Volunteer

League Director Responsibilities

The Committee will appoint one League Director for each league or championship. The League Director may also, if they wish, take on the role of Race Director for some or all of the races in their league.

The responsibilities of the League Director are to:

• Appoint Race Directors for each race in the league
• Decide the scoring rules for the league, in consultation with the Committee e.g.
• Is the winner the runner with the lowest points or the lowest total time?
• Are the points for women calculated including or excluding the men who finished before her?
• Decide prize allocations for the league, in consultation with the Committee e.g.
• How many people in what categories will get prizes?
• Are trophies perpetual?
• Decide prize allocations for races, in consultation with the Committee
• Purchase, or ensure a Committee member has purchased, the meaningful race prizes (1st, 2nd, 3rd for various categories) for each race in the league
• Manage any changes required to the league calendar after the start of the year

Race Director Responsibilities

The Committee will appoint one League Director for each league or championship. The League Director may also, if they wish, take on the role of Race Director for some or all of the races in their league.

The primary function of the Race Director is to MANAGE. They should manage both the organisation and the safety of the race, avoiding becoming engrossed in any particular task such that other tasks are not executed correctly. The Race Director is ultimately responsible for ALL aspects of their race.

The tasks & responsibilities of the Race Director can be broken into 3 groups: in advance of race-day, on race-day and after race-day.

In advance of race-day

• Guidelines: Familiarise yourself with the guidelines for running a race, including:
  • Race Director Guidelines
  • Race Director Training Notes
  • Registration Guidelines
  • Finish Line Guidelines
  • IMRA Safety Guidelines
  • IMRA Financial Instructions
  • IMRA Race Marking Guidelines
  • Registration fees, races fees and reduced fees for certain categories
  
  A great way to get up to speed is to act as Deputy Race Director for one or more races, prior to your own first race as Race Director.
  
  
• Permission: If necessary, get permission from the land-owner (e.g. Coillte) to run the race, with assistance from the Records Secretary who maintains contact details.
• Parking: Visit the race start-point and decide how to handle parking. Organise off-road parking where possible.
• Keys: If necessary, get keys to any barrier that may block access to car parking.
• Route: Finalise the route, including shorter junior routes, with assistance from the
• Race Co-Ordinator and
• Race Marker
• Pub: Book the prize-giving location, normally a pub. Decide how to handle parking at that location.
• Team: Decide what team is required to organise the race & how many Helpers. As a general rule, you might need one member on the organisation team for every 25 runners.
• Roles: Allocate personnel to the key roles
• First Aid Officer, with assistance from the Safety Adviser or First Aid Panel owner
• Race Marker , with assistance from the Race Co-ordinator
• Laptop Operator, with assistance from the Records Secretary or Laptop Operator Panel owner
• Helpers: Enlist the required number of them.
• Safety: Establish if there are any safety concerns associated with this race in particular
• Website: Finalise the race information and either update it yourself through MyIMRA, or pass it to the Webmaster to update the website. In order to update the website yourself through MyIMRA, you need to be "accepted" as Race Director by the Webmaster. The information you should update includes:
• Date
• Time
• Climb
• Distance
• Instructions on "Getting There". The Race Director can exercise their discretion as to whether sign-posting to the race start location is required
• "Organisers Instructions" (e.g. carpooling, parking etc.)
• Prize-giving location
• Maps, if possible. Inform the webmaster of the start location so that they can update it on the Google Map function on the website.
• Volunteers: Through MyIMRA, you can either add the names of volunteers yourself, or you can "accept" or "decline" others who have volunteered to help at your event. The other volunteer roles are:
• First Aid Officer
• Race Marker(s)
• Laptop Operator
• Helper(s)
• Deputy Race Director(s)
• Float: Get change to use as a float at the money collection point. (Liase with the Treasurer on this.)
• Laptop: If the IMRA laptop is to be used, establish in whose possession it is and ensure that the battery (and spare) will be fully charged for the race. (For large races we may have a generator, but for backup purposes the batteries should be charged anyway.)
• Mobile Phone: Test that the IMRA Emergency Phone Number has been re-directed to your own mobile phone number and ensure that your own mobile battery is fully charged before the race and that it has phone credit if applicable
• The IMRA Emergency Phone number is 087 261 7599.
• This number is diverted to the Race Director's mobile number before each race. There is no physical emergency mobile phone.
• The function of this mobile number is to allow runners who have gotten lost or into other difficulty to contact the Race Director and let know their status and whereabouts.
• The service-provider that diverts the phone before each race may be contacted by email at emergencyphone (at) imra.ie
• The IMRA Emergency Phone number is not intended for use outside IMRA races and text messages sent to it will not be read.
• It is useful to remind runners in the pre-race briefing that the IMRA Emergency Phone Number is printed on the back of their race number bibs.
• Prizes: Get the race prizes for the top finishers from the Committee or League Director or arrange to do it on race-day
• Spot-prizes: Buy them, having checked the budget with the League Director or Treasurer
• Equipment: organise the collection of all equipment from the IMRA Equipment Officer (or previous Race Director)
• Consumables: Ensure there is a plentiful supply of:
• Paper & forms
• Annual Registration Forms
• Sign-in sheets
• Manual finish timing sheets
• Printer paper
• Pens
• Water & cups for runners after the race (if provided)
• Petrol for the portable electricity generator, if it is to be used.

