Volunteer Opportunities
Snow Fence & Banner Installation / Removal
Assist with carrying, unrolling, and installing snow fencing along 5th Street in Calumet to help define race routes, spectator areas, and safety zones. Volunteers will also zip-tie sponsor banners to the fencing, ensuring they are secure, visible, and properly spaced. After the event, this role includes taking down fencing and banners and helping load materials for storage.
Crossing Guards
Help create and maintain safe crossings where the race trail intersects with roads or snowmobile trails. Crossing Guards communicate with racers, spectators, and vehicle or snowmobile traffic to prevent conflicts and ensure everyone moves through the area safely and efficiently. This role is critical for both racer safety and public access.
Dog Handlers
Assist mushers by helping guide dog teams to and from the start and finish areas at each checkpoint. This includes holding teams steady, helping manage excited dogs, and ensuring clear paths for incoming and outgoing teams.
⚠️ This is a very physical role, especially during the Friday night start, and requires comfort working closely with dogs in a fast-paced environment.
Bag Checkers
Verify that each musher’s sled contains the required wilderness survival supplies as outlined in race rules. Volunteers will check items against a provided checklist to ensure compliance before teams are allowed to proceed. Attention to detail is important, as these checks are essential for racer safety in remote conditions.
Timers
Record bib numbers and arrival times as teams pass designated trail crossings. Timers also count and record the number of dogs on the ground for each team to help race officials track racer progress and verify compliance with race rules. This role requires strong attention to detail, clear handwriting or accurate data entry, and good communication with other race staff.
Snow Road Security Guards
Help maintain safe pedestrian crossings along 5th Street during the race start and other high-traffic times. Volunteers will assist with crowd control, guide spectators to safe crossing points, and help keep race lanes clear while teams are launching. This role supports both public safety and smooth race operations.
Vet Checkers
Assist the race veterinarian during official dog health checks by recording health and wellness information in each musher’s booklet. Volunteers work directly with the vet to ensure all documentation is completed accurately and clearly.
Shifts are scheduled Friday and Saturday mornings. This role is essential to race integrity and animal welfare and requires attention to detail and good communication skills. No veterinary experience is required—training will be provided on-site.
Laurium Cleanup – Fence Takedown
Following race activities in Laurium, volunteers will assist with taking down snow fencing, stacking materials, and loading fencing for transport or storage. This role focuses solely on fencing removal and site cleanup to help restore the area quickly and safely.
CopperPull – Breaker / Helper (All 3 Matches)
Two volunteers will rotate through this position during each match. The Breaker/Helper is responsible for stopping and controlling the sled to ensure it does not make contact with the dog once the sled is set in motion. After each pull, this role includes repositioning the sled back to the start line and adjusting sled weight at the discretion of the judges.
Additional duties include assisting with hooking up dogs that are “on deck” and helping ensure smooth, safe transitions between pulls. This role requires attentiveness, good communication with judges and handlers, and comfort working around dogs and moving equipment.
Important Physical Demand & Safety Disclaimer
This position involves handling and moving heavy weight blocks and sled components. Volunteers must be physically capable of lifting, carrying, and repositioning heavy objects repeatedly throughout the event. Proper lifting techniques must be used at all times, and volunteers should expect strenuous physical activity in cold, outdoor conditions. If you have any medical conditions, injuries, or physical limitations that could be impacted by heavy lifting, this role is not recommended.
CopperDash – Starting Line Assistant / Start Line Prepper
Helps match children with an appropriate dog and prepares each mini-musher for their run. Responsibilities include fitting helmets, assisting children onto the sled, positioning them safely at the start line, and staging the next participant to keep the event running smoothly. This role requires patience, clear communication, and comfort working closely with both children and dogs in an active environment.
CopperDash – Catcher’s Mitt
Responsible for safely catching and stopping the dog and child team at the end of the chute. This role helps maintain control, prevent run-offs, and ensure each mini-musher completes their run safely. Volunteers must be attentive, physically capable, and able to react quickly around moving dogs and sleds.
CopperDash – Sled Runners
Responsible for returning sleds from the finish area back to the starting line after each run. This role keeps CopperDash moving efficiently with minimal downtime between participants. Volunteers should be comfortable carrying and moving sleds in snowy conditions and coordinating with start and finish line staff.
Banquet Set Up
Assist with preparing the banquet space by setting up tables, chairs, and any required room layouts prior to the event. Volunteers may help arrange seating, place table coverings, and ensure the space is ready for guests and service staff. While not all tasks require heavy lifting, this role does require some volunteers who are physically able to lift and move tables and chairs. Teamwork is important to ensure the space is properly arranged and ready for the event.
Banquet Service
Assist kitchen and banquet staff during the event by helping with food service, refilling items as directed, clearing dishes, and keeping service areas organized. This role helps ensure guests have a smooth and enjoyable dining experience.
Banquet Clean Up
Assist with post-event breakdown by clearing tables, stacking and storing chairs, putting tables away, and sweeping and/or mopping floors. This role involves repeated lifting and moving of heavy tables and chairs and requires volunteers who are physically capable of performing manual labor safely. Careful attention is needed to ensure the building is returned to the same condition it was received in, making this role essential to the success of the event.
Built on Volunteers
A few years ago, a well-known event planner in the Keweenaw remarked, “CopperDog has an amazingly high level of volunteer loyalty; people just keep coming back year after year to support this event.” That observation stayed with us. It rang true—CopperDog consistently sees an incredible turnout of returning volunteers—but it also raised a deeper question we’ve asked ourselves for years: Why do people keep coming back to CopperDog?
We believe the answer lies in inclusion.
Many sporting events—foot races, bike races, ski races, triathlons, and tournaments of all kinds—are centered primarily on the sport itself and the athletes competing. CopperDog is different. At its core, it is about community: people and organizations coming together to create something truly special.
Athletes are everywhere—walking, running, biking, skiing, swimming, skating, competing in countless ways. But people who dedicate themselves to gliding down snowy trails while carefully studying the backsides of dog teams? That’s far rarer. And that uniqueness is part of the magic.
What our volunteers share isn’t a single sport or skill set—it’s a deep love for the Upper Peninsula, the Copper Country, and the Keweenaw. The CopperDog 150 earns such remarkable volunteer loyalty because it celebrates this place and the people who call it home. Volunteers feel the energy and life the event brings. They feel included. They become an essential part of a world-class event happening right in their own backyard. They experience the beauty and wonder of mushing and dog teams moving through the winter landscape—and they go home inspired, energized, and enriched by the experience.
Our hope is that CopperDog continues to inspire for many years to come—welcoming back old friends each winter while new ones step forward and become part of the family. CopperDog is about inclusion. It’s about bringing people together. It’s about hard work that’s absolutely worth it, moments of genuine beauty, and the deep satisfaction that comes from shared success.
