There are 128 days left until the athletes finally get to show us their moves. Until then, all organizers can do is make sure that there are enough people behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly.
That’s just how things are shaping up, says the manager of the local committee planning the 2012 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games. Mike Edwards is happy to report that almost 500 applications have been accepted and many have already gone through their security clearance checks.
“It’s coming together,” he began. “The next two months, we’re really going to see a lot of things meshing and connecting.”
A volunteer screening rally held earlier this week gave nearly 200 of the registered volunteers the chance to complete their police records check.
Edwards is still looking for 200 more volunteers to bring his count up to the desired 700-mark.
He’s confident that local residents will step up to the plate because strong volunteer participation in past events is one of the main reasons why St. Albert was chosen as the site for this games in the first place.
To that end, he hopes that people – especially the volunteers who are already on board – will spread the word to their families and friends to sign up as well.
The five-day national level sporting event follows in the footsteps of the international athletic movement that gives people with intellectual disabilities the chance to participate in a number of sports competitions. It provides training and competition opportunities to more than 34,000 Canadian athletes of all ages and abilities with the help of 16,000 volunteers and trained coaches.
In this province, more than 3,000 athletes from 114 communities participate in both the summer and winter games.
More than 900 athletes and coaches from across Canada will visit St. Albert and Jasper. The games will feature sporting events like cross-country and alpine skiing, figure skating, speed skating, snowshoeing, floor hockey and curling.
Since nothing of this scale can be possible without good planning, volunteers are needed to help with a variety of activities, events and tasks like transportation, hosting/special events, medical, setup/teardown, event logistics, venue operations and security. Both short- and long-term positions are available for local residents who are at least 16 years old.
If you live in St. Albert, you can sign up on the games’ website at www.stalbert2012.ca and complete the screening form before taking it to the local RCMP detachment. The customary $10 fee will be waived.
If you live outside of St. Albert, you must visit the games’ office to complete the police information check and vulnerable sector verification in person.
“We can’t start scheduling people until we know that they’ve had that completed,” Edwards said.
The games run from Tuesday, Feb. 28 to Saturday, March 3 at various locations in St. Albert and Jasper.
The volunteer registration deadline is next Friday, Oct. 28 at 5 p.m.
For more information, visit the games’ website at www.stalbert2012.ca or call the local organizing committee’s office at 780-458-4564.
