Crew Info
All volunteer race workers are assigned to a crew that is lead by an experienced Crew Chief. Your Crew Chief is your friend, you mentor and your guide. He or she is there to assist you and to help you enjoy your experience.
Soon after you register to work on a Whistler race, you should be contacted by your Crew Chief. If you have not worked with us before, you will be assigned to a crew based on your preferred type of work. Keep in touch with your Crew Chief. Let him or her know how your travel plans are progressing, ask him your questions and look to him for assistance and training.
Most
volunteers work with a Course crew, of which there are many. Some
Course crews take on specialized activities such as the Dye Crew, the
(Equipment) Runners, etc. The Slip Crew is comprised of course workers
who are
particularly strong skiers. Volunteers choose to work either on
or
off the course with one or more of the crews listed to the
left.
Many volunteers who are not strong skiers or who are non-skiers participate on the Security Crew (Course Stewards) or in the Finish Crew.
The Gate Judges are a separate group of race officials that attract many volunteers.
With the 2008 setup and race period lasting almost a month, most volunteers will not work for the entire period. Believe it or not, many will! Course crews generally come and go with their Crew Chief and/or his assistant, who will coordinate a work schedule with crew members. When a Crew Chief and his assistant are both absent, crew members who remain will be assigned to another crew. Other crews, such as the Beer Tent Crew or the Transportation Crew are always active, but the crew members will change according to individual work schedules.
Daily Routine
Different
Crews may have different daily routines and schedules, and these may
different on race days than on setup days. The Course Crews are
up early and are usually first on the mountain. The Equipment
Crew will be on hand when the first crew arrives, ready to pass out
radios and other equipment. Drivers detailed to pick up crew
and to deliver them to Creekside will also be up early.
On
race days, Gate Judges don't need to be on the mountain first thing,
but they will usually have an early meeting with the Chief Gate Judge.
On the other hand, the Beer Tent crew starts work
at 3:00 pm and may not finish until 7:30 pm. On
race
days
Finish Corral crew will be on hand early to close up the finish
corral, and remain until after racing has ended for the day,
when they open up
the corral for overnight passage of groomers and equipment.
Some crews will be blessed with the opportunity for an “early load”, in which case they will be on the Gondola by 6:30 am.. Don’t be late, the mountain allows only a small window for early loads.
Unless they are assigned a special task, volunteers stay with their crews all day, usually ending the day together in the Beer Tent. See the list of links above for more information about the duties and tasks of each type of crew. Note that there are many Course Crews, each with a Crew Chief, while there is just one of most of the other crew types.
Morning Meeting
Most
volunteers will meet their crew at about 7 am in Dusty’s
Bar and Grill at Creekside.
They will check in with
the Accreditation crew to receive a lift pass, if necessary, have a
coffee and perhaps have some breakfast. They will discuss the
day’s plans
with their Crew Chief and pick up any necessary equipment before
heading up the hill on the Creekside
Gondola at about 7:30. Those leaving Dusty's for an early
load may be bussed to the Village Gondla.
