Volunteering 2025

[Leyrulion]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:12 PM, Pinhead said:

They've dropped the supervisor 2 year rule haven't they?

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Yeah that went last year I think (for 2025 places)

[Skip997]

Interestingly priority applications is the norm in many of the invite only/ word of mouth volunteer organisations at Glastonbury. 
 

If you do your job and want to return then you’re in. It’s far easier to bring reliable people back than train and take a risk on new people 

[Leyrulion]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:08 PM, Pinhead said:

They've finally clocked that the only reason anyone works for them is because they wanted a guaranteed Glastonbury insurance policy in place.

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Yeah TBF knowing I could apply all the way through to 2029 with the festivals I've already done was probably a little overkill.

[stuie]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:03 PM, Leyrulion said:

 

It doesn't even sound like such a bad idea they just need to give people credit for actually volunteering for Glastonbury. 

 

I can only think they want to stop people who are now set in a pattern of only doing Glastonbury each year and having a space guaranteed, but I can't understand why that would be a problem. 

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Just a blanket 2 festivals the previous season works for this.  Drop the 7 in 7 or whatever. 

[Pinhead]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:17 PM, Skip997 said:

Interestingly priority applications is the norm in many of the invite only/ word of mouth volunteer organisations at Glastonbury. 
 

If you do your job and want to return then you’re in. It’s far easier to bring reliable people back than train and take a risk on new people 

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They seem to have abandoned that notion.

[Pinhead]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:20 PM, stuie said:

 

Just a blanket 2 festivals the previous season works for this.  Drop the 7 in 7 or whatever. 

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Not everyone has sufficient leave to do two working without Glasto counting towards that.

[Pinhead]

So far the official qualification criteria hasn't changed on their website

[StoneCircle]

Could the points change be an early tactic to ensure people volunteer for more festivals this and next year to qualify for 7 in 7 to qualify for Glastonbury in 2027 seeing as it's a fallow year in 2026? 

[balti-pie]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:25 PM, Pinhead said:

Not everyone has sufficient leave to do two working without Glasto counting towards that.

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This. Glastonbury necessitates six days AL, and pretty much every other festival needs at least four - so that’s 14 out of the statutory legal min of 20, for the year. Plus they’re pretty much all between late May and August.
 

If this is what they do, then that’s their decision, but they’ll lose a fair few experienced and dedicated stewards as a result. 

[Leyrulion]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:43 PM, balti-pie said:

This. Glastonbury necessitates six days AL, and pretty much every other festival needs at least four - so that’s 14 out of the statutory legal min of 20, for the year. Plus they’re pretty much all between late May and August.
 

If this is what they do, then that’s their decision, but they’ll lose a fair few experienced and dedicated stewards as a result. 

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The conspiracy theorist in me is wondering if they might see a changing of the guard as it were as a good thing.

[Pinhead]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:43 PM, StoneCircle said:

Could the points change be an early tactic to ensure people volunteer for more festivals this and next year to qualify for 7 in 7 to qualify for Glastonbury in 2027 seeing as it's a fallow year in 2026? 

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Yes, this follows.

[balti-pie]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:48 PM, Leyrulion said:

The conspiracy theorist in me is wondering if they might see a changing of the guard as it were as a good thing.

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as mentioned in this thread before, more young’uns leads to lots more disinterested hungover types spending their shifts moaning endlessly and not just cracking on with things 🤣 anecdotally, obvs 

[amfy]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:10 PM, Pinhead said:

They surely can't change this year's Glastonbury priority? But next year, working Glastonbury the previous won't count for sh*t.

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I think that’s something they have to clear up. Glastonbury doesn’t earn any points under the new system, but will you still be credited for past Glastonburies?

 

[Pinhead]

Let's see what happens anyway. Feels like they haven't read the room and optics is poor. Then again they can do what they like but cannot see how this will not disenfranchise a large number of experienced frequent returners.

