Use double quotes to find documents that include the exact phrase: "aerodynamic AND testing"

Looking to give you resumé a boost? Research shows sport volunteering positively influences hiring managers’ perceptions of applicant qualifications. Sport volunteering may act as a signal of values and competencies, such as altruism and a willingness to work in a team environment.

Many community sport clubs rely on volunteers for management and program delivery, including coaching. One way to support volunteer recruitment and retention is to understand volunteers’ expectations – both of themselves, and of the organization. In recognition of National Volunteer Week (April 19-25), learn how sport organizations can support strong “psychological contracts” amongst volunteer coaches.

The 2020 Arctic Winter Games Host Society will rely on 1,800 volunteers for the successful delivery of the Games in Whitehorse. Learn about the importance of employer leave policies, community presentations and volunteer fairs as recruitment strategies in the SIRC blog.

This is the third blog of a series leading up to the 2020 Arctic Winter Games that will be hosted by Whitehorse, YT March 15-21, 2020. Check out the first blog, about the development of the Games; and the second about the incorporation of reconciliation in the Games.

The Yukon might be large in size (the territory is approximately the same size as the country of Spain), but when it comes to population, let’s just say Yukoners appreciate their space.

As of March 2018, there were less than 40,000 people living in the Yukon—30,000 of those calling the capital city of Whitehorse home. Hosting a multi-sport Games of any size requires a large workforce. More than 3,000 volunteers were required for Whitehorse to host the Canada Winter Games in 2007, and an estimated 1,800 volunteers will be needed for the 2020 Arctic Winter Games (AWG 2020), so it takes some out of the box thinking to reach volunteer goals.

Volunteers at AWG 2020 will fill a variety of roles both before and during the Games, assisting in areas such as accommodations, food services, box office, spectator services, logistics, and marketing. Tasks can be anything from taking tickets or serving special guests, to fit-out of venues, or construction of bunk beds in participant accommodations. There are also sport-specific roles, including results and major technical officials.

One of the largest contributing factors to volunteer recruitment and retention is major employer leave policies, which allow paid time off for employees to volunteer and participate. These policies are currently in place with the Yukon Government, as well as the City of Whitehorse, the Yukon Hospital Corporation, Yukon College, private sector businesses like Northwestel, and First Nations governments such as the Kwanlin Dun First Nation.

The Yukon Government’s policy was developed initially for the 2007 Canada Winter Games. It was revised for the 2012 Arctic Winter Games hosted in Whitehorse, and has remained the same since. The policy applies to two groups: participants, such as athletes, coaches, officials, and members of the cultural contingent; and those involved in the planning and organization when Yukon hosts major Games. Employees may be granted leave without loss of pay, in some cases covering up to three weeks leave to allow them to attend planning meetings as well as requirements during Games time. Eligible planning positions include those in leadership positions within the Host Society structure – i.e. Divisional and Committee Chairs or Venue Team Leads.

Both the City of Whitehorse and Northwestel also allow for non-planning, aka Games-time volunteers, to be covered under their policies. Northwestel employees may receive approval to volunteer up to four hours per day during the months preceding the Games, during the entire period of the Games, and the week immediately following. They even run a Games Volunteer Committee that grants approval of any employee involvement with the Games.

Without these types of policies, the Yukon would be in a tough spot when it comes to recruiting the required number of volunteers. Of AWG 2020’s planning volunteers alone, nearly half of them are covered under major employer leave policies.

Of course, the AWG 2020 Volunteers Division also uses other tactics. Community engagement visits outside of Whitehorse are an important piece, as are appearances at volunteer fairs and other community events.

Members of the Host Society’s Volunteer Division make presentations to employees at smaller businesses in the community, as well as to students at Yukon College and local high schools. A special presentation will also be done to the ElderActive Recreation Association of the Yukon (ERA), who’s nearly 700 members usually make up a large portion of any major event’s volunteer force.

Benefits of volunteering for AWG 2020 include a volunteer uniform – jacket and vest – as well as three volunteer thank you events post-Games. The minimum commitment required to receive the uniform is 12 hours. All registration is done online, and once the form is filled out, all volunteers must complete a criminal record check before they are approved. The criminal record check can be done through the AWG 2020 office at no charge. For more information about the volunteer opportunities available, or to sign up online, click here.

