KAMLOOPS — The Tournament Capital is preparing to host the Special Olympics B.C. Summer Games this July, and it’s going to require a lot of help from a lot of people.
The Kamloops Sports Council is hoping to sign up 1,000 volunteers for the games, which run from July 6-8.
With around 200 volunteers signed up so far, it seems like a lofty goal. However, Sport and Games coordinator Duncan Olthuis says a similar number of volunteers was required for the 2015 Winter Games in Kamloops.
“We were around the 900 mark and we got there just at the last minute, but we did get there,” Olthuis said. “We know Kamloops is always coming out with volunteers for all the events that we’ve had here so we’re pretty confident that we’ll get around that mark.”
With 11 sports, and approximately 1,600 athletes and coaches coming to Kamloops for the games, the event requires a variety of volunteer positions to be filled.
The positions of most importance currently include food prep, and general or trained volunteers for sporting events.
“It’s great fun to kind of watch these kids come out and give it their best,” Olthuis said. “It’s really rewarding for these volunteers every time. After the games, the 2015 games, everybody came back, all the volunteers were like, ‘this was such a rewarding thing to do, to volunteer for these games.’”
Anyone wishing to get involved can contact the Sports Council office at 250-828-3822, or sign up on the Special Olympics website.
