Gophering
“A Wonderful thing is a Gopher,
A Gopher’s a wonderful thing.
They always have a cheery smile
They can find almost anything.”
Pol (2009)
The Discworld Convention is a large event, which couldn't function without the help of volunteers helping to run it. In fact, the whole committee are volunteers, all working very hard in advance to organise the Convention. However, there are only so many of us, and we couldn't do it without the help of the gophers, watch and tech volunteers who make the weekend run as smoothly as possible.
And, of course, beyond a good deed and making everyone around you happy because of a better experience, volunteering is a wonderful way of meeting new people, and getting to see more parts of the Convention throughout the weekend. It is heartily recommended for new attendees as a way to get into the flow of things, attending programme items you never would have thought of going to on your own, and getting to know a lot of the other people at the convention.
There are various things that need to happen at the Convention, and you can choose to help out with any of them:
Gophers help make sure that the Convention runs smoothly by helping to move various items from place to place as the need arise - it could be a cup of coffee for a Guest, a whiteboard for a programme item, food for the actors before the big show, arranging auction items for display, and a whole other variety of things (bringing gin to people in Ops is considered an optional extra). There will be a couple of gopher briefings at the start of the convention, where you can sign up to become a gopher, meet the gopher masters, and learn more about the wonderful work you'll be asked to do.
Registration Desks operate throughout almost the whole weekend, and we always need friendly and helpful people to run them. Registration volunteers greet the arriving members, help orient them about what is going on in the convention, and get them prepared for a long weekend full of wonder and fun. Everyone at the Convention goes to registration first, and the volunteers there will get to know a lot of new people and catch up with old friends as they get themselves ready for the convention.
The Watch mostly work to keep our presence as organised as possible, and make sure that we do not disturb other guests at the hotel (at least, not physically, we don't think we can help with any mental disturbances they may suffer). They will be helping to organise orderly queues at the larger events, keeping passages clear for traffic when there are large queues forming, and making sure people with disabilities can get in first. You can meet the watch commanders at the gopher briefing, when they will very kindly ask you to sign up in advance to volunteer for specific time slots throughout the weekend.
Techs help run the various equipment required to run the programme items, from sound to lighting, and probably a whole slew of other tech oriented magics. If you have experience with theatre or similar, and want to help organise the backstage side of the events you are more then welcome. If you don't have that background you are also welcome - there will be "teach yourself tech" slots in the programme where you can learn all about the various magic machines used to make light and sound happen on-stage, and then sign up to help at various items during the convention, if you are so inclined.
If this all sounds a bit daunting read Crazyscott's account of attending his first even Discworld Convention and being a tech volunteer.
Finally, if you have a current first aid certificate and would like to help in the (hopefully unlikely) event such help is needed, please drop by ops, to let us know who you are and for a briefing with our first aid coordinator.
For most of the above, you only likely to be asked to help for an hour here, or an hour there throughout the weekend. You're free to volunteer for as little or as much as you want or can handle, and if someone asks you to help but you want to attend a programme item, have lunch or just sit with friends at the bar - feel free to say no; you're first and foremost at the convention to have fun. Of course, if you enjoy volunteering best we will not tell you to go away; a large percentage of the committee started out volunteering at previous conventions, and all agree this is fun.
And if you know you want to help at the convention, you are always welcome to drop us a line at volunteers@dwcon.org and let us know if there are any areas you are specialised in, or are particularly interested in doing during the convention.
The Gopher Masters
During DWCon 2012 the Gopher Masters are Pete and Simon.
