VOLUNTEER ROLE DESCRIPTIONS

Volunteer Coordinator
The Volunteer Coordinator (VC) is responsible for gathering all of the volunteer sign-ups and assigning people to work each day. The VC will provide training and support for the volunteers throughout the day.The VC will oversee the Search areas, set-up and tear-down, and deal with any unforeseen problems, reassigning of jobs, etc. throughout the day. The VC is prime communicator for the host and CO.

Hospitality
This person is getting breakfast items, coffee, lunch items, and water for the volunteers. They will need to work with the Trial Host to determine if any of the judges or officials has any specific dietary requests. They will also need to make sure lunch gets set aside for the judges and CO who may not be able to get in to eat right away. While we want to make sure everyone is fed, we particularly want to be sure the judges and CO get food.

Score Room Lead
The Score Room Lead (SRL) should be selected off the approved SRL list. This is not technically a volunteer job as the SRL is contracted and compensated by the host. They will need a volunteer assigned to help in the Score Room each day. To help grow the pool of score room leads, please prioritize those volunteers who are working towards completing their score room lead requirements.

Judge’s Steward
The Judge’s Steward is responsible for getting the dog/handler team from the last staging area to the search. They will remind the handler of the time allowed, number of hides (NW1/NW2 only), whether the search is on- or off-leash, and making sure the judge has the right score sheet. If the judge has any questions about how to score something, the Judge’s Steward should get the CO. Depending on the amount of available space, the Judge’s Steward may need to stay outside of the Interior search area.

Timer
Using a stopwatch, the timer will time each dog/handler team and report that time to the judge. The timer should stand in the same place for each team so the start for each team will be as consistent as possible. The timer will also do their best to give the team a 30 second warning.

Parking
You will need at least 1 or 2 volunteers to help with parking, both the volunteer parking and the competitor parking. They will only need to be assigned in the morning to help get everyone situated in their respective parking spots. Depending on your set up and number of volunteers, Parking, Check-in and the Parking Lot Volunteers might be the same people.

Check-in
Check-in volunteers will be responsible for checking in both the volunteers and the competitors. Depending on where your volunteers will be parking in relation to your competitors, you may choose to have a volunteer check-in that is separate from your competitor check-in. At the time of check-in, all volunteers, spectators, and competitors will be required to sign a liability waiver if it was not done in advance of the trial day. Depending on your set up and number of volunteers, Parking, Check-in and the Parking Lot Volunteers might be the same people.

Parking Lot Volunteer(s)
The Parking Lot volunteer(s) will work with the competitors to get them to the initial staging area(s). The Parking Lot volunteer(s) will have a running order and will call the dog/handler teams from their cars. Unlike other dog sports, we do not want dogs and handlers lined up waiting to go in. One team will be at the initial staging area and the team that is next in can be working the warm up boxes if they choose. Beyond that, all subsequent teams can be given a head’s up but should not be staging. Depending on the flow of the searches, there may be 1 or 2 Parking Lot volunteers, although it is generally easier with 2. Parking Lot Volunteer(s) may  also need to be trained in the check-in process so that they can check in spectators who arrive once the trial has started. Putting one of your check-in volunteers into this role will eliminate the need to train another person. Depending on your set up and number of volunteers, Parking, Check-in and the Parking Lot Volunteers might be the same people.

Gate Stewards
Gate Stewards will be positioned at the staging area(s) on the way to the searches. The Gate Steward will greet the competitor at the staging area and then help direct them to the next one when it’s clear. The Gate Stewards should be reminded that while everyone needs a friendly face, not all competitors are going to want to chat. They may be nervous or focusing on their dog. The Search Lead will make sure the Gate Stewards get relieved for bathroom breaks and so they can watch some of the dogs work. If you are light on volunteers, you can use chairs with signs or arrows to help the competitors get from one staging to the next, as long as each staging area is visible from the previous area.  

Box Setters
Two box setters will need to be assigned to the Container Search.  

One will be responsible for handling the “hot” box(es)/container(s) – the ones with odor in them. This person will not be able to touch anything else.  They will need paper towels to wipe off the containers. We recommend that the clean box setter hand paper towels off their roll to the hot box setter to avoid the hot box setter touching the clean paper towels. They need to use their hands to handle the odor container(s) and not their feet or they will be spreading the odor with their feet. This person will also be responsible for taking a damaged odor box out of the search area and replacing it with a clean odor box. These will be in a predetermined location.

The other box setter will be responsible for handling the non-odor (non-hot) container(s). They will need to use paper towels (should have a separate roll from the person who is handling the odor) to wipe up slobber, spills, etc. They cannot touch the odor/hot containers at all. “Clean” box setter will be shown where clean boxes are in case one needs to be replaced.

For both box setters, we prefer to minimize disturbance to the search area by touching/wiping/moving containers, and also walking through the area repeatedly. Containers only need to be wiped if there is excessive, obvious drool and there is no need to visually inspect each box in between each dog. It is also acceptable if the boxes are slightly askew. We ask that they only put containers back in place if they are significantly moved.

Score Runner
The Score Runner will take the score sheets from the searches to the score room. Contrary to the name, this job does not require the person to run the scores back to the score room, but they should be mobile and able and willing to walk. Depending on the flow, they may bring score sheets from several searches at once. You should plan to have at least 1. If you are short on volunteers, a score room volunteer or the search lead can run the score sheets.  

Videographer–part time job
For all trials EXCEPT Summit, one camera will be sent by the NACSW. We ask that seven searches in each search area be recorded.The host does not have to provide a full time volunteer to video since there will only be seven runs in each search recorded. The following people can step in and video; Host, Volunteer Coordinator, Score Room person, CO or CO in Training, Volunteer, Judge's Steward or Score Runner. It does not have to be the same person for all searches.