Luckily, several opportunities exist to volunteer for various support positions before and during the LGT World Men’s Curling Championships, set for March 27-April 4.

Kara Umphlett, competitions chairperson and technical volunteer lead with the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, or UOLF, told the Standard-Examiner that open volunteer positions don’t require extensive curling knowledge.

“Most of the technical positions are full and anyone that is doing those has to know curling in order to do them,” she said. “But there are other positions available that don’t require any curling knowledge.”

She said positions are open to everyone and start as early as March 23. They include tasks such as picking up athletes and coaches from the airport, venue preparation, check in, hospitality and access control. Volunteers will be rewarded with a meal and a ticket for each shift with Umphlett saying there may be additional perks for additional shifts.

Umphlett was unsure of exactly how many volunteer spots were still available as of Monday.

However, she used one volunteer position in particular to emphasize how critical having volunteer help is to making a successful competition.

“The games are timed, so we have five timers per game,” she said. “We literally can not run an event without timers. Maybe there’s a hospitality shift that we could do away with if needed, but if we don’t have the necessary timers, we literally have to cancel games, and that’s not good.”

Umphlett said filling these positions shows the community is not only supportive of the current event but will be supportive of other major events down the road, such as the Winter Olympics, which will be returning to the region in 2034.

“It definitely makes a big impact,” she said.

Anyone who is interested in volunteering or getting more information on volunteering for the LGT World Men’s Curling Championships is encouraged to visit https://utaholympiclegacy.rosterfy.com/login.