Pan Am Games Organizers Seek Thousands Of Volunteers

By Neil Armstrong
Pride Contributing Writer

TORONTO, Ontario – The organizing committee of the TORONTO 2015 Pan American/Parapan American Games (TO2015) is getting set to announce in April a massive recruitment of 20,000 volunteers for the event.

Saäd Rafi, the new chief executive officer of TO2015, said this is the largest recruitment of volunteers in Ontario’s peace time history and that the volunteers will be the face of the Games.

Rafi was speaking at a cultural and community media-focused event at the offices of TO2015, which included staff, Pan Am hopefuls and medalists on February 3.

He said all the infrastructure venues are either on or ahead of schedule for the Pan Am Games which take place July 10-26, and the Parapan Am Games August 7-14, 2015.

“The Athletes Village is ahead of schedule which is quite unique in these ventures. So, in that case, I would put a big strong check mark against progress. We’re right where we want to be in terms of development. We’ll get these facilities no later than the fall to do test events,” he said.

The CEO said plans for the venues are also on track and they are still doing a few more procurements for the temporary facilities, which are called overlay.

With this, he said, the athletes experience is now being worked on in making sure that it will be stress free for high performance athletes.

“Now is the time where we start to build excitement, engagement, awareness and really get people interested in seeing these athletes, seeing them compete, buying tickets and getting volunteers,” he said.

Darryl McKenzie, vice-president, volunteer services, said the event is a huge games footprint, which stretches from Welland to Oshawa, all the way up to Minden Hills.

Ideally TO2015 is looking for volunteers who are local to the area where the sport is being held.

“We think that’s a great way to engage people in their local community. It’s a great way to build civic pride, it’s a great way to strengthen community connections so in every municipality where there is a competition venue we have a local host committee,” he said.

The volunteers are coordinated by the municipality and are focused on getting their local community excited about volunteering at the Games.

Being the face of the Games, McKenzie said they want to make sure that the volunteers represent the diversity of the region.

TO2015 is doing outreach to various communities and has been to several consulates from the Caribbean and Latin America community.

It is also targeting groups that have Spanish and French speaking skills, which will be critical at Games time.

Most of the countries that make up the 41-member Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) are from the Caribbean and Latin America and includes Canada and the United States.

PASO governs the Pan American Games, which are held every four years in the year before the Olympic Summer Games.

Last October, the organization held its first-ever general assembly in Toronto where TO2015 presented an update on preparations for the 2015 Games.

“We will have athletes who don’t speak English. Their first language might be Spanish or French or Portuguese so we want to make sure that we finding volunteers that can support those athletes and spectators, come the Games, so we really are looking at where those people are and making sure we’re going out and speaking to them and getting them excited to participate,” McKenzie said.

He said the majority of the volunteers would be people who are excited to be hosts to the 41 nations and territories that are competing.

“They are people who are approachable, friendly, want to work in a team environment, they’re flexible and adaptable,” he said.

Some volunteers who have experience working with teams or volunteers will be put in leadership roles.

There will also be volunteers with special skills: medical background, information technology, transportation and transportation logistics.

McKenzie said a wide range of opportunities will be available and a significant time commitment is required.

For the Parapan Am Games there are 8 operating days and they would like people to volunteer 6 shifts during those days. For the Pan Am Games, there will be 18 operating days and they would like people to volunteer for a minimum of 12 shifts over that time.

A shift could be anywhere from 8 hours to 12 hours and volunteers will be fed, provided with water, receive free public transport and be provided with a uniform and training.

There are also opportunities for people to get involved prior to the Games to help train volunteers, distribute uniforms and other pre-Games activities.

McKenzie anticipates that there will be about 2000 volunteers who will actually start volunteering prior to the Games to help with the preparations and planning.

Hosting the Games also means showcasing the diversity of multicultural Toronto to the world through key festivities and festivals.

“We’ll work with the cultural agencies in and around the region, the communities represented from the Games’ countries to put on programming that is sensitive to Pan American/Caribbean culture, history,” Rafi said, noting that the festivals’ centre will be at Nathan Phillips Square and CIBC Pan Am Park.

“Every athlete that comes through here will have a connection here in Toronto from their home country who are residents here. I can’t believe that any other location can offer that,” he said.

Over 10,000 athletes and team officials from 41 countries will be here for the Games which is the largest multi-sport event ever hosted in Canada.

Athletes will compete in 51 sports: 36 Pan Am sports, including golf and women’s baseball for the first time, and 15 Parapan Am sports, including the debut of wheelchair rugby.

Competitions will be held in 32 venues located throughout Toronto and southern Ontario, stretching from Minden to Welland, Milton to Oshawa.

Canada previously hosted the Pan Am Games in 1967 and 1999 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.