By Andrew Mitchell
In ski racing, there are probably 10 times as many people working behind the scenes as there are in bibs for any given event, most of them unpaid volunteers who are out there purely for the love of the sport.
In Whistler, the behind the scenes volunteers are known as the Weasel Workers, a group that has been in existence for at least 25 years, and that made a name for itself in the days of the Crazy Canucks downhill team. Although there are a few explanations for the name, the most conventional explanation is that the Weasel Workers were named after a steep section of the Whistler Downhill Course — now called the Dave Murray Downhill — that had to be manually boot-packed in the days before winch-cats existed.
While the Weasels have helped out with virtually every World Cup and national championship held in Whistler, they are also well known around the world as dedicated volunteers. Up to 50 members volunteer each year at the Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup races, as well as the Pontiac GMC Cup races and national championships on home soil, and various World Cups and Olympics around the world. At Salt Lake City alone 35 Weasel Workers were on the job in 2002, and over a dozen made the trip to Bormio, Italy in 2006.
But while the Weasels are easily one of the largest social groups in Whistler — over 200 on the mailing list on any given year — the Weasel Workers are launching a massive recruiting campaign. Whistler will be hosting the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships in March, four World Cup speed events next winter, a disabled World Cup in 2009, and, biggest of all, the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Hundreds of new volunteers will be needed over the next few years.
According to Scott Roberts and Peter Allan — longtime Weasels who are leading the recruiting drive — the group will need about 640 volunteers this March when Whistler again hosts the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships.
While Whistler has hosted the Canadian championships three times in five years this is the first time that the skiers will use the Olympic venues — with the exception of the women’s downhill course, which is still under development. Because of the change of venues — and because the national events will be a dry run for the 2008 World Cup races and 2010 Olympic races, more volunteers will be needed to ensure things go smoothly.
“Our objective really is to increase the number of vollees working on course, increase the volunteers working off-course, and also to address the need to provide the best volunteer experience anywhere leading up to 2010,” said Roberts.
“When 2010 rolls around, it will be VANOC’s show but the Weasels are going to be the ones to get the call, and they’re going to take people with experience first.”
The last goal should be easy. All volunteers are given packages for their support, and the Weasel Workers have created a work atmosphere and social scene that keeps people coming back year after year, decade after decade. Some of the original Weasels are in their 60s and 70s, says Allan, and aren’t planning to retire until after the 2010 Games.
Roberts and Allan are hoping to recruit as many locals as possible, from long-term residents to seasonal visitors, and from Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton.
As well, Allan is tasked with finding beds to billet visiting volunteers from across Canada for the national championships, and the U.S. and possibly Europe for World Cup events and the Olympics. The Weasels are already getting inquiries about 2010, and should have more than enough volunteers — providing they can find enough places for them to stay.
“(The Weasels) have always had a bit of a budget to tie up some commercial space like the campground, the Tyrol Lodge, but that’s not enough to accommodate the increase in the number of volunteers we need this year, which is about half of what we’ll need the next year,” Allan said, adding that up to 1,500 volunteers will be needed by 2010 to run the Olympic Alpine events.
“What we’re looking for is good-natured people to put up volunteers, the same way you were billeted as a hockey player when you were a kid. We have a meal program already, we just need to find people some beds.”
Allan says about 70 crew chiefs from across Canada will be joining the Weasel Workers for the national championships and will be looking for places to stay. As well, he’s hoping to sweeten the deal by providing cheap deals for accommodation to the families of volunteers, providing extra incentive for experienced course workers to come to Whistler.
Because all accommodation is expected to be tight for the Olympics, the goal is to train as many volunteers from the region as possible. Allan and Roberts also want to get the word out that you don’t need to be a skier to volunteer, as well as the fact that the Weasels are flexible when it comes to scheduling — you only need to commit to the times that you have available. The job is also not as difficult as it once was, thanks to winch cats, snowmaking, water injection systems, snow hardeners and other developments in course maintenance.
“Back in the old days, all a safety system would be is a hay bale in front of a lift tower, which would freeze into a block of ice anyway. Now we have A netting systems, B systems, better fencing… and it makes a huge difference because the skis are faster as well,” said Roberts.
“That’s part of the reason we go to so many places,” added Allan, “it’s important to see what other organizations are doing, and keep up to date.”
Course work for the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships gets underway on March 15, a week before the start of the competition, and wraps up after the racing on March 28. However, the Weasels can always find something to do, whatever time of the year.
If you would like to know more or join the Weasel Workers, visit www.weaselworkers.com . If you can provide accommodation to one or more volunteers, contact Peter Allan at 604-932-8624, or Lockie Brown at 604-943-7094.
There are a variety of volunteer opportunities available from March 15 to 28, including on course positions as gatekeepers, slip crews, security staff, timing, and equipment management on course, and off-course positions in accreditation, race administration, transportation, lunch crews, refreshment tent staff, and party organizers. All volunteers will be contacted in the next few weeks by a crew chief.
