Volunteers

Volunteers are the backbone of the Ontario Alliance of Climbers. There are countless opportunities for you to give back to the Ontario climbing community through the OAC; whether you’re looking to participate through event volunteering, running special projects, or keeping the organization running, there’s always a project to crush!

Volunteers that help keep our organization afloat have:

An intense passion for outdoor climbing;
Integrity, a self-starter attitude, and a passion for managing their own projects;
Excellent project management, communication, organizational and problem-solving skills;
The desire to work in a collaborative team setting; and,
An interest in attending bi-monthly volunteer meetings.

If you would like to get involved, please check out the opportunities listed below! You can also fill out our General Volunteer Application, and we’ll be in touch when opportunities arise that fit your areas of interest.

General Volunteer Application

Current Opportunities

Newsletter Editor

Are you a wizard with words? Do you know how to reach and captivate an audience? Are you comfortable working with email authoring tools, HTML, and graphics editors?

We’re looking for a Newsletter Editor to help us keep in touch with the Ontario climbing community. A good Newsletter Editor is a self-starter, creative, and proficient at communicating via writing.

This is an ongoing role, with minimal time commitment expectations. The Newsletter Editor is expected to attend monthly board meetings (2 hours once per month), and to craft and send out a quarterly newsletter (2-3 hours once every 3 months).

If you’re curious about keeping up to date with the latest climbing news, and want to help us reach the inboxes of climbers all over the province, contact us at info@ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca !

Permapotties Project Manager

We’ve been investigating the possibilities of installing permapotties at a few Ontario crags, in place of traditional portapotties. We’ve already done some initial information gathering, but need someone else to take this idea further and determine the feasibility of such a project.

The ideal volunteer for this role will be detail-oriented, methodical, good with project management, and excited to move climbers towards a more sustainable future in the outdoors! Bonus points for having a background in ecological studies and/or waste management, and an ability to talk about poop regularly without being disgusted 🙃

If this sounds like you, contact us at info@ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca !

Beaver Valley Climbing Festival Coordinator

The Beaver Valley Climbing Festival (BVCF) brings the climbing community together for a summer weekend to celebrate the incredible rock climbing in Ontario’s Beaver Valley, including Devil’s Glen, Old Baldy, Metcalfe and The Swamp.

Previous festivals have offered climbing and caving clinics, climbing competitions, yoga and pilates classes, vendors, live music, dinner, bonfire, overnight camping and more. All festival proceeds help support the OAC’s efforts in securing and maintaining access to Ontario crags.

Estimated Time:

10 hours/month from February – August, plus the full weekend of the festival.

The BVCF is currently expected to take place August 15-17, but the exact weekend can be finalized by the BVCF Coordinator.

Stipend:

A $500 stipend is provided in acknowledgement of the time-intensiveness of this role.

Role Description:

We’re looking to find a volunteer keen to help the OAC run the 2025 festival. Qualified individuals will have experience in event management, be self-directed, organized, and detail-oriented. This role favours those who love working with people and can juggle multiple deadlines at once. A passion for climbing is, of course, an asset.

Duties fulfilled by the festival support volunteers include:

Managing festival preparation, execution, and clean up as needed. Tasks may involve, but are not limited to:
- Confirming a location to host the event
- Planning campsites, parking, toilet locations, vendor locations etc.
- Verifying insurance
- Organizing dinner for the event
- Contacting potential vendors for prize sourcing and hosting tables
- Arranging entertainment including an MC and music
- Working with guiding companies who will offer courses
- Organizing porta potty rentals
Being on-site during the event. Tasks may involve, but are not limited to:
- Assisting with festival participant check-in and set up
- Organizing and serving dinner
- Selling raffle tickets and helping run raffle prize distribution
- Managing other volunteers

As event preparation begins months in advance, we’ll be looking to start preparing for the 2025 BVCF ASAP.

If this sounds like a fit for you and you’d like to help out, send email to jeremy.fortier@ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca for more information!