Volunteer sign-ups are open!
Thank you for your interest in volunteering at the 34th National Japan Bowl! Your time and support are essential to creating a fair, smooth, and welcoming experience for high school students from across the country. Whether this is your first Japan Bowl or you are returning, we are grateful to have you with us.
At a Glance: What Volunteers Should Know
📍 Event Venue: Johns Hopkins SAIS
📅 Event Dates: Friday–Saturday, April 17–18
🕒 Schedules: Finalized schedules and assignments will be provided about 2 weeks prior to the event
🧑💻 Training: Training is provided, and we schedule an event venue walkthrough to familiarize you with the venue in advance of the competition
💖 Perks: Free volunteer T-shirt, snacks or meals, and participant goodie bag. Volunteers who complete the post-event survey will be entered into a raffle to win a $100 gift card to one of Alexandria Zen Center’s Zen Crafternoons!
General Expectations for all Volunteers
- Arrive on time for your assigned shift and check in with the Volunteer Coordinator
- Follow staff instructions and ask questions if anything is unclear
- Maintain confidentiality regarding competition materials, scores, and student information
- Be courteous, respectful, and encouraging when interacting with students, guests, JASWDC staff, and fellow volunteers
Volunteer Roles
Japan Bowl volunteers cover a wide variety of tasks like:
- assistance with event check-in,
- competition monitoring,
- ushering & escorting guests and students,
- room set-up & tear-down,
- and more.
A (mostly) comprehensive list of volunteer roles can be found here.
We ask all volunteers to please be open to assisting with all tasks as requested on-the-day and to let us know in advance if there are any tasks you are unable/unwilling to assist with.
It’s important to note that that Japan Bowl roles and tasks are dynamic and may change depending on how many (or how few) volunteers we need for a certain task.
So please, as much as possible, be flexible and willing to help out where needed… and most of all, have fun!
If you have questions about volunteer opportunities, please email us at japanbowl@jaswdc.org.