[Pinhead]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:52 PM, balti-pie said:

as mentioned in this thread before, more young’uns leads to lots more disinterested hungover types spending their shifts moaning endlessly and not just cracking on with things 🤣 anecdotally, obvs 

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And then not even turning up to their shifts.

[Skip997]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:54 PM, Pinhead said:

And then not even turning up to their shifts.

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How much is the deposit (we don’t have to pay one)? If it’s significantly less than the ticket cost, which it is for My Cause, then it encourages such behaviour. Even if it’s the same as the ticket it’s still tempting. 

[stuie]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:25 PM, Pinhead said:

Not everyone has sufficient leave to do two working without Glasto counting towards that.

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I agree...  I think they are making a mistake here and will lose experienced volunteers by the droves.  You can't expect people to do two plus glastonbury every year, it only works for retired people and those who don't do anything else with their AL. 

 

 

[Leyrulion]

  On 1/31/2025 at 10:01 PM, Skip997 said:

How much is the deposit (we don’t have to pay one)? If it’s significantly less than the ticket cost, which it is for My Cause, then it encourages such behaviour. Even if it’s the same as the ticket it’s still tempting. 

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If it's your first festival it's the cost of a ticket. 

If you've done a few festivals before for Oxfam then it's half. 

[Skip997]

  On 1/31/2025 at 10:04 PM, Leyrulion said:

If it's your first festival it's the cost of a ticket. 

If you've done a few festivals before for Oxfam then it's half. 

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Thanks, (got no reactions left)

[stuie]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:40 PM, Pinhead said:

So far the official qualification criteria hasn't changed on their website

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It did change but has been changed back and the new page deleted. URL of now deleted page was https://festivals.oxfam.org.uk/info/new-priority/

 

there’s screenshots (and lots of unhappy folk) in the Glasto WhatsApp group

[incident]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:48 PM, Leyrulion said:

The conspiracy theorist in me is wondering if they might see a changing of the guard as it were as a good thing.

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Not sure. If this was 9-10 years ago, I'd definitely agree as at that point there was a *lot* of overly entitled types who seemed to think they deserved preferential treatment and considered themselves somehow better or more important because they'd been doing it for a few years. But I think that kind of attitude has significantly lessened since then and anyone exhibiting it has been told to wind their neck in.

[Leyrulion]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:53 PM, amfy said:

I think that’s something they have to clear up. Glastonbury doesn’t earn any points under the new system, but will you still be credited for past Glastonburies?

 

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Maybe it is just for the fallow year then as if you map it out it's only by 2027 under this system that those volunteering Glasto 27 would have to be doing Glasto+2 others to have a shot at Glastonbury 28 (if they didn't have longer term priority). 

 

 

Edited January 31 by Leyrulion

[Leyrulion]

  On 1/31/2025 at 10:08 PM, incident said:

 

Not sure. If this was 9-10 years ago, I'd definitely agree as at that point there was a *lot* of overly entitled types who seemed to think they deserved preferential treatment and considered themselves somehow better or more important because they'd been doing it for a few years. But I think that kind of attitude has significantly lessened since then and anyone exhibiting it has been told to wind their neck in.

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Good to know!

 

[Pinhead]

  On 1/31/2025 at 10:04 PM, Leyrulion said:

If it's your first festival it's the cost of a ticket. 

If you've done a few festivals before for Oxfam then it's half. 

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When it comes to Glasto, peeps will happily sacrifice the deposit.

[philipsteak]

  On 1/31/2025 at 9:43 PM, balti-pie said:

This. Glastonbury necessitates six days AL, and pretty much every other festival needs at least four - so that’s 14 out of the statutory legal min of 20, for the year. Plus they’re pretty much all between late May and August.
 

If this is what they do, then that’s their decision, but they’ll lose a fair few experienced and dedicated stewards as a result. 

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Retired people and students who can afford not to work in the summer basically