Volunteering

Coaching

As an England Athletics affiliated club we provide qualified coaching for all ages and abilities at our official training sessions. Coaching can be a hugely rewarding pastime, seeing the improvement in athletes week on week, year on year. 

Our goal is for people, whatever their age, to attend our training sessions and feel inspired and motivated. We’d love more people to get involved to help us mix it up a little. Opportunities exist to coach or assist the coaching team for both junior and senior sessions.

Our coaching qualifications are managed by England Athletics, where the qualifications themselves are split into track and field, and off road (road running and endurance). 

If you are interested in coaching then please speak to the coaching and development coordinator. In order to become a qualified coach you will need to attend a course (paid for by the club).

Officiating

A particular requirement for our track and field matches is the use of qualified officials. This is a hugely rewarding activity and an opportunity to be right at the heart of the action in an exciting sport. 

Track and Field athletics is not possible without the following qualified officials:

• Starters: Start the races! Usually assisted by a starter’s assistant that ensures the athletes are set up in the correct lanes and are in the right positions.
• Track Judges: Record the position athletes come in races, count the laps in distance events, monitor hurdle events, and generally enforce the rules of athletics to track races.
• Field Judges: Record attempts by competitors, watch for infringements in throwing and jumping disciplines, and generally enforce the rules of athletics to field events.
• Timekeepers: time races! Easier said than done. Requires a steady hand and a steely focus on the starter.

In addition to qualified officials, we also need helpers to rake a sandpit, move some hurdles, retrieve a javelin, replace a high jump bar, etc. They are not big or daunting tasks but they need to be done.

If you are interested in helping out in this area then speak to the Track and Field rep. To become an official, you will need to attend a course (paid for by the club). Helpers just need to turn up!

Event management

We host running events, track and field matches, social occasions and more. None of these would happen without a dedicated team.  

• Road running (Mad Hare 15, Hancock 5m, Wissey Half)
• Track and Field (Typically host 2/3 matches in spring/summer months)
• Cross Country (Grand Prix Series once a month, October to March)
• Sportshall (Typically host 1 match over the winter months)

Duties range from handing out drinks at drinks stations, to registration and results, to selling refreshments, to event management.

Please remember we are a not-for-profit organisation and we struggle to compete with commercial outfits that offer significant benefits to volunteers in this space. We hope that the act of kindness to others of volunteering and meeting/socialising with like-minded people is all the motivation you may need.

Team management

Team events are a key part of club activities across all disciplines; Track and Field, Road Running, Cross Country and Sportshall athletics. Team Managers are pivotal to the success of these teams; organising logistics, team entry, team administration, kit, etc.

Examples of the events that require team management:

• Round Norfolk Relay – 17 runners per team plus support cyclists, timekeepers and associated logistics for a 20+ hour continuous through the night event
• Track and Field/Sportshall teams – League matches where only a certain number of athletes score in each event

Club committee

As an affiliated organisation we have a responsibility to manage the club according to the expectations of the body we are affiliated to (England Athletics). In addition, general day-to-day club management requires a number of official roles. To do this we have a club committee that act as a steering group for club activities. 

The current roles on the committee are:

• Chair
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Membership
• Road Running
• Cross Country
• Track and Field
• Welfare
• Coaching and Development
• Social

To ensure fresh eyes and revived motivation we are always keen for new members to get involved in the management of the club. All that is required is a passion and enthusiasm for the club and its core values. Any previous experience is an added bonus. If you are interested but ‘not quite sure’ then maybe offer to shadow an existing committee member in their role, to ask what it really entails to see if you might be able to do it.

PR and promotion

We aim to have news reporting, an active website and social media presence. This is only achievable with some tech savvy, articulate and motivated people to be involved. If you have experience in this or think we could do better in a particular area, please offer a hand.