National Volunteers’ Week

This week it is National Volunteers’ Week and we wanted to highlight some of the amazing work that is going on throughout the British Weight Lifting Community.

At British Weight Lifting we recognise the incredibly important role volunteers play in our sport. We value the contribution of every single volunteer that is able to dedicate their spare time to help deliver our competitions, events and other initiatives.

We interviewed three of our volunteers – Omarie Mears and Darren Rogers

Here they tell us how they got into volunteering, what skills they’ve acquired as a result, the positive experiences of volunteering and advise they would give to someone thinking of volunteering.

How did you get into volunteering?

“My first experience of volunteering was helping out at Weightlifting Competitions, in a small role as supporting a team mate when they’re warming up to compete and from that the interest grew to wanting to do the other roles e.g. the coach, the TO, the Referee etc. and before you know it you're invested into something that excels you as an individual” Omarie Mears

“10 years ago two friends and I decided to re-establish a local Weightlifting club to give a little back to a sport we had all enjoyed for many years”. Darren Rogers

What skills have you been able to acquire through helping out?

“Some of the key skills that I’ve developed through volunteering is;

• Confidence – in a broad sense you're able to develop confidence in yourself but also being able to feel the confidence that someone else has in you, this definitely helped me to be more confident in my future endeavours.
• Leadership – through showing and sharing with others who are new to the sport of weightlifting, and also being able to do tasks that others might not be comfortable or confident doing.
• Communication – being able to engage with a range of people for example athletes, spectators, coaches/officials. Developing communication is an important skill I improved on, because I was able to interact with a range of people in varying roles”. Omarie Mears

“Through coaching and TO courses I have gained recognised qualifications but this is where it begins. Communication across various age groups to both male and female athletes of various abilities. I have learnt to listen to how people feel both mentally and physically and realise this directly affects how you train, compete and your general health”. Darren Rogers

What is the most positive experience that you have had as a volunteer?

“The most positive experience I had as a volunteer was the opportunity to volunteer at the London 2012 Olympics as an Athlete Services for Weightlifting. This was a truly an inspirational moment”. Omarie Mears

“After performing my roles at a 2 or 3 day competition working as a member of a team of officials and volunteers in many roles there is a great sense of satisfaction. To know that an athlete may have hit a PB, got 6 from 6 lifts or even competed at their first event makes the hard work worthwhile”. Darren Rogers

How has volunteering helped you to develop as a person?

“Volunteering has helped me to develop as a person, through firstly, the continuous opportunity to help out/give back and be a part of the development of weightlifting. Secondly, it has also given me the necessary skills and experience to prepare for the working world”. Omarie Mears

“As a person who has a history of anxiety and depression, I would never have thought I could achieve what I have. I can MC to an audience of sometimes many hundreds of people. I have confidence in my ability to perform many TO duties. I have confidence to meet many new people who have all become the best friends a person could have”. Darren Rogers

What advice would you give to someone who was thinking about volunteering?

"My advice for someone wanting to volunteer, would be to definitely do it! But also make sure it’s something that you have an interest in, because then it adds a bit more of a motivational factor and a sense of pride - that you're apart of something that you enjoy doing and you're able to get an alternative perspective to that thing". Omarie Mears

“If you are thinking of volunteering you are 95% there. DO IT!!!”. Darren Rogers

 Interested in Volunteering?

Interested in finding out more about volunteer opportunities with British Weight Lifting? Visit our volunteering page for more information - https://britishweightlifting.org/about/volunteer-opportunities