With four months to go until the start of the 2020 Arctic Winter Games, more than 1,100 volunteers are already registered in the system. Yukoners are known for their last minute nature – as the saying goes, we live on Yukon time – but the goal of the Volunteers Division is to reach the 1,800 mark early in the New Year. AWG 2020 will mark 100 Days to Go on December 5, and as part of that celebration, the hope is a volunteer drive will bring that goal closer to reality.

In our next blog, we’ll explore some of the unique cultural opportunities offered as part of the Arctic Winter Games. Find out more about the Host Society plans to incorporate aspects from all nine northern contingents into the cultural program, embracing the Circumpolar identity of the Games – follow SIRC’s Daily News Hub to stay up to date on postings!

The 2020 Arctic Winter Games will be held in Whitehorse, Yukon March 15-21, 2020. Follow the action leading up to and during the Games on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Unconscious biases are learned stereotypes that are automatic, unintentional, deeply engrained, and able to influence behavior. Within sport organizations, these biases can negatively impact diversity amongst staff and volunteers by undermining recruitment and retention strategies, and employee development. This infographic from Catalyst provides steps to combat unconscious bias as a leader in your organization.

Many community sport clubs rely on volunteers for management and program delivery, including coaching. One way to support volunteer recruitment and retention is to understand volunteers’ expectations – both of themselves, and of the organization. Learn more about how sport organizations can support strong “psychological contracts” amongst volunteer coaches in the SIRCuit.

A psychological contract refers to the unwritten set of expectations that govern a volunteer/organization relationship. Research from Wilfrid Laurier and Western University examined the psychological contracts of community coaches to uncover key components that may contribute to coach retention. Coaches’ expectations of themselves related to professionalism and technical administration. Coaches’ expectations of their organizations related to coach support, a positive environment, and recognition. Learn more in the SIRCuit.

Community sport organizations or clubs are the cornerstone of sport in Canada. A vast majority of these community sport clubs rely almost exclusively on volunteers for their management and program delivery (Cuskelly, Hoye, & Auld, 2006; Doherty, 2005).

A threat to these organizations and their sustainability is acquiring and retaining volunteer coaches to deliver the sport programming. In recent years there has been a noted decline in volunteerism (Statistics Canada, 2015) and sport has been no exception to this trend (Breuer et al., 2012; Cuskelly, 2005; Cuskelly et al., 2006). A proposed strategy to support a positive coaching environment that may promote volunteer retention is the consideration of volunteer coaches’ psychological contract.

Psychological Contract

A psychological contract refers to the unwritten set of expectations that govern a volunteer/organization relationship. It is what a volunteer expects to provide, and what they expect the organization to provide in return.  Psychological contracts have been examined extensively in the paid workforce, recognizing that employees have expectations beyond their written contract. Whether these expectations are fulfilled or not may impact an employees’ commitment and satisfaction, and ultimately their intent to continue working for their employer. In the volunteer coaching context, where there generally are not written contracts, volunteers rely almost exclusively on their psychological contract to represent what they perceive their role to entail, and what they expect of their club in return. Given the important role that psychological contracts play in the paid workforce, our research sought to explore the psychological contract within the volunteer coaching environment (see Harman & Doherty, 2014; 2017).

Components of Volunteer Coaches’ Psychological Contract

Interviews (n = 22) and surveys (n = 187) were completed by volunteer sport coaches engaged with community sport clubs who identified several expectations they have of themselves and of their club:

Coaches’ expectations of themselves (listed in order of importance):

Coaches’ expectations of their sport club (listed in order of importance):

Impact of Fulfilling Expectations

We further examined how the fulfillment, or not, of coaches’ expectations of their sport club impacted coach satisfaction and commitment to the organization. The results indicated that:

Development of Coaches’ Psychological Contract

We also uncovered who or what was influencing coaches’ psychological contract. Most of the coaches interviewed set expectations of themselves and their clubs based on insights from sources external to the club. Key influences include the coaches’ previous experience as a player, knowledge acquired from attending a coach education course, and previous experience as a volunteer coach at another organization.

Implications for Community Sport Organizations

Our research reveals that the psychological contract is an important element of the relationship between community sport organizations and their volunteer coaches. While the concept of the psychological contract sounds simple – what do coaches expect of themselves? and what do they expect their club to provide in return? – the reality is that without acknowledging the psychological contract of volunteers, and effectively managing the coaching environment so that expectations align, it may seem like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Two-way communication of expectations may lead to more effective relationships with current volunteers, leading to increased retention, and reduced role uncertainty. This more positive environment may also help with coach recruitment.

Recommendations for Sport Managers