The Beginning

My Olympic volunteer experience started back in early 2008 when I applied to be one of the 23,000 volunteers that were needed for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

In my life I have met and talked to people who volunteered in Montreal in 1976, in Calgary in 1988 and in Salt Lake City in 2002. They all said the same thing: it had been the experience of a lifetime. I knew that I had to find a way to volunteer for Vancouver in 2010.

As soon as the web site opened for volunteer applications, I applied. After a phone interview in the summer of 2008, I was invited to Creating Team 2010: the first training session for volunteers in the fall of 2008 in Vancouver.

This session involved a security check, an in-person interview, and a group session of training on the Olympics, customer service, and workplace safety. We learned to point to something with an up-turned open palm (no finger pointing as this is offensive to some cultures), to use international terms such as "toilet" rather than restroom, and to avoid Canadian-isms such as "Looney" for the Canadian one dollar coin. The session was very well run and we walked away with a Games Training binder and special Olympic pin just for volunteers.

In the summer of 2009 I was offered a job in the Venue Management Team. They are responsible for all activities at all the Olympic venues. I was assigned to the Venue Communications Centre at BC Place Stadium the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the nightly Victory Ceremony for Vancouver-based competitions. It should be an exciting place to work.