CURRENT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
| Date | DESCRIPTION | SIGN UP LINK OR CONTACT INFO |
|---|---|---|
| March – May 2024 | Fill fuel cans for launch boats. Parents only. Note: You will be reimbursed for this expense. | Join #launch-fuel-planning on Slack. |
| March – May 2024 | Team dinner volunteering. Offered every Friday before a regatta. Athletes only attend – but parents/guardians needed to make it a success! | Team Dinner Volunteering |
| March – May 2024 | VASRA on-site Regatta Jobs. | VASRA Regatta Tasks |
| Apr – June 2024 | Nominating Committee. The nominating committee will identify parents with interest in serving on the Board in the 2024/24 school year and beyond! | Contact Catherine Backmeyer on Slack or at [email protected] to find out more! |
ATTENTION PARENT VOLUNTEERS:
You must review the USRowing Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPP) before volunteering at any regatta. Upon arrival for your shift, all volunteers will be required to sign an acknowledgement form (located at the sign-in table) indicating that they are aware of this policy and how to report a potential violation. In order to save time on the day of your shift, please review this policy ahead of time so that you can quickly sign the required acknowledgement and head to your post. Please reach out to Lisa Veigel, Volunteer Coordinator, with any questions. Thanks for your help and diligence in protecting our athletes.
UNIQUE VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE
BECOME AN ACTIVITIES BUS DRIVER
Want to help our team AND make some money? FCPS school buses are available for the team’s use (think transportation to practice every day in the spring), IF we are able to find an Activities Bus Driver. To be an FCPS approved Activities Bus Driver, you must pass the Fairfax County Bus Driver Training and then pick Woodson Rowing as your activity of choice. The driver would be paid by FCPS AND the team will offer additional compensation. If you’re already qualified or interested in becoming an Activity Bus Driver, please contact Catherine Backmeyer via Slack for more information.
About Volunteering for Woodson Rowing
One way our families can ensure that this crew season is a success is by volunteering to make the team strong. From the army of volunteers we need to do in-person fundraising events like the craft show and tag days to , we still need strategic support to help with some of the other activities we have planned.
Annual Dues pay for coaches’ salaries, regatta fees, insurance, storage fees, and some maintenance fees. Fundraising for the year (Craft Show, Tag Days, Corporate Sponsors, restaurant sponsored dinner nights and others) allows us to remain competitive by improving our gear (e.g. new shells, oars, and ergs). There are two categories of volunteering, VASRA and Regular Program Volunteering (see below for more info on each of these categories).
If you have questions or would like to volunteer, contact our Volunteer Chair at [email protected]
Volunteering Requirements
The crew team tracks participation by assigning “credits” each time a family or athlete volunteers. The requirements are the same whether you are a returning or new family.
VASRA Volunteering
Woodson Rowing has satisfied the VASRA requirement to fill
2 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) positions for the 2024 season.
BIG THANKS to Matt Hanson and David Kersey for becoming Referee Candidates!
Our parent organization, the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association (VASRA), also depends on volunteer support from all the families in the association to have a successful season. These jobs include things like helping to set up the race course, driving a launch during regattas, working in the concession stand or managing the parking operation during a regatta and more. Usually we are assigned VASRA volunteer requirements in February for the upcoming spring season. Read below for more information on VASRA LOC positions:
LOC Benefits: Filling any of these LOC positions satisfies all Woodson Rowing volunteer
requirements, you are given a parking pass to park for free and are allowed to park in the “B” lot if space is available, and VASRA Management works with you to cover for you so you can go to the Finish Line or Grandstand area via a quick ride in a launch instead of hiking through the woods to watch your athlete’s race. Perhaps best of all, you get to see the regatta up close in a way that is not possible from the Grandstand area.
LOC Positions:
– Dockmaster: Ensure the safe, organized launch and recovery of racing shells during the regatta, and ensure only authorized personnel are on the Launch and Recovery Docks.
– River Rat: Dedicated course workers who are responsible for the installation and
maintenance of the course during the season and the deployment of the platforms for racing. Must be comfortable riding in launches and handling course equipment.
– Referee Candidate: This position has the additional benefit of being able to ride in a launch that follows alongside the rowers during races, which is literally the best seat in the house to enjoy a regatta. Referee Candidates have to attend a minimum of five regattas during the season, which do not all have to be at the Occoquan. No advance study, knowledge, or experience is required to volunteer for this position, and a training clinic will be held in the spring. Must be comfortable riding in launches.
If you are interested in more information on these positions, please contact Woodson
Rowing’s VASRA Representative, Michael Chase, at [email protected].
Regular Program Volunteering
There are dozens of opportunities for athlete families to volunteer! See details about many of the opportunities below, which are listed in *roughly* the order they are needed during the year. Your weekly newsletter (or the chart at the top of this page) will be your guide for when each of these opportunities is ripe for the picking!
Become a Board Member! It’s never too early to start thinking about the next Woodson Crew Boosters Board. Since we lose board members as athletes graduate and as term limits expire, we’ll always have positions to fill. Fulfilling a Board Position is rewarding and will satisfy ALL your family volunteer credits for the season (athletes still need to earn their own credits). Contact the president of the board at [email protected] if you are interested.
Soliciting Sponsorships: Another way we help support the Woodson Rowing team is by soliciting corporate sponsorship from local businesses. As a thank you to these sponsors, we feature their names and logos on our website, newsletter and tag day flyer when possible.
