Our Sports’ Volunteer Problem

It's an open secret that races depend on unpaid labor, but it's not going to stay a secret forever. What then?

In October, the Ironman World Championship races relied on 5,000 volunteers over the course of the week to hand out water, check-in bikes, catch athletes at the finish line, and direct crowds. Volunteers came from local community groups, nonprofits, and school clubs, friends and family spectating, and even athletes who were finished racing.

And still it …