On race-day

On the day of the race, the Race Director must ensure that everything runs smoothly. Only in small races should they take on tasks such as manning the registration desk. In medium-sized or large races, they should oversee and manage rather than do. As a general rule, except for very small races, the Race Director must not run in the race.

Before the race:
• Meet and brief the team, usually 2 or more hours before race start. (The Race Marker may already have started marking.)
• Decide if there are any safety concerns e.g. extreme weather, which would provoke a decision to change the race route or cancel the race
• Manage all other helpers at the race so that parking, registration, race finish etc. run smoothly.
• Once again, test that the IMRA Emergency Mobile Phone Number is diverted to your mobile number
• Brief all runners immediately before the race start on issues such as:
• Race issues: safety, route, marking, passing etc.
• Prize-giving location
• Recurring messages e.g. carpooling
• Start the race on time. Ensure the stopwatch or laptop timer is started.

The Race Director has the right to refuse to register a runner if they believe the runner would be at risk if they competed.

During the race:
• Ensure the finish-line is set up well in advance of the first finisher
• Co-ordinate any search & rescue operation to find and treat runners who are lost or injured.

After the race:
• Ensure all registered runners are safely off the mountain
• Ensure numbers are collected and re-sorted in the correct order
• Ensure all equipment and rubbish is packed
• Ensure the race route is un-marked by a Helper or the Race Marker
• Ensure any barriers that were un-locked are re-locked
• If a laptop is used at the race, ensure race results are printed for display at the prize-giving
• Give out the race prizes and spot prizes, or delegate this task to a nominee
• Ensure that the results file is sent to the Records Secretary for upload to the website

After race-day

• Return the completed and signed IMRA Incident Form (contained in the safety guidelines)to the Records Secretary
• Organise to return all equipment to the Equipment Officer (or next Race Director), and update them on consumables used - for example registration forms, first aid dressings
• Return race takings and receipts for spot-prizes to the Treasurer or lodge race takings to the IMRA bank account, as directed by the Treasurer.
• Request a reimbursement for spot-prize expenditure from the Treasurer
• Return all Registration Forms and Sign-in sheets to the Records Secretary
• Return keys for barriers where necessary
• Dispose of rubbish

Race Directors To-Date

Deputy Race Director Responsibilities

The Deputy Race Director has no responsibilities in a race and has no formal tasks other than to shadow an experienced Race Director to learn from them.

There may be more than one Deputy Race Director for a race. They may take on some tasks and should certainly help out, but should not become so engrossed in one task that they fail to learn all that is required of a Race Director.

First Aid Officer Responsibilities

A First Aid Officer should be appointed for every race. This person should normally have a first aid qualification, though this will not always be possible. The main responsibility of the First Aid Officer is to treat injured runners. Any search and rescue operation will be managed by the Race Director, not the First Aid Officer, so it is the Race Director, not the First Aid Officer who needs to know the IMRA Safety Guidelines. For small races, the Race Director may also act as First Aid Officer.

