
Individual roles - There are a number of tasks that are a constant at the club. Please speak with our Executive Director/Head Coach Moe Samm or email headcoach [at] chelseanordiq.ca if you are interested in any of the following:
- Registrar
- Webmaster
- iVolunteer editor
- Volunteering
- Coach development coordinator
- General Communications roles (choose from doing posters, writing Low Down articles, writing the monthly newsletter)
- French/English translation
- Liaison with other clubs and organizations such as NCC and municipality
- add more here....
How did you come up with these categories and commitments?
We consulted with members throughout the 2017-2018 season. We ran a survey in spring 2018 and 2019. In April 2018 and 2019, we met with the program committee and we met separately with Jackrabbit families. We discussed volunteering commitments at the May 2018 AGM. And all together this gave the Board of Directors the guidance and direction to create and implement this volunteer policy.
What does the big picture look like?
Sometimes it helps to get a bigger view of all the things that are happening in our club. We have captured a typical 'year in the life of Chelsea Nordiq' [click here].
New ideas or better ways of doing things
Please let us know how things can be improved when it comes to volunteering. We want to hear from you. Best way to do it is via email to our Executive Director/Head Coach at headcoach [at] chelseanordiq.ca
Thank-you!
Thank-you for being a part of this. Thank-you for all your time and energy. Thank-you for helping in all the ways you can. We genuinely appreciate everything you do and all your precious time you donate. We are also exploring ways we can get better at saying thank-you. Stay tuned...
En Français
Chelsea Nordiq veut définir davantage l’implication bénévole de ses membres. Nous avons plusieurs personnes qui se sont impliquées de manière significative dans le passé (merci!) et nous aimerions augmenter cette implication avec tous nos membres dans toutes les sphères de notre club. Un bénévolat fort et un club bien soutenu par des gens qui ont du plaisir ensemble ne peut qu’être porteur d’avenir.
Vous pouvez vous référer à volunteer opportunities pour trouver des occasions de vous impliquer comme bénévole. Afin de comptabiliser les heures de bénévolat, nous utilisons ivolunteer pour la plupart de nos événements. Mais la meilleure personne pour gérer votre implication est vous! En effet, vous êtes, la personne la mieux placée pour savoir si vous avez donné suffisamment de temps ou encore, s’il vous reste encore un peu de temps en réserve. Chaque heure de bénévolat est des plus appréciée par chacun et chacune d’entre nous. L’idéal est quand tout le monde met la main à la pâte! Vous avez des questions ou vous voulez en discuter? Contacter notre président à l’adresse électronique suivante : President [at] chelseanordiq.ca
Programmes pistes et compétitifs (pee wee, midget, juvénile, junior, biathlon)
Un minimum de 16 heures d’implication par athlète membre régulier pour tous les programmes pistes et compétitifs (biathlon et nordique)
Parents: Considérant le nombre important de bénévoles requis pour soutenir les compétitions, l’entretien du champ de tir et afin de mettre de l’avant la contribution de notre club au ski de fond compétitif, les parents doivent s’impliquer comme bénévole aux événements dont leur programme respectif est responsable (le bénévolat aux autres événements est également encouragé). Les programmes pistes peewee et midget sont conjointement responsables du Chelsea Super Sprint. Les programmes course nordique et piste midget sont conjointement responsables des championnats de l’Est ou nationaux qui se donne dans notre région. Les programmes de biathlon et de course nordique sont conjointement responsables de la course de biathlon de Chelsea. Les programmes piste atomes et lapins aventuriers sont conjointement responsables de la Cookie Beiner.
L’échange de ski annuel (Ski Swap) est un événement important du club et tous les membres sont appelés à s’impliquer.
Les athlètes (12 et plus) doivent faire du bénévolat au moins deux fois par saison dans d’autres programmes en plus d’aider avec les événements réguliers.
Programmes aventuriers, vélo de montagne et ours biathlon
Un minimum de 10 heures d’implication par athlète membre régulier au sein des différents programmes aventuriers.
Les parents doivent faire du bénévolat durant au moins un événement du club (en particulier, le programme lapins aventuriers est conjointement responsable avec le programme piste atome de la Cookie Beiner).
L’échange de ski annuel (Ski Swap) est un événement important du club et tous les membres sont appelés à s’impliquer.
Les athlètes (12 et plus) doivent faire du bénévolat au moins deux fois par saison dans d’autres programmes en plus d’aider lors des événements réguliers.
Jackrabbit/Jeannot lapin/Atome/Mini-aventuriers
Un parent est présent au minimum un cours par saison (1-2 heures d’implication) pour les jackrabbits/jeanots lapins ou est présent lors du Jamboree des Jackrabbits.
