Volunteering at parkrun....the Funnel Manager

The Funnel Manager is basically in charge of overseeing everything that goes on in the finishing area.

This is very much an organisational role to ensure the smooth running of the finish area.

The main responsibilities of the Funnel Manager are:

- to ensure that finishers continue along the finish funnel, keeping the finish line clear for the next finishers. Some finishers may be exhausted, but all must be encouraged along the finish funnel as efficently as possible. The finish line must not be blocked.

- to ensure that finishers remain in the same order until the end of the finish funnel, where the finish position tokens will be handed out. The Funnel Manager will usually leave the runners to agree the order in which they finished, remembering that parkrun is a run and not a race and that those in a close finish will normally be given the same or similar time anyway.

- to ensure that every runner that crosses the finish line within the funnel is then kept inside the funnel until the end and takes a finish position token. Anyone ducking out of the finish funnel (known as "funnel duckers" - don't try saying that fast a few times in a row) and not taking a finish position token, could cause problems in the results. Runners should be encouraged to remain in the correct position in the funnel and take a finish position token. Should it not be possible to prevent a funnel ducker, the Funnel Manager can pocket the relevant finish position token for safekeeping.

Where the Numbers Assisstant role is not fullfilled, the Funnel Ducker can offer help to the Numbers role at busy periods. This could be to provide the next batch of finish position tokens. This help is particularly welcome during the colder winter months when the effect of the cold on the hands and fingers of the person in the Numbers role can make fiddly jobs quite tricky.