As National Volunteer Week kicks off today (May 12-18), organisers of the Gold
Coast Indy 300 are enjoying a record response from hopeful volunteers following
the recent opening of applications for the 2008 event.
This year’s Gold Coast Indy 300 will run from October 23 – 26, and each year up
to 1500 volunteers make the event which brings the V8 Supercars and the IndyCar
Series to South East Queensland possible.
With submissions accepted from
the 19th of March, Australia’s volunteering public have already heeded the call
with a record 181 applications flooding in within the first 24 hours of
registration process, and now seven weeks later over 1000 enthusiastic
volunteers have applied.
Despite the enthusiasm of these early
applicants, there are still plenty of positions available including everything
from gate officials to spectator marshals and everything in between.
One
volunteer who knows all about volunteering at Australia’s biggest event is
Mermaid Water’s Lynn Coe, who hasn’t missed a Gold Coast Indy 300 since 2000.
“When I first started, I was interested in seeing what goes into putting
on an event as big as the Gold Coast Indy 300 – I also love the open wheelers
and the V8 Supercars so this was a chance to get a bit closer to the sport I
love – the power of those machines is just awesome!” said Lynn, who along with
her husband Jeff owns “The Lunch Basket” at Mermaid Beach while also running
Eljay Catering.
“Since then I have just kept coming back, it is such a
great event – it is as complicated or as simple as that.
“To be part of
something that is so huge and takes such a large amount of organization, to be
helping in your own small way to make it happen is a great feeling, and I have
made some great friends both locally and from interstate and overseas, and it is
like a big family reunion every year.”
Not only are great friends, great
experience and seeing her favourite race cars up close a big part of it,
volunteering at the Gold Coast’s biggest event allows Lynn the chance to give
back to her favourite place to live.
“I am so proud to live on the Gold
Coast and I am proud of how this event showcases our area and all of us who live
here,” said Lynn.
“You quite often hear the overseas visitors to the
event saying how much they love it and how friendly all the volunteers are, and
that makes me really proud.
“When you leave the track at the end of your
day or at the end of the event and get on the bus to go home and look around at
the people heading home with you who have had a great time – such as a kid who
has met his V8 idol, a group of guys who have been enjoying the "corporate
hospitality" or the group of friends who were on ‘that bend’ when ‘that crash’
happened – everyone of them has a tale to tell and that is what Indy is all
about for me.
“For anyone thinking about having a go at volunteering,
all I can say is ‘go for it!’ There are so many different ways that you can be
part of the team, and there really is a position that will suit everyone so just
jump in – it is an amazing thing to be a part of. "
Gold Coast Indy 300
General Manager Greg Hooton echoed Coe’s sentiments, and invited anyone who has
ever thought of being involved in volunteering to sign up for the October four
day, four night spectacular.
“The benefits of joining the volunteer team
are the friendships that are developed, spending time on the beautiful Gold
Coast with all its celebrated features, mixing with drivers and other
celebrities on and off track, enjoying an exclusive post-race party and
contributing to the overall success of Queensland’s premier event,” said Hooton.
As part of their accreditation, all volunteers receive two Gold Coast
Indy 300 shirts, one Gold Coast Indy 300 cap, a four-day General Admission guest
pass, daily lunch and drinks, and an invitation to the post-race party.
For further information on volunteering or to apply, please visit the
official Gold Coast Indy 300 website – www.indy.com.au
The future of the Gold Coast Indy 300
was recently secured for at least another six years with a deal being reached
with the new-look IndyCar Series and V8 Supercars Australia.
Now
regarded as one of the world’s iconic motorsport events, the Gold Coast Indy 300
will now continue until and including 2013 with major plans already underway for
a massive 20th anniversary celebration in 2010.
With 96 hours of
non-stop excitement over October 23-26 as the Gold Coast comes alive to the
sound of the IndyCars burning up the track and Australia’s own V8 Supercars
scorching around one of the most famous beach-side cities in the world, the
event is the hottest ticket in town.
Tickets are now on sale for the
Gold Coast Indy 300 with ticket options to suit everyone's needs. Four day
Grandstand passes are available for those who prefer to watch the racing from
the comfort of their own reserved seat or for those who prefer to wander around
and soak up the atmosphere then a four day, weekend or single day General
Admission pass might be more their style. For more information on ticket options
go to indy.com.au. For information on Corporate Hospitality packages please call
our Sales Team on (07) 5588 6800.
About the Gold Coast Indy 300
The annual Gold Coast Indy 300 is a partnership between the
Queensland Government and IMG. The Gold Coast Indy 300 will be held from October
23 to 26 in 2008.
IMG is the world's premier Sports, Entertainment and
Media Company. IMG is a diversified global business with two major business
segments: IMG Sports & Entertainment, and IMG Media. IMG employs over 2,300
people in 30 countries. Forstmann Little & Co. purchased IMG in 2004.
IMG Sports & Entertainment includes: consulting services; event
ownership and management; fashion events and models representation; licensing;
golf course design; client representation in golf, tennis, broadcasting,
European football, rugby, cricket, motorsports, coaching, Olympic sports and
action sports. In addition, IMG Academies are the world's largest and most
advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport training and educational facility,
delivering world-class sports training experiences to over 12,000 junior,
collegiate, adult and professional athletes each year.
IMG Media, which
includes our content production subsidiaries TWI, Darlow Smithson Productions
(DSP) and Tiger Aspect Productions (TAP), is recognized as a global leader in
the delivery of traditional and new media content and services, with Internet,
broadband and mobile expertise, transforming how audiences access and interact
with content.
IMG Media produces and distributes over 10,000 hours of
sports, documentary, drama, comedy, entertainment, popular factual and
children’s content annually, over multiple platforms across 200 countries,
including award-winning television and radio programming. It also represents the
broadcast rights to many of the world’s premier sporting events and has the
world’s biggest sports archive with more than 200,000 hours of footage.
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