If you are a sport organisation looking at ways to recruit and retain volunteers, see our Futureproofing - People page

Sport volunteering is providing unpaid help (time, skills, or services) to support sport organisations, clubs, or events.

It includes multiple roles before, during, and after sporting events, trainings, or matches, and is essential to how both community and professional sport operates. These roles include, but are not limited to:

  • Coaching
  • Umpiring/officiating
  • Administration
  • Committee/board positions
  • Grounds maintenance
  • Coordinating equipment and uniforms
  • Food and beverage service (running canteens, BBQs, bars etc.)

Sporting clubs and events rely heavily on volunteers to operate, often because the tasks required are temporary, event-specific, and require large numbers of helpers.

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Sport volunteering keeps clubs and events running and shapes the positive culture that makes sport so powerful.

When people volunteer they are helping to build welcoming environments that support participants from a range of backgrounds. This contributes to ensuring sport remains accessible to all.

Almost every sport across South Australia relies on volunteers to keep them moving. The following sporting organisations have specific volunteering opportunities that they are seeking helpers for:

Athletics South Australia: (external site)https://www.athleticssa.com.au/officials/volunteer (external site)

Little Athletics South Australia:  https://salaa.org.au/youth-volunteering/ (external site)

School Sport SA: https://www.education.sa.gov.au/schools-and-educators/programs-students/school-sport-sa/student-official-opportunities (external site)

With multiple World Class sporting events coming to Adelaide and the 2032 Olympics coming to Australia, there has never been a better time to get involved in sports volunteering. If you're interested in gaining all the social, health and wellbeing benefits of becoming a volunteer, you can get involved by doing one of the following:

Contact your local sport or active recreation organisation and offer your services

Let them know what specific area you would be most interested in volunteering in (e.g. coaching, officiating, administration) so that the organisation can provide opportunities that will be valuable to you.

Contact a State Sporting or Recreation Association and ask them if there are any volunteering opportunities available.

State sporting associations may require volunteers for major competitions (e.g. state championships), or be able to pass you on to organisations in need of volunteer.

Students can become a studient official with School Sports SA

School Sport SA offers students in South Australian schools an opportunity to be a student official in a variety of sports and events. School Sport SA are committed to supporting the development of umpires, referees, coaches and officials by providing events for students to officiate at in a safe and supportive environment. More information about this can be found here (external site) (external site) (external site).

Alternatively, consider the following online noticeboards which post a range of volunteering positions

Volunteering SA&NT - Find a Position:(external site)(external site) (external site) (external site) (external site) (external site) (external site) (external site)

Sport SA - Career Hub:

Australian Sports Commission - Sport Director Talent Community (for those wanting to volunteer on a sporting board):

Seek Volunteer:

GoVolunteer:

The  Sport Volunteer Coalition Action Plan (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) outlines the actions that will be taken at a national level to achieve the following vision for volunteering in Australian sport:

“People from all walks of life see and realise opportunities to contribute to individual, club and community goals in a way that suits them.”

In addition, the Australian Sports Commission coordinate the Sport Volunteer Resource Hub (external site) (external site) (external site) (external site) (external site) which is designed to support those involved in volunteering at local clubs through to major sporting events.

Finally, the National Volunteer Map (external site) (external site) (external site) (external site) (external site) is an interactive, digital platform designed to showcase and celebrate sport volunteers across Australia.

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