100-Day Countdown set to begin

BY DAN LEMOAL

With April 16 marking the 100-day countdown to the 2002 North American Indigenous Games, organizers are in the midst of drumming up volunteers to help out with the major sporting event. The Games, which are set to take place from July 25 to Aug. 4, are expected to bring 7,000 athletes to Winnipeg and a conservative estimate of 18,000 spectators from across the continent. Those numbers will in turn require a sizable volunteer force to make the Games run smoothly-organizers hope to have 4,500 volunteers for the event. As of March 26, the Games had roughly 1,700 people signed on as volunteers. But with organizers targeting April 15 as a deadline for bringing their core group of help on board, a public plea for help was issued.

According to 2002 NAIG communications officer Dene Sinclair, the public response has been overwhelming.

"It's been going really well, we're having over 300 phone calls per day," Sinclair said. "It's very, very exciting-we're just trying to pump up our human resources around here to deal with all of these phone calls. It was surprising how fast it happened, but it's been very positive." Part of the reason organizers wanted volunteers signed on before April 15 was to make room for the accreditation process, which includes filling out a registration form, a background check, placement, training and scheduling (a minimum commitment of 24 hours is required during the games for volunteers).

"We're looking out for the best interests of the young athletes, we want to ensure that they'll have the time of their lives-one way we are doing that is by ensuring their safety with our volunteers."

With the sheer numbers involved, that process will take time.

"We know we have a lot of people who want to volunteer, we just have to get the applications out to them," Sinclair said.

NAIG officials have also been impressed with the level of community support they have received. Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray issued a friendly challenge other levels of government to show their volunteer support, while Premier Gary Doer also challenged provincial staff to take part in the games.

Sinclair said that volunteer applications will still be accepted past self-imposed April 15 target date.

"There's so much work to prep volunteers before summertime that we wanted to have most of them on board before April 15," Sinclair said. "It was more of a goal we set for ourselves, but we will accept volunteers after that date."

The official volunteer uniforms are expected to be unveiled in June, once accreditation begins. Meanwhile, fundraising efforts are on target, with organizers having reached 85 per cent of their $1 million corporate sponsorship goal. With most of the major corporate sponsors already on board, organizers are focusing on "Friends of the Games" sponsorships, which cover donations of $10,000 or less.

"It's basically a way that smaller businesses and local people can get involved with the Games," Sinclair said.

Most of the venues have been chosen for the various sporting events, although there are still a few sites being negotiated.

"Some still aren't set in stone, but we definitely want to have those sites set right away," Sinclair said.

Red River College will act as the main athletes' village and the site for volunteer lunches. Information services and media will be based at the hosting Sheraton Winnipeg Hotel. Applications for volunteers are available at all Safeway outlets in Winnipeg, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk, and Steinbach.

Interested volunteers can also contact:
2002 North American Indigenous Games Offices
1760 Main St.
Winnipeg, Manitoba  R2V 1Z7
(204) 927-2002 (phone)
(204) 927-2099 (fax)
(877) 682-2002 (toll free)
e-mail: 2002naig@mb.aibn.com