mr.x
May 28, 2008, 9:39 PM
Thousands in Ontario volunteer for 2010 Winter Olympics
ROD MICKLEBURGH
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
May 27, 2008 at 4:40 AM EDT
VANCOUVER — It won't be the theme song, but the irritating, albeit catchy chorus "Ontari-ari-ari-o!" may be much on the mind of thousands of volunteers at the 2010 Winter Olympics here.
Despite the distance, despite the lack of paid accommodation, more than 8,000 residents of Canada's most populous province, Ontario, have already volunteered for Vancouver's winter sports showcase.
"We are really pleasantly surprised," said Dick Vollet, work force vice-president for the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee. "We've had a phenomenal response from right across the country. We're over the top about it."
He rejected a suggestion that the large response from Ontario might be fuelled by a belief that volunteering is a way to get into the Games for free. "This is a job. This is work. We make that very clear," he said.
Mr. Vollet said volunteers from outside the province must pay their own way to Vancouver and arrange their own lodging.
British Columbians account for 60 per cent of the 40,000 Canadian volunteer applications to date, he said. That is considerably below the home province response of Alberta when the last Winter Games were held in Canada.
"We did have volunteers from across the country and from around the world, but really, the vast majority of volunteers were from Alberta," said Paul Taylor, who was volunteer manager of the 1988 Games in Calgary. "They came from all over the province."
Mr. Taylor, now president of NaiKun Wind Energy Group Inc., said the large interest in volunteering from outside B.C. is likely indicative of VANOC's concerted attempt to make the coming Olympics "Canada's Games" rather than B.C.-centric.
"This kind of response doesn't surprise me at all," he said.
However, he added that another reason for the impressive number of applicants from outside the province could be the ease of applying. All prospective volunteers now register over the Internet.
"You couldn't do that for the Calgary Olympics. That's a big difference," Mr. Taylor said. "Technology is changing everything."
Mr. Vollet said 7 per cent of volunteer applicants to date are from Alberta, while 6 per cent come from Quebec. "We're really encouraged by that," he said.
He said VANOC has not yet set a deadline for volunteers to register for the Winter Olympics. All told, VANOC expects to need about 25,000 volunteers, meaning that many of those who apply will not make the grade.
Meanwhile, the city of Surrey has given VANOC $2-million and agreed to provide a facility for recruiting volunteers, participants in the opening and closing ceremonies and temporary Games staff.
In return, the rapidly growing suburban municipality gets to style itself a Venue City for the 2010 Olympics.
The $10.5-million building, scheduled to be completed by February, 2009, will be built in Tom Binnie Park, located in the heart of Surrey's troubled Whalley neighbourhood. After the Games, the large structure will function as a multipurpose recreational facility.
Surrey spokesman Joel Giebelhaus defended the deal, saying there will be "lots of benefits" from being a Venue City. "The branding of the 2010 Games will be very strong. The torch relay will come through here, and a number of Olympic cultural events will take place in Surrey," he said.
Mr. Giebelhaus said Surrey will also play host to one of the Games "live sites," providing Olympics-oriented entertainment and live broadcasts.
More than 2,000 residents of Surrey, now the province's second-largest city after Vancouver, have volunteered to serve at the Winter Olympics.
ROD MICKLEBURGH
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
May 27, 2008 at 4:40 AM EDT
VANCOUVER — It won't be the theme song, but the irritating, albeit catchy chorus "Ontari-ari-ari-o!" may be much on the mind of thousands of volunteers at the 2010 Winter Olympics here.
Despite the distance, despite the lack of paid accommodation, more than 8,000 residents of Canada's most populous province, Ontario, have already volunteered for Vancouver's winter sports showcase.
"We are really pleasantly surprised," said Dick Vollet, work force vice-president for the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee. "We've had a phenomenal response from right across the country. We're over the top about it."
He rejected a suggestion that the large response from Ontario might be fuelled by a belief that volunteering is a way to get into the Games for free. "This is a job. This is work. We make that very clear," he said.
Mr. Vollet said volunteers from outside the province must pay their own way to Vancouver and arrange their own lodging.
British Columbians account for 60 per cent of the 40,000 Canadian volunteer applications to date, he said. That is considerably below the home province response of Alberta when the last Winter Games were held in Canada.
"We did have volunteers from across the country and from around the world, but really, the vast majority of volunteers were from Alberta," said Paul Taylor, who was volunteer manager of the 1988 Games in Calgary. "They came from all over the province."
Mr. Taylor, now president of NaiKun Wind Energy Group Inc., said the large interest in volunteering from outside B.C. is likely indicative of VANOC's concerted attempt to make the coming Olympics "Canada's Games" rather than B.C.-centric.
"This kind of response doesn't surprise me at all," he said.
However, he added that another reason for the impressive number of applicants from outside the province could be the ease of applying. All prospective volunteers now register over the Internet.
"You couldn't do that for the Calgary Olympics. That's a big difference," Mr. Taylor said. "Technology is changing everything."
Mr. Vollet said 7 per cent of volunteer applicants to date are from Alberta, while 6 per cent come from Quebec. "We're really encouraged by that," he said.
He said VANOC has not yet set a deadline for volunteers to register for the Winter Olympics. All told, VANOC expects to need about 25,000 volunteers, meaning that many of those who apply will not make the grade.
Meanwhile, the city of Surrey has given VANOC $2-million and agreed to provide a facility for recruiting volunteers, participants in the opening and closing ceremonies and temporary Games staff.
In return, the rapidly growing suburban municipality gets to style itself a Venue City for the 2010 Olympics.
The $10.5-million building, scheduled to be completed by February, 2009, will be built in Tom Binnie Park, located in the heart of Surrey's troubled Whalley neighbourhood. After the Games, the large structure will function as a multipurpose recreational facility.
Surrey spokesman Joel Giebelhaus defended the deal, saying there will be "lots of benefits" from being a Venue City. "The branding of the 2010 Games will be very strong. The torch relay will come through here, and a number of Olympic cultural events will take place in Surrey," he said.
Mr. Giebelhaus said Surrey will also play host to one of the Games "live sites," providing Olympics-oriented entertainment and live broadcasts.
More than 2,000 residents of Surrey, now the province's second-largest city after Vancouver, have volunteered to serve at the Winter Olympics.