The Woodson Student Activities Office has placed specific restrictions on how businesses may be approached to request support. If you have connections to a local business that could be a good fit for sponsoring the Woodson Rowing team, you must first contact the Woodson Rowing Fundraising Chair to receive guidance prior to making any contact.
If your effort directly leads to a successful new sponsorship that meets or exceeds $500, you will receive credit for one volunteer requirement (per sponsor).
Frost Fair, Cav Kickoff, Back to School Nights: These are all recruiting efforts. President and Membership should plan on attending to inform perspective athletes and their families. Key is to get enthusiastic Captains involved to convince students to explore the program.
Football Concessions: As part of our authority to be a Woodson Club sport, we work one concession stand at night per football season. Two shifts of nine (9) people each; each shift takes approximately 90 minutes. The Woodson High School Booster Representative will coordinate dates and times with the HS Booster Club. One volunteer credit per shift worked.
Swim Test All athletes must pass a swim test one time to be able to participate in the program. The Vice President for Liaison and Team Activities coordinates pool use. Parent Volunteers are needed to attend the swim test, assist the coach with sign-ins and monitor athletes. Usually one to two hours work. One volunteer credit per test worked.
Erg Rental and Return / Erg Shed Workday: The Woodson Rowing program allows athletes to rent Ergs for the summer/fall and then return them prior to Winter Conditioning. Under the guidance of the Equipment POC, several athletes and parents help sign out Ergs to family members (using hand receipts). Task takes approximately two hours. On return day in the fall, volunteers ensure they are not damaged, help to clean ergs and then store them in the Erg Shed at the school. One volunteer credit per day worked.
Boat House Workdays: Three to four scheduled per year. Parents and athletes meet at the boat house and do various tasks in support of the program. These could include putting launch boats in the water or taking them out, putting engines in the shed, sandbagging the boat house, cleaning and organizing the coaches’ closet area, inventorying the Chuck Wagon, setting-up and cleaning tents, or moving shells. The Equipment POC works with the coaches to determine needed tasks and supervises all efforts at Boast House workdays. Usually two to three hours required. One volunteer credit per workday executed.
Tag Days: This major fundraiser for the team requires a coordinator or two as well as hosts for two shifts each tag day. Chaperones and drivers are also required. Learn more about Tag Days.
Craft Show: The Woodson Rowing Team has been a part of the Annual Craft fair for 30 years! The income generated from the craft show each year helps our program stay afloat. Both parents and athletes are needed to make this a success. Volunteer opportunities generally start in September and will go through the actual show, generally set in November. One volunteer credit per shift may be earned through various tasks. More information on the craft show can be found here.
RAFT: The Rower Athlete Food Tent (RAFT) provides our students with a variety of fresh and healthy food options on race days. Families will be assigned food to bring to the pre-regatta dinners. We need two parent volunteers to pick up the food at the dinners the night before AND deliver the food to the boathouse the morning of the regatta (by 6:45am) and help with set up. We also need two parent volunteers per shift to: set-up in the morning, maintain/replenish food and drinks throughout the regatta, and close-down the food tent when the regatta ends.
Pre-Regatta Dinner Hosts and Chaperones: The Woodson Rowing Team enjoys pre-regatta dinners each Friday night during the season. Volunteers are needed to chaperone, to help set up a buffet-style meal for 80-100 athletes, to pick up food, and to clean-up afterward. One volunteer credit is earned by volunteers.
Launch Drivers Training: Invariably because we have extra launches, we tend to get tagged to be Launch drivers for VASRA regattas. The head coach has volunteered to teach drivers. One volunteer credit for taking the training. NOTE: You will likely be a launch driver during VASRA regattas in the spring season satisfying VASRA required volunteering.
Away Regatta Volunteers: Primarily for the two major away regattas (Stotesbury and Nationals), there are a host of duties required for successful completion. The Vice President for Team Liaison and Activities is the POC for these events. Away regatta jobs include:
- Luggage Assistants: Check luggage for contraband and manage medicine the night before the travel to the event. Store luggage in the Woodson Director of Student Activities (DSA) closet. Load baggage on buses.
- Bus Chaperones: Travel with athletes to away events providing adult leadership/ guidance. Load/ Unload buses/ accountability. Ensure accountability during travel – particularly after rest stops.
- Boat Parents: Supervise a boat while at the regatta. Ensure attendance at meals, bed check, and wake ups.
- Food Coordinator and Assistants, Virginia: After menu selected, gather food from family volunteers and store it (coolers). Be available and assist in loading food in Chuck Wagon
- Food Coordinator and Assistants, Away Sites: Set up food tables and grill. As required cook and serve food. Clean and dismantle cooking material for transportation back to home site.
- Hotel Meal Chaperones: As required go to restaurant and obtain food for meals and deliver back to hotel. Be in the dining room during meals monitoring crew behavior.
- Site Setup: Under supervision of Equipment POC, unload and set up tents, cooking grills, and as needed straw and ensure water available to athletes at entrance site.
- Hotel Check In, Check Out: Arrive early enough to gather keys at hotel to expedite assigning rooms to the team. At end of stay inspect rooms to ensure there is no damage.
Annual Award Dinner: We highly encourage attendance at the spring award banquet where our athletes are recognized in front of the school. We also run an awards banquet. It typically includes a dinner, award of letters and specific awards to the athletes, and selection of leaders for the following year. The board secretary is in charge of the annual awards dinner and will provide more detail as the event approaches.