Offering yourself as a volunteer

IronMike

What do you all think of offering yourself as volunteer to others? I'm asking because I'd like to "give back" at MIMS. I'd rather not volunteer as a check-in person. I'd like to be on someone's crew.

Am I being naive? Would it be weird for me to offer myself to one of the swimmers?

I'm willing to travel there and put myself up. I really want to learn and, as I said, pay it back.

What do you guys think?

evmo

Yes. Do it. And on that topic, this post from @Ned Denison is worth reading.

Keep in mind, though, you can't "offer yourself" to a specific swimmer at MIMS. Crews are already set at the application deadline. You can volunteer as an observer, but you'll be assigned by NYC Swim.

ChickenOSea

Hey mike. I volunteered as an observer for 2011 MIMS. You can't volunteer for crew but I suppose they could call on you if needed. It turned out to be a fantastic day. I was on Erica Rose's boat and got to see how a real professional operation went down. She smiled the whole way round. What a pleasure.
(I aas VERY sick at times when the boat was waiting around, at the beginning and end, but ok for the actually swimming part).
Go for it!

loneswimmer

Crewing, being a traffic steward, selling t-shirts, minding swim bags, joining a club committee, helping swimmers, observing and more are all part of the volunteering options. I can't recommend getting involved from a non-swim POV highly enough, helping others to get swims done. And helping on a big one like MIMS is guaranteed to be great & enjoyable for you too.

IronMike

Thanks all.

@ChickenOSea, did you volunteer specifically to be an observer? Did you get training? How many days did you spend there? I have a NYSwim account, but it says there are no volunteer opportunities available right now.

ChickenOSea

I think I requested that I be an observer because I wanted to watch the race I just looked on the site every now and then and eventually the volunteer positions opened up. There was an observers' conference call a few days before the race where we were told what to do. I stayed 3 nights so I could go play at Brighton Beach the day after. I'd like to do it again!

david_barra

Yes you can volunteer as an observer.

firebah

I plan on volunteering to be an observer for the upcoming MIMS. I believe you must have a profile set up on the NYC website and at some point they will allow you to update your profile to add your request to be an observer. Currently I am an official observer with the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation but so enjoyed MIMS when I swam it in 2010 that I want to come back and enjoy it again from another perspective while 'giving back' to Morty and the gang.

ForeverSwim

@ironmike - Volunteer opportunities for NYCSwim should be available after 1 January 2013. I highly recommend the opportunity to 'give back' as you put it! It is a lot of fun to observe, and an awesome way to meet other marathon swimmers from around the world!
@firebah - Yes, you would want to create a profile through NYCSwim in order to volunteer with the organization! Have fun this year!!

bobswims

I volunteered as an observer at MIMS in 2011. In addition to getting good charma for giving back to the community, the experience was invaluable for my solo swim in 2012. I'd highly recommend it. It's probably the most scenic marathon swim from a crew's point of view.

IronMike

All, as referenced on another thread, I volunteered to help at Tampa, and that turned into a spot on a relay. (They were looking for someone and were willing to scrape the bottom of the barrel.)
MIMS timing doesn't work unfortunately. I'll look for somewhere else to volunteer. Maybe somewhere local.

njoy

I volunteered twice as an observer for MIMS. It's a great experience. Highly recommended.

[Deleted User]

Sounds like volunteering for MIMS is much more pleasant than volunteering for USMS.