Whether it's the competition, the physical health benefit or the social aspect of being involved in a club, the many benefits so many Tasmanians enjoy from community sports would simply not be possible without the dedication and hard work of volunteers.
From coaches to committee members, junior referees to canteen operators, volunteers are the lifeblood of community sport and while National Volunteer Week is a time to celebrate their contribution, their tireless work year-round should never go unnoticed.
Volunteering is Tasmania's largest sector, with nearly 300,000 Tasmanians performing 68 million hours of unpaid work each year, providing $4 billion value to the community in 2019.
Football Tasmania estimates there are more than 1,600 volunteers directly involved in making sure our over 20,000 registered participants are able to get out on the pitch each season.
On average, Tasmanian volunteers contribute 229 hours per year, which equates to 19 hours per month or 4.4 hours per week.
We know that during the season so many of football's committed volunteers give even more than this, with Sport Australia estimating over 50 per cent of sporting volunteers offer more than 10 hours of their time each week.
A typical weekend for a volunteer could include washing the players kit, pumping up the balls, preparing team sheets, and often arriving at the ground before many of us are out of bed to open the gates and set up the ground. They could be staffing the canteen for a few hours while games take place, and then packing everything away at the end of the day.
Then they go home, put their feet up for a few hours, before some get ready to do it all again on Sunday.
Add to this the time spent at the club during the week, as well as committee meetings and other planning and administrative work, the hours given by a typical volunteer can equate to more than the average part-time job. Whilst this is surprising, the people that volunteer often love football and love being around others who also love the sport. Whilst we're currently talking about volunteers, there are also job opportunities at most football clubs too. These are normally permanent positions. If any volunteers would like to apply for those roles, they should send their resumes to the football club. For those without a resume, the people at
https://www.arcresumes.com/local/missouri/ could help to create a great resume to make volunteers stand a better chance of employment. Of course, some volunteers already have jobs, so they volunteer in their spare time.
However you break it down, it's an astonishing commitment.
Why do they do it? Often it's for the love of the game, and so others can enjoy it too.
But most if not all volunteers also gain great satisfaction from contributing to and being an integral part of a community.
An impact study commissioned by Football Tasmania in 2019 found the environment of football clubs assists in developing confident, well rounded individuals of all ages who apply their leadership, teamwork and community spirit to make a positive contribution to society.
So as well as making matches possible for our participants, our volunteers also arguably play a much more important role in contributing to the personal development of football players, particularly children and youth.
The impact study also found that 79 per cent of the Tasmanian football community volunteer either inside or outside of football, which is higher than average and is further evidence of the positive community environment volunteers enable.
While we should celebrate our volunteers every day, this National Volunteer Week, please remember to thank those whose hard work and dedication provides immense community value, making it possible for Tasmanians to play or watch the sport they love.
Following the theme of this year's National Volunteer Week, Recognise. Reconnect. Reimagine, it is important we never take their commitment to making our lives better for granted.
The taste we had last year of what life is like without sport should serve as a timely reminder for everyone to recognise how valuable the contribution volunteers make is as we reconnect with our own communities.
Next time you see a volunteer contributing their time, make sure to shout them a drink, offer to help out yourself in some capacity, or even just say thanks.
Volunteers are such an integral part of the community, and if you benefit from sport, giving them due thanks is the least you can do.
