UA Crew cannot operate without parent volunteers. We use SignupGenius for volunteer sign ups. Shifts are approximately 3 hours in length. Regardless of your shift, you will always be able to watch your child race; simply excuse yourself for the race and return to your post after the race.

For the spring season, each athlete family needs to volunteer for:

THREE individual volunteer slots (3 hours each) during the season 

--OR--

ONE season-long position

Just one or any combination of adults in the family can fulfill this requirement. One athlete = one required volunteer commitment for three individual slots or one season-long position.

If you choose a slot and later need to change, it is your responsibility to find a replacement and update the Sign Up sheet. If you review the sign up sheet and don’t find slots that match your schedule or needs, or if you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Volunteer positions which you will find on the Sign Up Genius form include:

Site Set-Up:  Set-up is required the night before the regatta races. The set up team usually enjoys dinner together after set-up, so it’s a great way to meet others. The set-up team sets up the tents, grills, and food tables. 

Meal Set-Up/Prep (Breakfast and Lunch):  The breakfast prep team gets an early start, but that means you’ll get the coveted parking spots! You will be unloading food, cooking utensils, etc. from the chuckwagon and turning on the grills. Prep is also needed for lunch and any on-site dinners.  

Meal Cook/Serve; Snack & Kitchen Oversight: The food committee provides the menu and supplies for hot meals and snacks, but we need parents to cook and make sure food is replenished throughout the day.

Lunch Shuttle: Pick up lunch entree in Columbus and deliver to the regatta no later than 11:00 a.m. Entrees will be in a “hot box,” which will keep food warm up to 8 hours, so you can leave early without worry. 

Catered Meal Pick Up: Before getting on the buses to return home, rowers get a quick dinner provided by a local restaurant. A parent is needed to pick up the pre-ordered meals and deliver them to the regatta by 4:00

Dinner Serve: Those quick catered team dinner items need to be distributed to rowers. These volunteers make sure each rower is fed and messes are cleaned up before departure. 

Breakfast/Lunch Clean Up: Wash pots, pans and cooking utensils. Make sure kitchen area is clean, items no longer needed are packed away (and put on chuck if appropriate) and trash is disposed.

Kitchen Close: When we have another day at the regatta, we still need to put away perishables and clean up the kitchen, including putting items away in the chuckwagon. 

Kitchen Tear-Down: In conjunction with the site tear down team, pack up the kitchen and load onto the chuck. 

Site Tear-Down Team: As the name implies, this is the opposite of Set-Up. The activity occurs in the last hour or so of the regatta. Our campsite and kitchen get packed up while the rowers are busy getting the boats ready for travel. This includes tents, tarps, chairs, team bag storage, etc.

SEASON LONG POSITIONS (Choose one and your season volunteer requirement is fulfilled):

Tarp Cleaner: Gather and clean tarps after each regatta. Cleaning works well with a broad driveway, a hose, broom and a fence from which to hang the wet tarps. Return to the chuck prior to each regatta so it will be ready for the set up team. Duty can be split between the two volunteers, either dividing the number of tarps to clean or which regattas you handle. 

Propane Filler:  Gather propane tanks from the chuck and refill as needed. Return them to the chuckwagon prior to each regatta.  

Cooler Cleaner:  Gather food coolers after each regatta. Wash/dry them out and return to the chuck wagon prior to each regatta. 

Water Czar:  Gather and fill 5 gallon water jugs (about 7 or more) and have them filled and ready to go on the team bus OR regatta site at Griggs and Hoover.  Meet the team bus at the end of the regatta to retrieve the empty jugs. 

Regatta Water Refills: Ensure water jugs are filled throughout each regatta day. The two volunteers can coordinate dates/times between each other. 

Equipment Team:  The boat shells and launch boats need repairs during the season.  

Chuckwagon Inventory:  Works with closely with the Food Chair to complete shopping of non-perishable items needed for regatta.  This person will work off a shopping list and will need to put these items into assigned storage on the chuck wagon.  

Food Shopper:  Works closely with the Food Chair to set season menu and identify ingredient needs. Then completes the perishable food shopping, ideally on the Thursday or Friday prior to each regatta (ie. meat, veggies, fruit, etc.).

Chuckwagon Driver: This job requires a pickup truck (or equivalent vehicle with a “tow package”) capable of pulling the small covered trailer that transports tents, tarps, food supplies, a propane grill and cookware. The UA Crew budget compensates for gasoline to and from the regatta sites as well as a hotel room. If you are experienced in trailer driving, but don’t currently have a vehicle up to the task, let us know in case there is a need for a substitute driver. You will drive the chuckwagon to the chuckwagon pre-regatta location to load the coolers before delivering it to the destination as well as afterwards before returning it to storage.

Chaperones: There are two levels for chaperone: Assistant and Head. Chaperones generally ride the bus to and from regattas and are provided a free hotel room for overnights. The chaperones help the coaches keep everything running smoothly. They have the first aid kit; oversee safety at roadside stops and food breaks; solve problems; make sure no one is left behind; accompany the team when restaurants are part of the plan; sleep with one eye open in hotels and remind rowers to pick up their stuff. There is an information meeting scheduled for each season. If you are a parent of a novice rower or a varsity parent who has never chaperoned a regatta, here are the steps you take to being added to the approved chaperone list. Many parents believe this is the most fun job of all.

1.  Attend a chaperone information meeting. There is a chaperone meeting once in the fall on September 9th and again in the spring.
2.  Shadow a Head Chaperone at a home regatta
3.  Shadow a Head Chaperone at an out of town regatta (hotel & transportation is not  covered by UA Crew when shadowing)
4.  Volunteer as an Assistant Chaperone for a home regatta
5.  Volunteer as an Assistant Chaperone for an out-of-town regatta

If you complete numbers 1 and 2 above, you are able to be an Assistant Chaperone for a home regatta. If you complete numbers 1 through 4 above, you are able to be an Assistant Chaperone for a home or out-of-town regatta. If you complete numbers 1 through 5 above, you are able to volunteer as a Head Chaperone for a home or out-of-town regatta. Please contact [email protected] if you are interested.