In early August, I had the opportunity to volunteer for another major sporting event - this time for FIFA! I was lucky to be able to volunteer for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup, held in Edmonton, Toronto, Moncton and Montreal.
I knew the event was coming, so stalked the websites and asked the Canadian Soccer Association on twitter when the volunteer application would open. I can't quite remember how far in advance I applied, a year maybe, 8 months? I was contacted by email, and then had to do a phone interview with the volunteer coordinator! Seriously, a phone interview! Following that came more emails, questions about uniform sizing, volunteer newsletters etc.
There was a training evening at the end of July. Unfortunately due to bad timing, I had to miss a great night of music at Interstellar Rodeo to attend, but somehow I'd ended up being classified as a Team Leader, and figured it would be bad if I missed the training. Sigh. Anyways, training was useful and not a complete waste of time, though I'll admit I didn't 100% know what I was supposed to do as a Team Leader.
We got our uniform at training too. I've volunteered for the Canadian Curling Association and Hockey Canada, but FIFA is an international organization - and go big or go home! Not only did we get a tshirt and a jacket, but also pants/capris, a hat, socks, running shoes, a bag and water bottle! I was pretty impressed with the Adidas gear, but a couple people said it wasn't as good as what they got from volunteering at the Olympics! That's a thing people do, I could volunteer for the Olympics! Anyway, my uniform didn't fit too well so I ended up giving most of it away to a friend after the event though. Sorry, no picture either - FIFA has a really strict social media policy and I was too scared to tweet much or take many pictures. This was definitely a different experience that other volunteering - it was always apparent this was a big deal!
The first game I volunteered for - it was a double header. Lot's of great women's soccer action!
The FIFA U20 Women's World Cup was a test event and precursor to the FIFA Women's World Cup held in 2015, so there was a learning curve for everyone. I was a Guest Services Team Leader. As Guest Services volunteers, we were assigned to the stadium concourse or LRT transit/parking area, basically to answer questions, help people find their seats, smile, etc. The first few games were pretty quiet and time didn't really move very fast, but as usual the volunteers were super nice and I really enjoyed talking to them over the course of the event. As a Team Leader, I was responsible for scheduling volunteer breaks for my crew and making sure everything was going well. I got to carry around a radio but thankfully nothing really went awry.
My last shift was the big Canada/Germany playoff game, so it was stupid busy and chaotic - a taste of what the Women's World Cup will be like in 2015! All in all, it was a good experience. Nice staff, nice volunteers, nice fans, interesting event. A good experience overall and I'm excited to hopefully be a part of the experience in 2015.
Canada vs Germany. Lot's of fans came out and it was super exciting!
And it's now my dream to volunteer for a Winter Olympics!! I'm hoping to get on with the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, and then the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea! It's nice to have a new dream!
I knew the event was coming, so stalked the websites and asked the Canadian Soccer Association on twitter when the volunteer application would open. I can't quite remember how far in advance I applied, a year maybe, 8 months? I was contacted by email, and then had to do a phone interview with the volunteer coordinator! Seriously, a phone interview! Following that came more emails, questions about uniform sizing, volunteer newsletters etc.
There was a training evening at the end of July. Unfortunately due to bad timing, I had to miss a great night of music at Interstellar Rodeo to attend, but somehow I'd ended up being classified as a Team Leader, and figured it would be bad if I missed the training. Sigh. Anyways, training was useful and not a complete waste of time, though I'll admit I didn't 100% know what I was supposed to do as a Team Leader.
We got our uniform at training too. I've volunteered for the Canadian Curling Association and Hockey Canada, but FIFA is an international organization - and go big or go home! Not only did we get a tshirt and a jacket, but also pants/capris, a hat, socks, running shoes, a bag and water bottle! I was pretty impressed with the Adidas gear, but a couple people said it wasn't as good as what they got from volunteering at the Olympics! That's a thing people do, I could volunteer for the Olympics! Anyway, my uniform didn't fit too well so I ended up giving most of it away to a friend after the event though. Sorry, no picture either - FIFA has a really strict social media policy and I was too scared to tweet much or take many pictures. This was definitely a different experience that other volunteering - it was always apparent this was a big deal!
The first game I volunteered for - it was a double header. Lot's of great women's soccer action!
The FIFA U20 Women's World Cup was a test event and precursor to the FIFA Women's World Cup held in 2015, so there was a learning curve for everyone. I was a Guest Services Team Leader. As Guest Services volunteers, we were assigned to the stadium concourse or LRT transit/parking area, basically to answer questions, help people find their seats, smile, etc. The first few games were pretty quiet and time didn't really move very fast, but as usual the volunteers were super nice and I really enjoyed talking to them over the course of the event. As a Team Leader, I was responsible for scheduling volunteer breaks for my crew and making sure everything was going well. I got to carry around a radio but thankfully nothing really went awry.
My last shift was the big Canada/Germany playoff game, so it was stupid busy and chaotic - a taste of what the Women's World Cup will be like in 2015! All in all, it was a good experience. Nice staff, nice volunteers, nice fans, interesting event. A good experience overall and I'm excited to hopefully be a part of the experience in 2015.
Canada vs Germany. Lot's of fans came out and it was super exciting!
And it's now my dream to volunteer for a Winter Olympics!! I'm hoping to get on with the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, and then the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea! It's nice to have a new dream!
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