Claus Vogel says he’s a big believer in the power of sport — because he’s seen again and again what a difference it can make in the lives of the young people he’s met as an educator in Canada’s North.
The school principal from Clyde River, Nunavut, says that’s what led him to become a volunteer at the Paris Olympic Games.
“It’s the energy, the excitement, the sport,” he said. “It’s being surrounded by Canadians, their families.”
Vogel is one of about 115 people who are volunteering with Team Canada in Paris, greeting visitors to Canada Olympic House, supporting operations and, in his words, “floating around doing whatever they need of me.”
Marg McGregor, who runs the Team Canada volunteer program, says the volunteers in Paris have diverse reasons coming, from celebrating school graduations and wedding anniversaries to one woman who is marking a divorce.
Others are simply crazy about the Olympics and Canada, and “just wanting to be a part of that experience,” she said.
Vogel says it’s the Olympic celebration of sport that led him to volunteer, as he did in Vancouver 2010 and Rio in 2016. He’s also volunteered at other sporting events including Pan American Games and Arctic Games.
Vogel says one of the benefits is getting to share his experiences with his students. During Rio, he was able to use his connections to organize a virtual tour of Canada House with his school during which they got to meet a few athletes.
He says coming to the Olympics is expensive and time-consuming, but he gets a lot out of it.
“Living in the North there are so many emotional highs and lows,” he said. “To be able to come here and be surrounded by this positive energy is my recharge every four years.”
For Clive Jones, from Bowen Island B.C., Olympic volunteering is a family sport. On Monday, Jones was outside Canada House, enthusiastically welcoming each visitor who approached the doors. His wife, Kathleen, and adult daughter Mimi were volunteering inside.
Jones said he’s been to several Olympics as a spectator, and got more involved in community service after a heart attack forced him to step back from his dental practice eight years ago.
As an avid sports fan, he said his favourite part of volunteering is getting to support the athletes and their families.
“You get to see the highs, the lows and really get to support the athletes who do this all on their own – the sacrifice, the hard work,” he said. “It’s so nice to give something back to them.”
Isabelle Tremblay, from Montreal, said she got “goosebumps” when she watched the Canadian women’s soccer team score a comeback victory against France on Sunday. She said she’s always loved sports, whether as a participant, a mom of players, or a spectator.
“It’s the feeling it gives you when you see an athlete, a kid, someone, just touching the wall, or reaching the line, or scoring a goal,” she said.
Tremblay, who is volunteering for the first time, said a highlight so far has been seeing Canada’s bronze-medal winning 10-metres synchronized men’s diving duo of Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray join their families in celebration at Canada House. “Just to see the excitement and how happy everyone is, is just memories forever,” she said.
Jean-Philip Rousseau, from Brossard Que., said after covering several Olympics through a screen, he felt it was time to “live the real deal on location.”
The former CBC/Radio-Canada reporter is making the best of his time in Paris, where he was in the front row on Monday as Summer McIntosh won Olympic gold in the 400 individual medley.
Rousseau, now an independent journalist and content creator, said the Olympic volunteers have formed a community, despite being scattered across the city. “We talk on WhatsApp, we go see events together, we visit houses together in small groups,” he said. “You get to meet a lot of Canadians who are super happy and proud to be here.”
The Canadian volunteers pay their own way to the Olympics, including airfare, accommodation, and tickets for events they attend although Jones says they get some money for meals during shifts and Lululemon clothing. The expense and time commitment are considerable, and all the volunteers said they’re lucky to afford it. For Jones, it doesn’t stop him from recommending the experience.
“Go to an Olympic games, it’s the most fun you’ll have,” he said.
