Volunteers for next year’s World Masters Games today pledged to provide professional services to global athletes visiting for the Games, during an event in Taipei City Hall to certify and brief volunteers.
About 200 volunteers participated in the pledge, and were invited on stage to hold an inflatable globe and state their commitment to “fulfill their purpose and work together to make the Games.”
The World Masters Games, a multi-sport event held every four years for people aged 35 and older for most events, are to be held in Taipei and New Taipei City in May.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Government
Volunteers are to receive special training at the volunteer service center to help them welcome 30,000 athletes, visitors and spectators from around the world, the organizers said.
Volunteer registration began in February and were recruited from six county and city-level community organizations, university faculty and students, as well as individual applicants, said Lin Jer-hung (林哲宏), executive committee chairperson of the Games organizing committee.
As of Wednesday last week, the team had recruited 8,533 volunteers, about 85 percent of its 10,000-volunteer target, he said, adding that 30 percent of volunteers are aged over 65 and the oldest is 88 years old.
In a video of the ceremony, one volunteer, a student surnamed Tsai (蔡) from Taipei, said they wished to use their foreign-language skills to help athletes, while a husband and wife from New Taipei City, also surnamed Tsai (蔡), said they hope to share the beauty of their hometown with international visitors.
Next year’s Games are to be the 10th edition since they began in Toronto, Canada in 1985, with Taipei to be the first Asian city to host, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said.
The Games are to be hosted in 69 sporting venues across Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Yilan County and Hsinchu City, with a key feature of the games to be their integration into local tourism, she said.
Volunteers are to play a crucial role by guiding athletes, assisting with registration, answering questions and providing translation services, she added.
Many of the venues are located in New Taipei City’s beautiful scenic areas, such as Tamsui (淡水), Linkou (林口), Jinshan (金山) and Fulong (福隆), with the opening ceremony to be hosted in New Taipei City’s Yingge District (鶯歌) at the newly unveiled New Taipei City Art Museum, opening in April, New Taipei City Deputy Secretary-General Kung Ya-wen (龔雅雯) said.
Not only registered volunteers, but all city residents can become goodwill ambassadors, allowing competitors and their entourages to experience and enjoy Taiwan, while the Games would show the greater Taipei area to the world and further foreign diplomacy, she added.
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