From timekeeping to ticket sales to security, organizers are calling for hundreds of volunteers to help out with the 2017 Alberta Boston Pizza Cup this winter.
The upcoming men’s provincial curling championship will be hosted at Westlock’s Rotary Spirit Centre Feb. 8-12 and organizers are hoping to attract as many as 200 volunteers to help make the event a success.
Anyone interested in lending a hand for just a few hours or for all five days of curling can drop by the Westlock Curling Club on Wednesday, Sept. 28 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. for a volunteer information session.
“If you’re interested in being a part of it come down. It’s a big deal,” said tournament host chair Lavern Bazin.
“There are a lot of people that are excited that want to be part of it.”
The tournament, which will be televised nationally on Sportsnet, will crown Team Alberta which will go on to represent the province at the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier in March.
It’s also the last cup before the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea and participants will earn points toward Olympic trials.
Bazin said organizers need volunteers to help with “everything” including ticket sales, advertising and servers.
Last year’s championship was held in Camrose and Bazin said they had as many as 200 volunteers and estimates about the same number are required in Westlock.
“We need many. We’re looking for numerous amounts of volunteers for different levels,” Bazin said.
Anyone interested isn’t required to have any sort of curling background or expertise and training will be provided for different positions.
“We’re definitely going to be looking to get specific curling-type people that can get involved in the curling side of things like timekeeping and scorekeeper,” Bazin said.
“If you’re not a curler and want to come sell 50/50 or hand out tickets that are already sold, we’ll need people for security and bar service.”
Those who do decide to sign up will get some perks that come with the job.
“They’ll get access, some volunteer attire,” Bazin said. “It’s going to be a fun five days. It’s the biggest thing this town ever seen.”
Ultimately Bazin said volunteers are a huge component of the tournament and without them, it simply couldn’t operate.
“We have to have them. It’s a must,” he said.
Bazin said Wednesday’s information session will be a chance for anyone interested to learn more about what’s involved and if they’re interested, they can put their names forward.
“We’re going to have a table set up, some information and a short meeting about who’s going to do what,” he said.
Volunteers, Bazin noted, don’t all have to be from the Westlock area either.
Tickets for the event will go on sale in early October. Bazin said he encourages anyone interested in helping out to check out the event website at www.2017bostonpizzacup.com.
