Over 1,000 Volunteers Support Ontario Summer Games

This past weekend, thousands of young athletes from all over Ontario gathered in the Waterloo region for the Ontario Summer Games, with more than 1,000 volunteers ready to assist them.

The four-day event featured competitors aged 12 to 18 and included a variety of sports such as hockey, swimming, kung fu, and archery.

Behind the scenes during each competition was a dedicated group of volunteers. They took on many roles, from supporting athletes to managing venues and evaluating the event’s impact.

“I’ve had so much help myself. And it felt like a great opportunity to help others get back to doing what they love,” said physiotherapist Christine Laurie.

Physiotherapist Christine Laurie previously competed in cross country and track and field, and is now a volunteer with Ontario Summer Games. (Diego Pizarro/CBC)

Laurie volunteered on the medical team, assisting women’s hockey players with injuries. As an athlete herself, Laurie has participated in cross country and track and field events at the University of Maryland.

“I’ve had my fair share of injuries and my own experience in physiotherapy. I knew I wanted to go into this field of helping others and giving back,” she said.

A regional showcase

Pat Boucher has been volunteering in local hockey for years, spending almost a decade training girls’ teams in Waterloo. As a volunteer supervisor, she assigned different tasks to volunteers like timekeeping, monitoring entrances, and ensuring people had the right credentials for specific areas.

Pat Boucher spent nine years as a trainer for girls hockey in Waterloo. She thinks the games are a great showcase for the region. (Diego Pizarro/CBC)

Boucher expressed her desire to be part of an event that highlights what Waterloo region has to offer.

<p“It's a leg up, I think, just to show that we have the facilities to support an event such as this, and we’ve got the volunteer base,” Boucher said.

While some volunteers focused on directly helping athletes, others considered how these games could benefit the larger community.

David Pulgarin volunteered with Sports Tourism Canada during men’s hockey events by collecting surveys for an economic impact study.

The surveys asked visitors about their experiences in Waterloo region-including how long they were staying and what they were spending money on while visiting.

David Pulgarin was collecting surveys on behalf of Sports Tourism Canada to better understand how visitors felt about their experience in Waterloo region. (Diego Pizarro/CBC)

“It allows us to give them a value that they’re bringing here to Waterloo,” Pulgarin said.

Pulgarin noted that events like the Ontario Summer Games not only promote Waterloo region but also nearby communities hosting competitions.</P

“The more events we bring here , I think it’s great , ” he said. “It’s great to get more people over there , see the nice towns we have over there too.”WATCH | Meet The Volunteers Behind The Ontario Summer Games :

Meet The Volunteers Behind The Ontario Summer GamesMore Than 1 , 000 Volunteers Help Make The Ontario Summer Games Possible As Thousands Of Young Athletes Compete Across Waterloo Region This Weekend. CBC K – W ‘s Diego Pizarro Spoke With Volunteers Supporting Women’s And Men’s Hockey And About Some Of The Work Required To Keep The Games Running Smoothly.

Source link