They may not be the main actors of the European Olympic Festival, but the EYOF would simply be impossible to organise without them. We are talking about volunteers who visited Urpín from almost all over Slovakia. Their volunteer activity is an integral part of all major sports events.
Registration of EYOF 2022 volunteers started already in March of this year. Finally, over a thousand volunteers came to the European Youth Olympic Festival. After completing various trainings, during this week they are fully supporting the largest multi-sport event in Slovakia.
Each applicant had a choice of 16 areas in which they are currently helpful, from welcoming guests to catering, assistance directly at the sports grounds, assistance to Olympic delegations, security, transfer, accommodation, participation in ceremonies to administrative and media activities.
The head of each volunteer area is the so-called a supervisor who is in charge of the operation and functionality of his entire group. One of the supervisors is Peter Bendik, who is in charge of media and PR communication. "I applied to EYOF first as a volunteer, I wanted to help during this big event. I received an offer for the position of supervisor from the volunteers´ department. I personally was in Banská Bystrica already a week before the start of the festival, but some colleagues have been here even longer. All things should definitely be concluded in mid-August,“ Bendik explained his personal involvement in the preparations for the EYOF 2022 festival.
As part of volunteering, there are various areas at EYOF in which volunteers are helpful, be it the athletes themselves, the media, members of the expeditions or even the fans. Volunteer Viktória came to EYOF from Ružomberok. She helps with accommodation and was in Banská Bystrica already a week before the start of the event. „I came to Banská Bystrica as a volunteer in the field of accommodation on the Monday before the start of the festival. I helped prepare beds and rooms for athletes. During the competition week, my main task is working at the information desk in accommodation facilities. Most often, we help athletes with orientation, either in the building or as part of transport to sports grounds. We also take care of replenishing hygiene needs and solve problems that arise in the rooms,“ the native of Liptov described the content of her volunteer activities.
Another important part is the infrastructure of sports grounds. Volunteer Zdenka helps in this area, for whom EYOF is her first similar experience. „I came to this event mainly because I like sports very much. Furthermore, I also want to establish new friendships here, to meet new people. This event is also great fun and volunteers can have many experiences from it,“ revealed volunteer Zdenka, whose main task is to check advertising panels, posters and
other visual errors on sports grounds.
„Volunteers are an integral part of any sporting event and EYOF 2022 is no exception. They are always at hand and willing to help in situations when athletes, coaches or fans are at a loss. They are very necessary and important in every place and in every area. And last but not least, they give events positive energy and bond the entire team
together,“ Peter Bendik, supervisor of the media and PR communication department, added to the volunteer activity.
More than a thousand volunteers in 16 different areas are participating in EYOF 2022. Volunteers came to Banská Bystrica from various corners of Slovakia. The age structure is also varied, we can find people here from 16 to 76 years old. In addition to Slovaks, volunteers from abroad also take part in the event. All of them together, each as one part, form a puzzle called EYOF 2022, whose partners are also DENNÍK ŠPORT and RTVS.
