Nice insight on the free labor WTC recieves every year.
http://m.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/oct/28/ironman-should-pay-its-volunteers/?opinioncolumns
Hmmm…Interesting precedent setting lawsuit. Although, it’s doomed to fail. Deep pockets, and high powered lawyers will squash it.
Having to pay the volunteers is one way to get the
13-17 hour finishers to hurry up.
It would bite not WTC in the ass but the entire endurance industry.
But don’t worry, I can’t name a single RD in the entire country who is currently worried about this. It’s dead in the water.
The article’s main question – whether people volunteering at an Ironman race in service of a for-profit corporation are diverting themselves from other, more virtuous volunteer work – assumes that volunteering is a zero-sum activity.
Sure, I guess some people who volunteer are tearing themselves away from a soup kitchen or adult reading program. But in my experience, most are friends or family of athletes or residents of a local community that is benefitting economically from the presence of a couple thousand athlete-tourists.
I volunteer for the occasional triathlon becasue it’s a fun way to see a race from the inside, I have friends or teammates who are volunteering or racing, and to give back to a sport that gives me a lot.
You think the suit against Rock and Roll Marathon is dead in the water? what makes you so sure? The suit has merit under the law and has a good chance of succeeding, and I think plenty of RDs, and especially WTC will be watching the outcome carefully.
That wasn’t the main point in the article. rather, the main point is that a for-profit company is using unpaid labor, which is illegal. The law is not concerned that those volunteers could be doing other volunteer work for real charities, but rather those volunteers are depriving potential tax-paying job-seekers paid employment.
You think the suit against Rock and Roll Marathon is dead in the water? what makes you so sure? The suit has merit under the law and has a good chance of succeeding, and I think plenty of RDs, and especially WTC will be watching the outcome carefully.
I suppose this would also apply to all the volunteers at NFL, NBA and MLB games too.
I always thought that volunteers were people that knew they were not getting paid.
At least WTC gives them a shirt and something to eat as well as letting them sign up to pay $$$ to enter a race.
jaretj
I must admit I’d raced many races before volunteering to work a feed station on the bike course.
Man it was such a blast. If you’ve not done it - you should. So much fun. And then I hung around cheering at a far point on the run course. Lots of fun encouraging the athletes on. I was offered free entry to next years race, but turned it down. I want to do that again. Who needs paying for that ?
Wont stand a chance. WTC has the Ironman Foundation that brings in money for local charities. Also lots of volunteers volunteer in groups and get paid a stipend. WTC has a much different and more respectable volunteer structure then many other race companies.
You think the suit against Rock and Roll Marathon is dead in the water? what makes you so sure? The suit has merit under the law and has a good chance of succeeding, and I think plenty of RDs, and especially WTC will be watching the outcome carefully.
I suppose this would also apply to all the volunteers at NFL, NBA and MLB games too.
Definitely for MLB as they are currently fighting a similar suit. I’m not sure about NFL as someone mentioned here that the NFL is a charity organization, which seems a little bizarre, but maybe so.
But don’t worry, I can’t name a single RD in the entire country who is currently worried about this. It’s dead in the water.
You can name one now. Our little single triathlon is run by a volunteer committee. Nobody gets paid in our organization. Excess funds go to charity. Our event is held in the city core (Olympic) and we need over 200+ volunteers to close roads etc. While these news items and the R&R lawsuit do not directly affect our event the more uprising there is in articles and such the more people will feel they should be compensated. As soon as that happens we will have to shut the race down.
Nice insight on the free labor WTC recieves every year.
http://m.timesfreepress.com/...eers/?opinioncolumns]
“free labor the WTC recieves?” Sure you didn’t mean, lowered cost/free assistance participants receive? Who’s fees do you think will go up if the RD has to pay the volunteers?
The NFL is a 501(c)(6)…it’s good to go 
.
You think the suit against Rock and Roll Marathon is dead in the water? what makes you so sure? The suit has merit under the law and has a good chance of succeeding, and I think plenty of RDs, and especially WTC will be watching the outcome carefully.
I suppose this would also apply to all the volunteers at NFL, NBA and MLB games too.
Definitely for MLB as they are currently fighting a similar suit. I’m not sure about NFL as someone mentioned here that the NFL is a charity organization, which seems a little bizarre, but maybe so.
The NFL corporate office is a non-profit. This does not apply to any of the teams, with the exception of the Green Bay Packers (which are also a non-profit). So, if the team is using volunteers, then they would be as liable as anyone else (I would think, not being a lawyer).
Spot
They would find an easy work around. A registered charity would supply the volunteers as and WTC would make a nominal donation to that charity. It could be a win-win, but again, a very quick, simple work around. Although I’m not a lawyer.
Hmmmm… not where could WTC find a charity partner that’s at every event… how about Ironman Foundation? There problem solved.
What would a nominal donation be?
Charity X provides 100 volunteers - how much would they get. The charity has to do substantial leg-work to get 100 volunteers. Now multiply that by 40.
In both cases you have WTC paying into charity funds. Doubtful they want to divert any of their revenue anywhere. They don’t pay into the Ironman Foundation now.
At least WTC gives them a shirt and something to eat as well as letting them sign up to pay $$$ to enter a race.
This makes me wonder if this could be their “out”. Without looking at all the legalese surrounding this, is “pay” the appropriate word here, or is it a matter of “compensation”? Could the offer of a shirt, lunch, and the opportunity to go to the front of the signup line be considered “adequate compensation” in place of real money?
I’m completely ignorant on this topic, so that’s probably an extremely dumb line of thinking.
What would a nominal donation be?
Charity X provides 100 volunteers - how much would they get. The charity has to do substantial leg-work to get 100 volunteers. Now multiply that by 40.
In both cases you have WTC paying into charity funds. Doubtful they want to divert any of their revenue anywhere. They don’t pay into the Ironman Foundation now.
Could be $0. The payment could be the marketing value of being a partner with the race. Heck, a charity might still pay Ironman AND provide volunteers. Either way, the volunteers come from the charity, not Ironman. The charity would have to decide is it’s worth to expense.