
Volunteer with us
Venue Volunteers
Venue Volunteers
Roles & Responsibilities
We operate three venues with volunteers on event day:
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Start Venue – Miller Street, North Sydney
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Marathon Finish Line – Sydney Opera House
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Recovery Village – Royal Botanic Gardens
In the venues, the teams are made up of functional area managers, volunteer managers, volunteer support, team leaders, and crew, along with various other event staff who support one another in delivering an excellent event for all participants and spectators.

In Volunteer Support, you will work very closely with the volunteer manager. You will be required to ensure all volunteers have checked in and received their uniform, catering and anything else they need to complete their role. You will help to organise volunteers into their functional areas and hand them over to their team leader/supervisor. You will help the volunteer manager deploy volunteers and redeploy in areas as required.
Throughout your shift, you will check on the volunteers, take them extra water/snacks and solve problems while roaming the venue.
You must be available to attend a mandatory evening training/briefing session prior to event day to gain further information about your roles and responsibilities within Volunteer Support.
This team monitors the start chute, ensuring that only participants with the relevant coloured bib are in the start chute at the correct times.
Assembly Area Crew will assist assembly area managers with a variety of tasks, including managing access to each assembly area, providing hydration to runners before the event and answering questions about the event.
Bib collection volunteers support the Registration Manager with managing lost bibs.
Navigator Ninjas are based in static and roaming positions within your Venue to provide directional assistance and information to race participants and spectators on Event Day. Navigator Ninjas will use the training & maps provided to them to identify key landmarks & event areas to participants (e.g. the location of toilets, corporate marquees, sponsor tents/activations, baggage collection area). You will need to follow instructions from your Area Manager and Team Leader.
Accreditation volunteers assist the Accreditation Manager with checking in workforce, suppliers, and crew and distributing accreditation passes. This team will also reprint lost passes as needed.
This team assists participants who require additional support to make the event accessible. Some volunteers will be based at accessible drop-off areas, guiding participants from the drop off to their correct Assembly Area, while others will support in the accessibility tent within the Green Assembly Area.
Clothing Collection Crew are based all around the venue, guiding participants to dispose of clothing in the right areas, collecting jumpers and other items that may be left on the ground and placing them in dedicated clothing bins.
Start Venue - North Sydney Oval
Marathon Finish Line - Sydney Opera House

In Volunteer Support, you will work very closely with the volunteer manager. You will be required to ensure all volunteers have checked in and received their uniform, catering and anything else they need to complete their role. You will help to organise volunteers into their functional areas and hand them over to their team Leader/supervisor. You will help the volunteer manager deploy volunteers and redeploy in areas as required.
Throughout your shift, you will check on the volunteers, take them extra water/snacks and solve problems while roaming the venue.
You must be available to attend a mandatory evening training/briefing session prior to event day to gain further information about your roles and responsibilities within Volunteer Support.
This team is responsible for ensuring a smooth and orderly flow as participants cross the finish line. This may include directing runners to the appropriate areas, managing traffic flow and assisting with any issues. Finish marshals will also assist the Athlete Services team with tagging the first, second and third male and female athletes.
Please note that this role will be standing for the majority of the day and may require assisting marathoners as they come across the finish line.
This team is responsible for congratulating all finishers and awarding medals, placing a medal around finishers’ necks.
Please note that this role will be standing for the majority of the day.
Navigator Ninjas are based in static and roaming positions within the venue to provide directional assistance and information to race participants and spectators on event day.
Navigator Ninjas should use the training and maps provided to them to identify key landmarks & event areas to participants (e.g. the location of toilets, corporate marquees, sponsor tents/activations, baggage collection area). You will need to follow instructions from your area manager and team leader.
Accreditation volunteers assist the Accreditation Manager with checking in workforce, suppliers, and crew and distributing accreditation passes. This team will also reprint lost passes as needed.
This team is responsible for handing out finisher bags to participants after they cross the finish line. This may include congratulating runners, distributing bags containing post-race refreshments and recovery items, and directing them to the appropriate areas for post-race recovery.

Recovery Village – Royal Botanic Gardens
In Volunteer Support, you will work very closely with the volunteer manager. You will be required to ensure all volunteers have checked in and received their uniform, catering and anything else they need to complete their role. You will help to organise volunteers into their functional areas and hand them over to their team leader/supervisor. You will help the volunteer manager deploy volunteers and redeploy in areas as required. Throughout your shift, you will check on the volunteers, take them extra water/snacks and solve problems while roaming the venue.
You must be available to attend a mandatory evening training/briefing session prior to event day to gain further information about your roles and responsibilities within Volunteer Support.
Navigator Ninjas are based in static and roaming positions within the venue to provide directional assistance and information to race participants and spectators on event day. Navigator Ninjas should use the training and maps provided to them to identify key landmarks & event areas to participants (e.g. the location of toilets, corporate marquees, sponsor tents/activations, baggage collection area). You will need to follow instructions from your area manager and team leader.
This team guides and educates participants in separating their waste into the correct bins. You will be given the chance to interact with participants in a positive light and play a valuable role in reducing the event’s environmental footprint.
This team operates within the Calm Space in the Recovery Village, assisting with questions and overseeing the space.
This team advises family and friends of the status of participants on course. You should be competent with technology and bring a comforting attitude, as supporters may be concerned about the welfare of the participant that they are checking on.
This team helps organise marathoners’ baggage by bib number and facilitates its return post-race. While you will take care of personal belongings, you will not take responsibility for missing/damaged belongings. This is a fun, fast-paced role.
How do I get involved
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If you are a group/club member or a charity/business (minimum ten people) who would like to volunteer together as a group, please email us for more information.
If you have any questions, check out our FAQs page or email our team:
volunteers@sydneymarathon.com
Check out our other General Volunteer Roles! Or, if you have experience in the medical field, check out our Medical Volunteer Roles!

Volunteer With us
How do I get involved?
Subscribe below to stay tuned to the latest information.
If you have any questions, please check out our Volunteer FAQs page or email our team: volunteers@sydneymarathon.com
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