The First Aid Officer is not permitted to run in the race.

The First Aid Officer's responsibilities are to:

• Check the first aid equipment before the race
• Treat injured runners
• Remain at the finish area until the Race Director informs you that all runners have completed the race
• Inform the Safety Advisor or Race Director of consumables used on the day

Race Marker Responsibilities

Race Marking Guidelines

Race Marking Guidelines Poster

Some routes are marked, others not. A Race Marker is obviously only required if the race is publicised as a marked route.

The race route should be finalised well in advance of race-day and there should be no need for last-minute changes to the route or start / finish areas, baring unforeseen circumstances such as tree-felling.

Marking of the route should be completed well before the start of the race, so that there is time to update the Race Director on any issues encountered before the race starts. Typically it takes 4 times the winner's time to mark a route, though this estimate should be further confirmed when the route is recced. A circular route takes longer to mark than an out and back route, so in this case it is often better to have 2 markers who mark in different directions.

Normally, the Race Marker can run in the race if they wish.

Their responsibilities are to:

• Recce the route well in advance of race-day
• Collect the marking equipment from the Race Co-Ordinator or Equipment Officer
• Mark the route according to the IMRA Race Marking Guidelines
• Clear any overgrowth along the route if required
• Return the marking equipment as directed by the Race Co-Ordinator
• Inform the Equipment Officer if additional marking equipment (e.g. tape) is required

Laptop Operator Responsibilities

The Laptop Operator should be trained to use the Registration & Results system prior to race-day. The system is too complex to be able to operate it with a few minutes training on race-day. The Laptop Operator cannot run in the race. Their responsibilities on the day are to:

• Set up and test the laptop and printer at least 30 minutes before race registration opens
• Print the "Runner list" report which lists runners numbers, for display outside the registration area
• As they arrive, register runners who do not already have a race number for this year
• Start the laptop clock when the race starts
• While the race is in progress, enter the numbers of all the runners who have registered
• Set up the laptop at the finish line, well in advance of the arrival of the lead runner
• Record all finishers as they arrive
• At the end of the race, check for and correct any errors in the results. Pay particular attention to:
• DNFs
• Short course runners
• Early starts
• Print 2 sets of results.
• Give one to the Race Director to facilitate the prize-giving.
• Display the other publicly at the prize-giving location.
• Liase with the Race Director who will need to send the results file to the Records Secretary
• Complete the Laptop Operator Checklist before shutting down the laptop.

Shadow laptop operator Responsibilities

Shadow laptop operator can be an experienced operator shadowing a trainee laptop operator or a trainee operator learning from an experienced operator.

Helper Responsibilities

The Race Director must decide how many Helpers they needs on the day. A useful rule-of-thumb is that the overall organising team should have one member for every 25 runners. The Helpers need no specific skill.

As a general rule, Helpers will not run in the race. For example, there is no point in a Helper accepting the task of manning a registration desk for a large race if they abandon their post to change clothes and warm up. Obviously Helpers manning the finish-line cannot run in the race.

Helpers need no prior training or experience. The roles and tasks they will perform are simple enough so that the Race Director can brief them sufficiently in a few minutes.

In large races, there are 5 roles that Helpers can perform that will require them to assume a post and accept responsibility to stay at that post for a period of time. These roles are:

• Registration Desk - for large races, there will usually be 2 Helpers at desks in addition to the Laptop Operator.
• Money Collection - one Helper
• Parking Control - usually one Helper
• Finish Line - for large races, there will usually be 2 Helpers in addition to the Laptop Operator, one at the start of the finish chute and one at the end.
• Summit, peak or turn-point Marshals - sometimes required

In addition to these roles performed by Helpers, there are several tasks which they may perform, such as:

• Setting up registration desks, finish-line, water-station etc.
• Number collection & re-sorting after the race
• Packing up equipment after the race
• Un-marking the race route
• Setting up the prize-table
• Writing the race report for the website

And occasionally:

• For selection races, performing a quality-check on the route before the race
• Searching for and picking up runners that may have strayed off-route, either by car or by retracing the route