There’s a lot of hype over the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro that are set to start in two weeks. Among those who are incredibly excited about the colossal sporting events are thousands of athletes, their coaches, families and friends, not to mention the billions of fans and enthusiasts around the globe.
Count up two more.
St. Albert’s Omar Nef and his daughter Gabriela Nef Ojeda are dedicated fans and supporters to be sure, but when they pack their bags for Brazil, it’s not to watch or compete. They’re going behind the scenes to be two of 50,000 volunteers at the 31st Olympiad.
“They were looking for people who had a passion for sports. Sounds like us…” Gabriela admitted.
The Chilean-born Canadians have spent their entire lives loving sports, involved in them either as athletes, coaches, or other helpers.
“We love sports!” the 51-year-old Omar said, recalling his lifelong enthusiasm for football, the sport that generally gets called soccer in North America.
He actually participated in the Olympics as a child, albeit in a different context. He and his neighbourhood friends would play different sports and use foil-covered bottle caps for the medals.
Nowadays, he often volunteers with his kids’ activities, including coaching soccer, plus helping out with badminton, track and field, and competitive swimming. Sports is in the family’s blood, as is volunteering. The father-daughter team also volunteered for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Edmonton too, giving them a taste of what large-scale sporting events are like.
“The experience of being volunteers, for us, has been amazing!” he said.
“It’s like a core value here in Canada. At the U of A, I volunteered for everything I could get my hands on. If they needed a volunteer to support something, I was the first one to sign up,” Gabriela continued, listing off other rĂ©sumĂ© credentials including the Alberta Summer Games and university intramurals.
“I think the Olympic Games is the top of all that stuff. It’s a dream to achieve that from timing at the pool to being a team leader at the Olympics.”
They started the application process two years ago after a visit to Rio, only learning late last year that they were accepted. Omar lived in Brazil as a child, so speaks Portuguese, as well as his native Spanish and English. Gabriela is still learning Portuguese but gets a lot of practice at home.
She will be a customer service team leader during the fencing and martial arts events during the Olympics and then working in the ticketing department for the tennis centre during the Paralympic Games.
Omar will fill an assistant role to a new member of the International Olympic Committee. If you look closely, you might see him in the background. Omar will be assisting a person who is handing out medals.
As far as they know, they’re the only ones from the Edmonton area who are taking on the cross-continental adventure although they do know of a strong contingent from Calgary. There’s even one person that they heard would be travelling from Siberia to volunteer in Rio.
While they have their work cut out for them, they might have the chance to take in one or two of the events depending on their work schedule. Omar said that he would probably be in the stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies, as part of his volunteer duties.
Regardless, it’s a dream come true, they both say.
“The countdown has been going on for a few months,” Gabriela sighed.
“For me, it’s a dream,” Omar gleamed.
