The Niagara 2022 Host Society officially launched its Games-Time Volunteer Application Portal Monday, Oct. 25, inviting residents from the Niagara region and beyond to apply for the volunteer positions required to deliver the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games scheduled from Aug. 6 to 21.

As part of its Meridian Volunteer Program, the Niagara 2022 Host Society will recruit approximately 4,500 volunteers to support and deliver all operational areas of the 2022 Canada Summer Games. These areas have been grouped into more than 150 different games-time volunteer roles in a wide variety of areas such as sport operations, food services, merchandise sales and media. More than 600 bilingual volunteers will also be recruited to participate as translators, interpreters, announcers, proofreaders and hosts.

Prospective volunteers applying through the portal will be given the opportunity to select their preferences for venue locations and their top three choices for volunteer roles. The Niagara 2022 team will attempt to provide each successful applicant with a preferred role at their preferred venue.

All volunteers will be given a uniform, specialized training and flexible scheduling for their designated role. Featuring 18 sports and two major cultural festival events (Niagara Place and the 13 For 13 Cultural Festival), the 28th edition of the Canada Games will welcome approximately 5,000 participants and thousands of visitors from each Canadian province and territory to Niagara next summer.

“With events taking place across Niagara and with a wide variety of volunteer roles available, there are opportunities for everyone to get involved,” said Doug Hamilton, Board Chair of the Niagara 2022 Host Society. “We are encouraging community members to join our Niagara 2022 volunteer team to help deliver a Canada Games that will provide a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a tremendous legacy for Niagara.”

Carol Phillips, Niagara 2022 Volunteer Services Chair, called volunteers “the lifeblood of the Canada Games.”

Without them, the country’s largest multi-sport event would not be possible,” she said. “There really is a volunteer role for everyone. The portal launch is the next exciting step in connecting individuals to a variety of phenomenal opportunities to support athletes at the highest level of national competition in Canada.”

Any community members with questions relating to either the 2022 Canada Games or its volunteer opportunities are encouraged to visit the Meridian Volunteer Centre located at the Pen Centre.

The Canada Games are primarily a volunteer-driven event. Since the first Games took place in Quebec City as part of the country’s centennial celebration in 1967, more than 100,000 people have volunteered to help support and deliver all facets of the biennial competition over the course of the Games’ more than 50-year history.