Volunteering in Sports and Recreation

This weekend I took to the streets to participate in the Ottawa Race Weekend. What an experience! From spectators, to fellow runners, volunteers and event staff there was enough energy circulating to carry even the faintest of heart runners from start to finish. The Ottawa Race Weekend is a great example of how volunteers affect our sports and recreation sector. This weekend thousands of volunteers donned there Ottawa Race Weekend t-shirts passing out water, guiding runners, moving gates and being the integral support system which, yearly makes this run the largest in Canada and one of the most expertly run.



Volunteers are not only making their mark in large scale events within the sports and recreation world, they influence our world everyday as coaches, administrators, board members and fundraisers. They are people who have latched onto their passion for being active and used it to benefit our communities. Athletics, especially when engaged in by youth, can be confidence building, help develop social skills and encourage healthy lifestyles.
This weekend was just another exemplary example of what happens when a people come together to volunteer. Whether on a large or small scale the impact echoes loudly and it’s us Canadian’s who reap the benefits of their time. So here’s a big shout out to the thousands of Canadians who volunteered at Race Weekend in Ottawa and to all the volunteers across Canada who give their time in sport management, coaching, fundraising or just in support of athletics. THANK YOU!