One phenomena which has really taken major hockey events by storm in the past few years has been the rise of the volunteer. It was at the London 2012 Olympics when we first saw the status of volunteers change from a dedicated, but largely anonymous workforce, to a body of people who are now at the heart of any successful major sports event.
But volunteering in its many guises has been around since sports clubs began and, when the Queen's New Year honours list in Great Britain was revealed at the start of this year, one recipient epitomised the spirit of volunteering that is so much at the core of hockey across the globe.
Jim Barrow is the president of Wilmslow Hockey Club in England, and, for most of his 83-year life, he has been volunteering his services in different roles within the sport, from founding the Parish Youth Fellowship mixed team in 1947 to spearheading the funding and building of an astroturf pitch at the current site of Wilmslow Hockey Club just over a decade ago. In his time, Jim has been a team captain, treasurer, chairperson and president of the club he has been part of for nearly 70 years.
For his 60 years of voluntary work at both the club and as a county and regional umpire, Jim was awarded the British Empire medal and will be travelling to Buckingham Palace to receive the honour from Queen Elizabeth.
Talking about his years as a volunteer, Jim says: “I have just thoroughly enjoyed my association with the game in all its variations. When I am presenting prizes at junior tournaments, I always start by congratulating the players on choosing hockey. Speaking from experience, I tell them they will meet some very nice people and make friendships that will endure a lifetime, something that still happens to me today.”
Volunteers such as Jim are one of the cornerstones of a successful event. This was perhaps best demonstrated at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, when the event itself was almost upstaged by the humour, dedication and sheer energy of the thousands of volunteers who willingly gave their time. Venue manager for the press centre at the Olympic Hockey Pitch at the time was FIH’s Richard Stainthorpe. He had this to say about the value of volunteers who assist at FIH events.
“Quite simply, our events wouldn't be possible without the tireless work of volunteers who sacrifice their precious time, all for the love of the game. They are always enthusiastic and their importance in the running of our events cannot be overstated.”
And Hayley Roach, who worked with hockey volunteers in 2014 at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, added: “As a recruiter of volunteers in Glasgow, the challenge was tougher as we required less volunteers than we did in London, but we had so many people who wanted to get involved. Glasgow benefited from the massive success of London.”
“Volunteer qualities included dedication and commitment - both financial and personal. Volunteers for both events were selected from all over the world. They have a massive role to play in delivering big events. Its not only about volunteering for their role at the event, but its about learning and development, training, meeting people from different backgrounds, skills development both personal and professional.”
In The Hague at the 2014 Hockey World Cup, the volunteers were out in force. And they certainly came from all backgrounds. Jelle Spree was in charge of the volunteer programme for the KNHB, the Dutch Hockey Federation. He says: “We used 1,183 volunteers at the World Cup. These ranged in age from 16 years-old to nearly 80.” They also came from a range of backgrounds, with a varied skill-set.
Jelle explained that a team from KNHB had visited London during the 2012 Olympics and witnessed the volunteers there in action. “To be honest with you, London set the bar very high. We saw how kind all the volunteers were and that is something we impressed upon our people.”
The process of recruitment began two years prior to the World Cup, and 1,400 people from the 20 hockey clubs near the Hague applied. Once selected, the volunteers attended workshops and meetings and a network of communication was built up.
“For the volunteers, the network is one of the benefits,” said Jelle. “We introduced volunteers to some of our partnership organisations if we felt there was a good fit. This had the potential of leading to other opportunities. But really, the biggest benefit was being part of something unique.”
Looking to future events, Jelle said one of the biggest things he had learnt from the World Cup experience was the importance of personally getting to know everyone. “It is no good seeing a photo or an application form. You must get to know everyone and learn what their capabilities are.”
