Note — general guidance only: The ideas below may need adapting to suit your venue’s size, volunteer base and award-compliance obligations.



Multi-sport clubs rely on an army of volunteers to score pennant matches, flip burgers and sell raffle tickets at pop-trivia nights. When the calendar stacks lawn-bowls finals beside a social quiz, even the friendliest helpers can burn out if the roster lacks structure.



Why Multi-Event Weekends Stretch Volunteers Thin

• Overlap pressure:
bowls, netball and trivia sessions often share the same afternoon turnaround.

• Special-skills pockets:
scoreboard operators or quiz MCs can’t be swapped on the fly.

• Fatigue risk:
volunteers working back-to-back shifts may skip breaks, reducing service quality.

Five Principles for Stress-Free Volunteer Rosters

• Skill tagging:
build a simple matrix showing each volunteer’s certifications (RSA, first aid, PA-system operation). Match tasks to tags first, times second.

• Micro-shifts:
offer two-hour blocks instead of half-day marathons so helpers commit confidently and turnover is seamless.

• Buffer roles: allocate 10 % of total volunteer hours to “floaters” who can plug sudden gaps across bar, BBQ or merch stands.

• Reverse preferences:
alternate less-popular tasks (clean-up, scoreboard) with crowd-pleasers (raffle draws) to keep morale balanced.

• Thank-you transparency:
publicise how many volunteer hours each event needs and celebrate milestones—accountability boosts sign-ups.



A Sample Roster Blueprint

• 12 pm – 2 pm:
lawn-bowls finals set-up (greens markers, bar prep).

• 2 pm – 4 pm:
match scoring and canteen shift 1.

• 4 pm – 6 pm:
BBQ crew swap-in; bar floater covers scorer’s break.

• 6 pm – 8 pm:
trivia night table set-up, raffle ticket sales.

• 8 pm – 10 pm:
trivia MC, bar shift 2, prize desk floater.

• 10 pm – 11 pm:
combined pack-down team, recycling and cash-up.

Final Whistle

Plan volunteer rosters as precisely as player line-ups: tag skills, carve micro-shifts and keep buffers ready. Your pennant champions and pop-trivia buffs will enjoy a seamless day—and your club’s community spirit will shine.