Agility Regionals

Going to try my best to write a post!! It is hard to find the time these days , then I get lazy.

I spent this past weekend at the Regional Agility Championships held here in Lethbridge.  My friend Kim and I were the volunteer coordinators.  We thought it would be a relativley easy job, we were wrong!!

Finding volunteers was like pulling teeth, no one wanted to volunteer, if they did they wanted to do it for only 1 day, or half days, a handful of people were able to commit to full days, 8am to 5 pm.  I totally understand!  You work all week , not everyone wants to spend their days off "working"
Kim and I were in total panic in the week leading up to the event.  Almost every person who signed up to volunteer was a stranger to us, not only that but none had any experience!

There are key positions that you should have experience for, Gate Steward being one, this person is in charge of their entire group.  They need to make sure they are there, ready in line, they need to inform the ring crew when to change the jump heights, they have to inform the timer if there is a time option change and they have to answer numerous questions while doing so!

In the week leading up to the event Kim and I got together every day for 4-5 hours to work on scheduling.  We texted each other continually, day and night, asking each other questions or telling the other of any new developments.
The Thursday before Regionals we had a training night, we split into 2 groups to train our group how to do the jobs they were assigned to.

This event had over 200 entries, just to give you an idea of how big it was.  There were 3 rings all going at the same time that Kim and I had to monitor and make sure they were running smoothly.  We had to step in if needed to help, one morning I was helping gate steward, pole set, leash run & scribe run all at the same time!

On Saturday it poured rain the ENTIRE day! buckets and buckets of rain, the poor ring crew had to sit in it all day.
Kim and I were also asked to register exhibitors, hand out any merchandise that had been bought, answer continuous questions on what time a ring started, or where a group was to go next, why their merchandise wasn't there, if they could exchange one shirt for another size, where were the results, when was the banquet, or how long was the break.

All this being said it worked out wonderfully!  Our volunteers were amazing, they never complained, not once!  Many of them asked to be called back if we ever need volunteers again.
The exhibitors were very appreciative to all of us, making sure to thank us , or give us a hug, and say good job!  I had a fantastic time!! My body however was ready to die by Sunday night.

Would I do something this big again? Probably not lol, but it was a learning experience and I am very glad I did it .