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Volunteer Information

Signup to Volunteer

Start by filling out the Volunteer Signup Form. Identify yourself, your certifications, your preferred jobs, and the events and days you wish to volunteer for.

Stand by for 2025 Volunteer registration form.  It will open by the end of January, and we’ll send all previous volunteers an email.

When you submit it, you’ll receive an acknowledgement email.  You can use the link in the acknowledgement email to go back and update your requests at any time.

Assignments

By early Spring, the planning team will look at all applications and do their best to match volunteers availability, skills, and preferences to the required roles for each event.

Assigned volunteers will receive their assignments, information and details regarding accommodation bookings and confirmation of meeting times and event schedules in a Volunteer Welcome Package well in advance of the start of each event.

Accommodations for Out of Town Volunteers

CORK is happy to announce, that returning for 2024 after a hiatus due to COVID concerns, we have once again arranged for volunteer accommodation at Queens University, which we will be arranging for interested individuals confirmed for an event. These rooms are in the Queens Residences that are close to downtown and Portsmouth Olympic Harbour that offer two separate rooms with a double bed in each that share a bathroom in the centre. More details will be found in the Volunteer Welcome Package. The CORK office will booking/coordinating all rooms at Queen’s, so please notify us at sail@cork.org with any questions or concerns.

At the Event

Communications

Volunteer communication throughout events will be through WhatsApp – in order to join the WhatsApp group, volunteers must download the app and scan the QR code onsite. The Official Notice Board for each event will be located at RacingRulesofSailing.org.

Morning volunteer briefings may occur at your assigned work area or in a meeting room. Typically, your help will be required from 8:30AM to 5PM but may vary dependent upon the racing schedule (course start times), the volunteer position you have been assigned to and the weather.

Coffee, Snacks, Lunches, and Water

A coffee station and morning snacks will be available at the morning briefings.

You must arrange your own lunch; costs will be reimbursed by a daily stipend of $15/day/volunteer and will be e-transferred at the end of each event. New this year, you will have the option to order sandwiches through Wheat Kings (the bakery behind the Portsmouth tavern).

To save on single use plastic, we do not supply single use water-bottles, but have a water-bottle refilling station on site. Please bring your own water-bottle(s) to ensure you have enough liquids for the day. A drug store is close by, a Quick Mart and small restaurants are three blocks away. Portsmouth Tavern, located across from the site, offers typical bar food.

Hours

The team meeting each day may be as early as 0830 (or 0800 for some leads).  Launching could start as early as 0930, with all race committee and safety boats leaving shore at the same time.

The racing is usually complete with everyone ashore by 1700, but rarely it’s 1800 or 1830.

Most roles are done for the day when the racers are back ashore and equipment is locked up, but Race Officers, Finish Boat Leads, Jury and Scoring can end up working well into the evening.  Registration will usually be at the desk for an hour after the last sailor is ashore.

Social

After resounding success in 2023, CORK will again be hosting a Volunteer BBQ at all events. Watch for the details in your volunteer welcome package!

CORK tries to schedule a volunteer event encouraging socialization and informal debriefs. Please help welcome our new volunteers!

What to Bring to CORK

  • Personal medications – If you have special conditions, such as epilepsy or heart conditions, or have allergies and carry an Epi-pen, please let others around you know of these or any other medical concerns so they may properly assist in an emergency
  • Sun block (SPF 15 minimum, SPF 50 recommended)
  • Weather-appropriate clothing. Remember it is cooler on the water and in the wind. A windbreaker or foul weather gear is suggested.
  • Re-usable water bottle(s)
  • Hat and sunglasses
  • PFD/Life Jacket (CORK has a limited number to loan)
  • Work/sailing gloves are useful if you are hauling anchors.
  • A change of clothing
  • Appropriate footwear; Black soled shoes are to be avoided, as they will mark a boat’s deck. Sandals or open-toed shoes are not recommended on water, especially if you’re handling anchors on a mark boat

On-water volunteers are normally in an open boat and will not leave the course until the completion of the day’s events, with the exception of emergencies.

For this reason, the items above are very important. Keep your belongings in a waterproof bag, or place your bag in a plastic bag if it is not waterproof.

Washroom facilities are basic and only available on signal boats. They are available to all on-water participants, but it may take some time to move from your location to the signal boat.

On-shore volunteers may experience the same exposure conditions as on-water volunteers except they can find shelter when not actively working.

Volunteer Positions

On-Water

  • Course Race Officer Directs and controls all personnel and boats on the race course.
  • Deputy Race Officer Assists the Course Race Officer.
  • Signal boat – Timer Timing race activities and keeping the race committee informed of the sequence of events.
  • Signal boat – Flags Raising and lowering flags on poles at the direction of the timer/ Course Race Officer.
  • Signal boat – Recorder Recording of activities and sail numbers as required.
  • Pin Boat At the direction of the Course Race Officer, positions herself at the end of the start line and observes the starting sequence to record and report sail numbers as required.
  • Finish Boat At the direction of the Course Race Officer, positions herself at the finish line and records sail numbers crossing the line.
  • Mark Boats At the direction of the Course Race Officer, positions herself to position and move anchored floating marks as required during racing. Each boat has a Lead and an Assistant.
  • Safety Boats The safety boat fleet will monitor the fleets from launch until boats are back ashore, and, if required, render assistance . Each boat has a Lead and an Assistant. Safety boats may be moved from course to course as required.
  • Jury Directed by the Protest Committee Chair, certified judges will provide on water evaluation and/or monitor the fleets during races; their work will continue ashore handling protests and requests for redress.  For keelboat events, the Jury does not usually go on the water, but does handle protests and requests for redress.

On-Shore

  • Equipment & Boats Maintain, store, hand out and receive all equipment used by the regatta personnel, along with maintaining boats. This equipment includes everything from pens and flags to anchors and chain. Runs from 8:00 AM until all equipment is returned for the day.
  • Site Services  Lay out and mark storage areas for fleets and ensure competitors store boats and equipment in designated areas. Direct parking and traffic flow.
  • Communications  Stationed in the communication centre or in the regatta office – open each day from before the boats launch to the end of sailing. Uses VHF marine radios to maintain communication with all activities and maintains the radio log.
  • First Aid  Works out of the First Aid Station—open each day from before the boats launch to the end of sailing. Provides first aid to competitors, volunteers, and coaches.
  • Ramps  Assists competitors at the boat launch, stores boat dollies, retrieves dollies and assists competitors when moving boats.
  • Registration  This role services the registration desk before each regatta, where all competitors check in and receive their registration package. Information from registration forms is entered into the database on a daily basis, before and during the regatta. The registration desk typically operates the day and evening before each regatta starts and the first morning of each event.
  • Information—The information desk will provide regatta-specific, and general Kingston information. Staffed by a person knowledgeable of the Kingston area and local events.
  • Media  Works with the media, writes and distributes stories and distributes results from the day’s sailing to various news organizations. CORK media includes: Website: www.cork.org – Instagram: corkkingston
  • Ceremonies  Assist with preparing for awards ceremonies. Award ceremonies are usually held in the late afternoon on the last day of the regatta.
  • Scoring  Using the finish boat recording sheets, results are input into a computer which calculates the score for each boat. Results are uploaded to RacingRulesofSailing.org.
  • Social  Assists with after sailing events, such as socials and BBQ’s.