The upcoming 2018 Alberta Summer Games is still in need of a few thousand volunteers for the event to run well, a planner for the event said.
The event, which brings together young athletes from around Alberta, is scheduled to run from July 19-22 in Grande Prairie.
Currently, the number of people signed on as volunteers sits at around 570. Games manager Lindsey McNeil said that figure amounts to only a quarter of the number of hands needed.
“An event like this takes approximately 2,000 volunteers to make happen,” McNeil said. “So we’re still actively recruiting and trying to get people to register earlier rather than later.”
Despite the fact the games are less than two months away, McNeil was not concerned. She said in Grande Prairie, the trend is that the volunteers will come out, albeit later over sooner. Members of the community also have a reputation for showing an interest whenever an event like the summer games goes on.
“We’ve never had a shortage of volunteers,” McNeil said.
Volunteering positions can also be filled by those living in communities outside Grande Prairie. Parents of athletes at the games are able to volunteer.
As for the positions that still need to be filled, McNeil said “the two primary ones are athlete mayor and security.”
The position of athlete mayor requires someone to chaperone the young athletes at one of a handful of schools around the city and make sure anybody who shouldn’t be there, isn’t.
The security spot is aimed at giving both the athletes and spectators a sense of safety. However, no formal security training is required.
The games will include 13 sports which will be parsed out around 13 regions across the city and the surrounding county. The Alberta Summer Games began in 1974.
This summer will mark the second time Grande Prairie has acted as a host city for the games.
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