With the U.S. Kids Golf championships fast approaching, tournament organizers are actively seeking volunteers.

This will be the sixth year for U.S. Kids Golf World Championships.

Last year, the U.S. Kids Golf Teen and Kids World Championships attracted more than 1,700 players from more than 36 countries.

This year, U.S. Kids Golf will host six different events in the area, including the teen championship for youths ages 13 to 18, the kids championship for those ages 6-12, a Ryder Cup-style World Cup for kids and teens, and a parent-child tournament.

The tournaments will be played on 12 courses this year.

Peter Stilwell, founding partner of Tarheel Communication Solutions, anticipates about 700 volunteers are needed for the event.

“The demand for volunteers seems to increase every year,” Stilwell said. “Right now we are about 250 short.”

Richard Lawson has served as the volunteer chairman for the tournaments since they came to Pinehurst five years ago. He says it is usually tough to fill out the final volunteer spots.

“The last couple of hundred volunteers are always hard to come by,” he said.

Volunteers are responsible for a variety of tasks, including player registration, scoring, pace of play, on-course shuttling and supply - making sure there is adequate water for the players on the course.

U.S. Kids has developed an online registration program for volunteers, making it a lot easier to sign up. Paper applications are still available for those who do not have computer access.

Lawson credits the online registration with streamlining and simplifying the process.

By going to www.uskidsgolf.com/volunteer, volunteers can see the available shifts and sign up with just a few clicks.

Lawson said now about 80 percent of the volunteers sign-up online.

Those who chose not to go online, can obtain a paper registration form by calling, 235-8490.

Lawson said a volunteer meeting will be held at 4 p.m. July 12 at The Carolina Hotel. The meeting will last about two hours and will feature an overview of the tournament rules, guideline and general and specific training for volunteers.

The kids' world championship will feature about 1,300 kids, while the teen world championship will have about 500 participants.

This year's opening ceremony, which features the parade of nations, will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 2 in downtown Pinehurst.

Stilwell and Lawson both anticipate a total of about 5,000 people will come to the village for the tournament. Last year, Lawson estimated the events generated an estimated $6 million in revenue for the local economy.

“It is a very good event, its very good for the local area and the golfers are fun to watch,” Lawson said.

The dates for the events are as follows:

U.S. Kids Golf Teen World Championship, July 28-30

U.S. Kids Golf Teen World Cup, July 31

U.S. Kids Golf World Parent Child, August 1

U.S. Kids Golf World Championship, August 4-6

U.S. Kids Golf World Cup, August 7

"I just love to watch these kids from all across the United States and the world come out and play golf at such a high level,” Stilwell said.

Contact Tom Embrey at tembrey@thepilot.com.