FOCAL is looking for volunteers!

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FOCAL is looking for volunteers!

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FOCAL is the unofficial circuit for Countdown tournaments across the UK and Ireland. It is run by volunteers who book venues and organise different themed events which are generating repeat interest and growing in popularity.

We run tournaments in community halls, churches, hotel conference suites… even football stadiums! We consistently cover all of our costs and can reward participants with prizes from the surpluses we generate.

The first such event was back in 2005, and now that organisers work together under a single banner, 2019 is FOCAL’s fourth year with 14 different tournaments taking place. We’re now building up to our end-of-year Finals in November, and we want 2020 to be our biggest and best circuit yet!

For in between our events, we’re looking for volunteers who can help the various elements of FOCAL run smoothly, behind-the-scenes. If you can spare a few hours a month, or more, we’d like to hear from you if you’re interested in any of the following areas:

- Upkeep of our WordPress website and blog, so that the content on all of our pages remains fresh and up-to-date;
- Using Facebook, Twitter, our FOCAL email account and other platforms, to build and promote upcoming events, supporting organisers to achieve their target attendance numbers;
- Administration and general management, from supporting the Treasurer with accounts and receipts, to working with the Chair on developing FOCAL’s policies;
- Developing the software that we use at tournaments – from data entry and match results, to big screen graphics;
- Graphic design for publicity, obtaining quotes for and arranging printing;
- Buying in materials and resources, particularly for our end-of-year Finals event (and we’ll reimburse your expenses);
- Spreading the word about what FOCAL does, from establishing links with local journalists to drafting and supplying press releases;
Anything else you’ve thought of that could add value!

This will be particularly valuable to students and young adults looking to develop professional organisational skills and add experience to their CVs. In time, we’ll be happy to respond to requests for character references.

A working knowledge of such packages as MS Excel, PowerPoint and Word is helpful. If you can develop formulas, write code for websites and build apps, that’s even better!

We can provide guidance and support for different workstreams, including arranging contact by phone or video calls. There are no travel costs involved.

To express your interest, or to request an informal discussion, please write to Jeff Clayton, Chair of FOCAL Countdown: jeff@focalcountdown.co.uk.

We look forward to hearing from you – by 30th September, please.
FOCAL Countdown - the unofficial tournament circuit
focalcountdown.com | @focalcountdown | focalcountdown@gmail.com
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