1 Introduction

November 2021 marked the first step in our journey to bring a parkrun event to Port Pirie. We consulted parkrun Australia and subsequently made contact with the Port Pirie Council (“Council”) after which we posited our proposal to establish a local event. Our engagement with both Council and parkrun Australia culminated in Council agreeing to include our proposal on the next Council meeting’s agenda to be held on 27 April 2022. We appreciate Council’s engagement and continued support of our request; and expect that the deliberations of Council in this regard will be favorable. More specifically, we are hoping that Council will:

  • Grant us permission to use the identified venue for hosting our weekly events; and
  • Assist us with partial or full one off sponsorship to cater for the initial costs of setting up this event.

In the mean time, on 3 April 2022, we created a Facebook page (named Prospective parkrun in Port Pirie) and invited community members who are interested in participating in the envisaged parkrun events. We also invited expressions of interest, aimed at creating a core community committee, from community members via a short survey. The number of members on our Facebook page currently stand at 183 and the membership keeps growing. We have received 67 expressions of interest to date. A summary of the survey results is detailed below.

2 Results of the survey

2.1 Question 1: I would like to participate in the envisaged Port Pirie parkrun events in the following capacity

Below is a summary of the number of members who submitted expressions of interest broken down by the capacities in which they prefer to participate. The vast majority of respondents wish to participate as runners and/or walkers with a sustainable proportion expressing an interest to volunteer as well.

Table 1 Expression of interest (participation capacity)
Capacity Number Proportion
Both volunteer and participant 19 0.2835821
Participant only (running and/or walking) 43 0.6417910
Volunteer only 2 0.0298507
Watch and cheer 3 0.0447761
Total 67 1.0000000

2.2 Question 2: Please select the most preferred volunteer role you would like to assume

Below is a summary of the volunteer roles selected by interested respondents (click on word to see the actual number). A table of these results is shown in Appendix A.

2.3 Question 3: Do you have any feedback / remarks you’d like to share?

Some of the remarks provided by the respondents are shown below.

“Port Pirie is a great place to work and live this will add yet another attraction.” Kedias

“Let’s get this started!” Katie

“Think this a great idea and really needed in Port Pirie have been registered with the Broughton one but just never get there. Looking forward to being a part of this. Great work.” Tanya

“I am keen to see what location you choose, as we tried to get this up and running a few years back but needed a course which didn’t have driveways or intersections. We were looking at the golf club, but due to it have a entrance we couldn’t use it.. Good luck, I hope this takes off.” Brenda

“This is a great idea 👏🏻👏🏻” Jordan

“So excited that we may get parkrun up and going in Pirie. Thank you for putting in the time and effort to make it happen!” Luisa

“Have attended several parkruns across SA and Vic and think they a most fabulous concept! Would love to see the idea flourish in Port Pirie!” Catherine

“This is a fabulous idea to have a Pirie Park Run!” Indra

3 Additional comments regarding the survey results

The survey participation rate of 37% is expected as the completion of the survey was not a prerequisite to joining the Facebook page, which aptly represents the community of interested members. As discussed above, the survey was primarily designed to draw volunteer preferences to facilitate the determination of a core events team. Additionally,

  • Not everyone on our Facebook page has completed a parkrun before and as such, they may not be familiar with the volunteer and/or participation format;
  • The growing numbers in both the Facebook page membership and survey responses show very keen community interest; and
  • Based on neighboring parkrun experiences, to start an event with around 20 people committed to volunteering is a very high ratio especially for an expected modest event like ours.

4 Core Event Team

Based on the survey responses above, we have created a core event team of 21 members who will perform various key volunteer activities at each of the envisaged parkrun events. This core team represents (for all intents and purposes) the community committee in relation to the proposed parkrun.

5 Project plan

We have accomplished the following high level milestones to date:

  • Made contact with parkrun Australia and completed all the induction formalities;
  • Identified a suitable 5km course, performed a risk assessment of the same;
  • Attained the Event Ambassador’s approval of the course;
  • Sought land owner permission to use the identified venue; and
  • Created a community of members who are interested in participating in the envisaged local parkrun.

The following key activities will be performed following the outcome of the Council meeting:

  • Finalisation and configuration of the 5km course;
  • Find funding;
  • Complete various paperwork pertaining to the establishment of the new event;
  • Conduct preparations to launch the event (including establishing the core Event Team, conduct trial parkruns among other activities);and
  • Launch the event.

6 Conclusion

We are very excited at the prospect of establishing a local parkrun event and are grateful for your interest and support. We will keep you informed of the progress of this project accordingly.

Please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned steering committee members should you wish to discuss the above-mentioned issues further.

Healthy Regards,

Janet Reid (Event Ambassador): Desmond Muzorewa: Kirstie Belci:

7 Appendix A: Volunteer preferences

Table 2 Expression of interest (volunteer role preference)
Volunteer role Number Proportion
Timekeeper 2 0.0952381
Tail walker 2 0.0952381
Finish token collection 4 0.1904762
Photographer 1 0.0476190
Barcode scanning 4 0.1904762
Run director 2 0.0952381
Event day course check 3 0.1428571
First timers brief 3 0.1428571
Total 21 1.0000000