Invitational Volunteer Positions


Here is a list of volunteer positions and a description of duties. Please sign-up using Charms. If you do not have access to Charms use the Contact Form.

AdmissionsMain or Concessions. These volunteers work in the ticket booth at the top of the stadium or next to the concession stand. They are responsible for ensuring all visitors pay to enter the stadium and that VIPs are welcomed and shown through the gate. Other volunteers assigned to this area include hand stampers and program sales.

Announcer. This person works in the press box and announces the different bands, their staff and program, and awards.

Awards Coordinator. This person is responsible for making an inventory of all the trophies prior to setting them out to ensure everything was ordered and received correctly. The awards coordinator sets out the trophies and hands them to the NS Drum Major during the presentations.

Bleacher Traffic. This group of folks is responsible for ensuring that no spectators enter the bleachers while a band is performing. Polite behavior and a lot of patience are necessary in this position.

Concessions Coordinator. This volunteer oversees the operation of the concession stand, grill area and satellite concessions during Invitational. The coordinator makes volunteer assignments based on need and ability and is responsible for submitting a financial accounting of the day’s sales to the Invitational Coordinator within two weeks following the event.

Concessions/Concessions Grill. This is a large group of volunteers that work in the concession stand, the grill area and satellite concessions. Duties include food preparation/wrapping, customer Service, and money handling. The Concessions Coordinator assigns tasks based on a volunteer’s skills.

Directors Tent. This is a small group of volunteers that will work in the directors tent, that will serve as a meeting and refreshment area for the participating band directors.  Duties include making sure there are snack foods and beverages available for the directors and that the area is well maintained.

Field Coordinator. This person is the last person in the staging process and coordinates directly with NS Band Director (in the press box) to move a participating band onto the field. The NS Band Director will radio the field coordinator when the judges have finished scoring the previous band and are ready for the next band to get into position.

First Aid Station. The first aid station is designed to meet the needs of participating band members and members of the NS Band program. The goal is to stabilize a student and call 911. No medications will be dispended to anyone other than a band director for a student or to our students. Adhesive bandages and antibacterial ointments will be available. One or two students will be assigned to the First Aid station to assist the adult volunteers.

Hand Stamper. This is a student position and can be managed by a student volunteer from outside the NS band program. Hand stampers are positioned in the parking lot and pit areas to stamp the hands (or wrists as directed by the band director) of each member of a participating band, the director and staff, and chaperones. Additionally, hand stampers are at each admissions point to stamp the hand of each person who passes through the gate. This is very important to indicate who has paid and who hasn’t. One color of ink is used for participating bands, and another is used for admissions.

Hosts. Each participating band is escorting through the staging process by an adult host and one or two student guides. All of these positions are filled from the Booster organization and the NS Band program. The primary responsibility of each host is to move the band from the changing rooms, to the warm up field, to the final staging area according to the schedule. When adult hosts are between bands they will provide backfill when needed to those individuals needing comfort breaks.

Ice/Water/Custodial. These volunteers keep the water stations stocked with water and ice, collect trash bags that are full, deliver full bags to the dumpster and reline cans. Additionally, may be asked to get ice for the concession stand.

Judges Lunch. This person is asked to provide lunch for the judges, announcer, the director, and the scoring team. The number of people and lunch location is determined each year based on the performance schedule.

Judges’ Runner. These volunteers are assigned to the judging team and respond to their requests for support. They retrieve the video recording of each performance from the videographer on top of the press box and see that it is inserted into the appropriate director’s packet.

Parking Coordinator. This volunteer oversees the parking crews on the bus ramp, the upper deck, and in front of the school. They ensure that an adequate number of people are assigned to each location and that cars/busses/trucks and trailers are moving safely around the school grounds.

Parking. This group of volunteers guide vehicles entering the school to the appropriate parking locations: pit crew vehicles to the driving range behind the bleachers, general admission to the front parking lot, busses to the upper deck and bus ramp. The parking coordinator is responsible for making volunteer assignments.

Pit Crew Coordinator. This volunteer oversees the pit crew support required by each participating band. Not all bands require a tow vehicle and trailers to move their pits to the field. For those that do, pit crew volunteers load the trailers and drive the equipment to and from the field and assist with the reload of the equipment into the band’s trailer. The Pit Crew Coordinator also ensures that the pits get to the field in the correct order and on time.

Pit Crew. Not all bands require a tow vehicle and trailers to move their pits to the field. For those that do, pit crew volunteers load the trailers and drive the equipment to and from the field and assist with the reload of the equipment into the band’s trailer.

Press Coordinator. This individual contacts various media outlets prior to and following the festival to ensure the maximum press exposure possible.

Program Sales Coordinator. This person is also the Admissions Coordinator and usually works in the front ticket booth. Program sales are managed from there. They see that the students working program sales are well stocked with programs and that the money from sales is accounted for separately from admissions.

Program Sales. These are student volunteers who are responsible for selling programs to spectators as they enter the stadium either through the main entrance or through the concessions entrance. The Program Sales Coordinator oversees these students.

Registration/Volunteer Coordinator. This volunteer works at the registration table and is the point of contact for all the volunteers signing in and out of the festival. Additionally, they ensure that each volunteer understands what task they’ve been assigned and who to report to. A list of volunteer assignments will be posted at the registration table. Also oversees the registration table volunteers and ensures that comfort breaks are given and backfilled.

Registration. Directors of participating bands will come to the registration table to check in. The registration volunteer passes out the directors’ packets and ensures that each band has an adult host and at least one student guide.

Scoring. These volunteers enter the scores from the judges score sheet onto a computerized spreadsheet for tabulation. One volunteer enters the data and a second volunteer verifies the data for correctness.

Videographer. This volunteer is positioned on top of the press box with the band’s video equipment and is responsible for recording each performance and delivering the recording to a runner for inclusion in the director’s scoring packet. Each performance recording should be properly marked with the name of the school and should include a single wide shot of the band on the field. There is no need to zoom in unless the band is small, or pan left/right unless portions of the band leave the frame. There can be no talking during a performance as it will be recorded. Begin the recording when the band is set on the field to make its entrance and end it when the band is leaving the field.

Water Station. These volunteers work in one of the many water stations outside the stadium that provide water to participating bands. Each station is responsible for maintaining enough water/ice/cups to accommodate a band’s needs.