As of now, the Olympics and Olympic Trials are scheduled to take place. The U.S. Olympic Trials will take place in the new, incredible facility in Eugene, Oregon this upcoming June.
If you can’t snag a ticket with the reduced tickets allotted for this year, you can always try your hand at volunteering if you want to see the place for yourself.
That seems kind of cool, but it leads us to yet another reason why no one cares about track in the U.S.
Here are a few ridiculous items from the volunteer frequently asked questions.
What are the requirements to volunteer?
Volunteers must work a minimum of 5 shifts (most shifts are 4-6 hours), be 18 or older on June 1, 2021, pass a background check, complete all training including USATF Safe Sport (information on how to complete this training will be provided to selected volunteers) and abide by COVID-19 event requirements (information on testing and safety standards will be provided to selected volunteers).
Will volunteers receive travel reimbursement or accommodations for volunteering?
Volunteers will not be provided travel reimbursement. With the exception of Medical Services providers, accommodations will not provided to volunteers.
Are there special ticket prices for volunteers?
There are no special volunteer ticket prices. Please sign up for the TrackTown USA newsletter at www.TrackTown20.com for the most up to date information about the Trials including ticket sales.
Can I watch the meet when I’m volunteering or when I’m not working?
A ticket is required to watch the competition. We ask volunteers to focus on the responsibilities assigned to them during their shift and not on the competition. Volunteers that are not working will not be permitted to watch the competition.
Points to focus on:
- Volunteers must work a minimum of 5 shifts
- Volunteers will not be provided travel reimbursement.
- There are no special volunteer ticket prices.
- A ticket is required to watch the competition.
The Olympic Trials certainly are a large undertaking, and it takes many people to work through the logistics. Yet, this is a time where USATF can really expose track and grow its popularity and create a fanbase for years to come.
On point 1: It is truly hard to imagine people volunteering at the Super Bowl or World Series. Elkton John can’t put his name in his hat to carry Albert Pujol’s bag. Furthermore, while there should be standards, requiring volunteers to work 5 shifts seems unreasonable.
On point 2:Â One should not expect to have an all-expense paid trip to Eugene, but one should expect there be some money available to pay workers $15/hour in a stadium that cost 270 million dollars (https://www.wsj.com/articles/oregon-track-nike-phil-knight-hayward-field-11615169965).
On point 3: The fact that there is a requirement to work a minimum of 20 hours and have no perks is slightly ludicrous. This is not a high school graduation requirement.
On point 4:Â Similar to point 3, there should be some sort of compensation or understanding that one can watch some of the competition.
The Olympic Trials only happen once every four years. In 2022, Eugene is hosting the World Championships, so this is even more of a chance to reach down to the grassroots level.  Especially with a new stadium, this would really be an opportunity to develop new fans for the sport and engage young athletes. There are several ways to have volunteers and still provide a great experience and provide some sort of compensation and gratitude.
-  If someone volunteers for a shift, there should be some sort of swag bag given to volunteers. These can vary for each shift.
- Provide a tour of the stadium and campus while providing some sort of keepsake.
- For each session someone volunteers for, that is the number of sessions they can attend later.
- The most important way to establish a young fan base is to allow high school teams to volunteer for the morning session then allow them to attend the evening session as a team for free. While this would mostly be limited to Oregon, Washington, and Northern California, it is still a tremendous experience for those involved. With the number of volunteers needed, this means that anywhere from 8-32 (or possibly more) high school teams would be able to bond as a team and live out a dream. This may inspire runners to take their own training more seriously, compete in college, become future high school coaches, and maintain fandom in the sport.