Volunteering at Green Lake Crew
Home Regattas
Green Lake Crew holds three rowing regattas each year, in the spring, summer, and late fall. There are many volunteer opportunities on the day of the event and no experience is required for most jobs! Note for junior parents: you may not know in advance what time(s) your child is racing. Don’t worry — if you are working a shift and need to step away to cheer on your rower, we will have someone cover for you!
Trail Patrol
You will direct pedestrians and other passers-by as the crews carry rowing shells across the Green Lake path, to and from the docks. A rowing shell can be as long as 62 feet and maneuvering one is a careful task for a crew. Pedestrians, including walkers, runners, strollers, children on bikes, skaters, and dogs are often paying attention to everything but the giant boats moving around. No experience or rowing knowledge is needed, but you must be able to stand or walk for up to two hours, and it helps to have a loud voice and not be afraid to use it for this job!
Timing Team
You are right on the finish line with the best seats on the course! There are four roles within the timing team, including the flagger, the spotters, the timers, and the scribe. No experience or rowing knowledge required, you will be trained. You’ll learn a lot about rowing doing these jobs!
Dock Masters
These jobs are usually filled by our experienced masters rowers. The dock masters help the crews manage launching and docking, check the safety of the equipment and race readiness before the boats leave the dock, and other launch area tasks. You will need rowing experience/knowledge for this role. If you are rowing in the regatta, you will know your event times early enough to plan your volunteering appropriately.
Launch Drivers
Experience driving a launch or equivalent plus a WA State Boater Education Card are requirements for this job. Rowing knowledge is not required but is very helpful. You will drive a race official in a launch, following the crews as they race down the course, or perhaps working with the race officials at the starting line. Safety is your top priority, followed by ensuring a great race. There will be backup drivers in case you need a break, but in general you should prepare to be on the water for about four hours. In November and March, the weather may require you to dress quite warmly.
Information on the Boater Education Card
Food Tent
Rowing makes people hungry! At all home and some away regattas, we undertake a massive effort to feed our athletes, coaches, and volunteers.
Tasks include planning, purchasing ingredients and paper goods, preparing dishes in advance, set up and tear down, and cooking and serving at the event.
Great friendships have been made working the food tent, and the athletes are very grateful! If you would like to get involved, please contact Tami Oki
Committee Work
The Rowing Advisory Council, Green Lake’s Board, has many committees you can serve on. And if you like committee work, you can always join the board to get more involved!
Equity
If you have individual or organizational contacts among communities of people who are under-represented in rowing, please let us know. We are committed to making rowing more inviting and supportive for a diverse range of participants in areas such as ethnicity (BIPOC), gender, age, income, immigration status, homelessness, and people with disabilities. Although we are committed to diversifying adult rowing, our current emphasis is programming for the youth of these communities.
Home Regattas
If you’d like to be involved in planning the lead-up to regattas, this committee is for you. Home Regattas are held in the spring, summer, and late fall. The work of the regattas is split between the committee and the office staff.
Fundraising
We have two major events (the fall Ergathon and the spring auction) as well as smaller fundraising functions during the year. Come help us plan fundraising strategy and logistics! Grant writing experience would also be helpful.
Events
The Events Committee plans our boat dedication ceremonies and our end of the year awards banquet, and assists with the other events that fall under various committees.
Communications
The Communications Committee supports many aspects of the programs, including running our email newsletters, twice-yearly printed newsletters, annual reports, social media, parent communication, this website, and more. We would love to hear from you if you have skills and experience in website design and maintenance, graphic design, writing and editing, social media management, marketing and communications strategy, photography/video/drone footage, etc.
History and Archives
Do you have a passion for combing through old records, maintaining data, preserving memorabilia and photographs, researching people and events, and/or writing and speaking about our history? Our resident historian, Tim Amen, who has been with the program since the 1980s, would enjoy having your assistance in researching, preserving, and telling our story.
Rowing Advisory Council
The Rowing Advisory Council is the governing body of Green Lake Crew. We are often recruiting new full and associate board members.
Although the word “advisory” is in our name, advising is not all we do. The Rowing Advisory Council is an active board, running events, doing fundraising, promoting programs, overseeing a large budget, and carrying out work beyond that done by the staff. You will be invited to commit time and resources to making our programs successful. The time commitment is estimated at a minimum of 4-6 hours per month (with some positions and committees having more work at various times of the year).
Full board members (3-year term) have all voting privileges and serve on 2-3 committees. They are also asked to chair a committee at least once during their tenure. Associate board members (1-year term) do not vote in general session but do vote in committees; they are invited to serve on at least one committee and may serve as a committee co-chair with a full board member. Officers of the board serve on the Executive Committee, chair at least one committee, and their time commitment runs to more like 8 hours a month.
As a board member, you serve under the umbrella organization Associated Recreation Council, which is a nonprofit partner of Seattle Parks & Recreation.
We are in need right now of more junior parents on the board. Attend a board meeting (third Wednesday of every month except August and December, currently virtual) to see what we’re all about; they are open to the public.