Anyone who followed Women's soccer was here. Even if they didn't, they were still there. This was one of the biggest events we had hosted this year. This event attracted fans and media from all over the world. I was a Volunteer Manager for this event. I dealt with uniform distribution, registration, scheduling and troubleshooting throughout the games. At times I would fill in as a media host. I volunteered during non match days because I worked the games during match days at the stadium.
The event itself ran from June 6 - July 5, 2015.
The event started off with a kick off event at an Adidas store on Granville street. They showed off the volunteer uniforms and invited all volunteers to show up. It was in the middle of the day during a weekday so not many were able to get time off work to show up but some did, including me.
My uniform was the full kit and more. It came stuffed inside a small black backpack. Inside was a pair of shorts, a pair of black pants, two red shorts, an inside jacket, rain jacket and a hat to wear. We were also given a three pairs of socks and a pair of shoes. Everything was branded by Adidas.
There wasn't much going on non match days. Marketing was mainly in the building replenishing product and making sure signage was up. Volunteers working at the Fan Zone located at the corner of Beatty and West Georgia were also going in and out. Lunch was served every day and was catered by the stadium, so most people came by to eat. We played foosball and watched the matches in our lounge on TV. We had created a match bracket and the winner received a duffle bag full of soccer clothing and items. I was close. I came in second as I had chosen Canada to go through. Majority of the volunteers had lost when Australia won their match. I had chosen them to go through. In any case, it was fun.
When I worked in media, I was taken to the Westin Bayshore Hotel where my role was to sign in media and then I was asked to be a microphone runner for media questions during the session with the President of FIFA among others sitting in a panel. I wandered over to Jack Poole Plaza one day before my shift and saw the media centre that FOX had set up during the tournament. It was raining the day I went so there weren't many people around.
Game day was interesting. There were three fires reported blowing into downtown Vancouver all day. Thick smoke from Sechelt, Burnaby Mountain and Vancouver Island had also entered the building as the stadium roof was wide open that day. It was a USA final vs Japan and so we had many visitors from the States. There was a family from Florida who came for the games who looked out the windows at the stadium and felt a little uneasy not being able to see much. Science World had disappeared under the smoke. I told them not to worry cause the fire wasn't near. Apparently they don't have forest fires in Florida.
The volunteer party was held at the Electric Owl on Main Street. This was fitting as our FIFA mascot was an owl. We had lots of great food, wonderful company, raffles, photo booths and creative drinks for everyone. Two of my favs were the Voluntini and the FIFAtini.
Our volunteer gifts were just as amazing. A mini FIFA soccer ball, a silver medal, an Adidas coupon and pins. We also received a certificate for volunteering.
Overall, it was a great event and it was fun to see so many volunteers I know volunteering for FIFA. The atmosphere around the city was electric and the patriotism was fun to see. Japan fans were appreciated by stadium staff as they actually brought trash bags to clean up after themselves. In the end, the USA team won but all the women's team were appreciated by the fans.
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