Volunteers for the Belgrade 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships were put through their paces last month during the first of a series of workshops held at the Faculty of Organisational Sciences in the Serbian capital.
The main goal of the workshop was to introduce volunteers to their assigned sectors, the general organisation of the event as well as the culture of volunteering and proper conduct. In total, more than 450 volunteers are required to assist with operations across 12 sectors during the championships which take place inside the Kombank Arena between 3-5 March.
Volunteers were also introduced to the European Athletics Green Inspiration Initiative which actively promotes sustainability and environmentally-friendly practices at major championships.
Reigning European indoor long jump champion and home favourite Ivana Spanovic greeted the volunteers with a video message. “I would like to thank everyone for deciding to be a part of the European Indoor Championships. I know that we are both training hard for this event. Have fun, enjoy and I am sure that together we will make this Championships memorable. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I can’t wait to meet you all in March next year!” she said.
The first group of volunteers - around 300 of them - passed the first step of the training. They will now have to pass tests specific to their sectors as well as a competition test ahead of the championships. There will also be a special set of training for international volunteers from abroad and for those who live outside of Belgrade.
Besides volunteers from Serbia, around 50 volunteers from 13 other countries - Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Türkiye, Netherlands, Belgium, Armenia and Georgia - will join the organisation.