Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre, Vernon, B.C. January 18, 2006.
A preliminary analysis of volunteer time logs and evaluation questionnaires submitted by 373 of the 2005 Viessmann FIS World Cup volunteers indicates that they worked a total of 29,588 hours in the months leading up to the event. There were 685 accredited volunteers in total, including the Executive and Organizing Committees. A response rate of 52 per cent on an optional survey is considered very high by research analysts. Based on the returned survey forms, it is estimated that the 685 volunteers would have contributed close to 50,000 hours.
The Chief of Competition, Rob Bernhardt, and Project Manager, Brian Lees, estimated they worked a total of over 6,400 hours in the two and a half years leading up to the World Cup. It is estimated that the other 16 members of the Organizing Committee put in over 12,000 hours.
Sixty per cent of the questionnaire respondents considered the time they were asked to spend was about what they expected. Eighty seven per cent said they would be prepared to volunteer for another World Cup. On a scale of 1 to 5, “overall experience as a volunteer for the 2005 World Cup†received a rating of 4.4.
The value of the volunteer labor for the World Cup was originally pegged at $350,000 for budget purposes but these reported time logs suggest the value was close to $1 million, if volunteer labor can be valued at $20 per hour.
Sovereign Lake Nordic Club has a long history of volunteerism. It was, in fact, founded and developed by volunteers. Last year, the Club estimated that its volunteers put in 20,000 hours, excluding work on the World Cup.
Source: Sovereign Lake Nordic
