There’s more than 2,800 athletes staying in more than 270 classrooms in Prince George during the BC Summer Games this summer and they’re all sleeping on foamies about an inch-and-a-half thick.
“It’s true,” Kap Manhas, an assistant superintendent at SD57 and Games accommodations director, laughed. ”I’ve seen them and it’s true. It’s funny, they’re pretty thin and there’s always little rascals that try to get two foamies to sleep on – I would probably try that, too, but I’d be the one to get caught.”
There’s a limited amount of foamies so there’s one for everybody and athletes are required to bring their own sleeping bags and pillows.
Athletes will be in 11 elementary schools and all the secondary schools in Prince George from July 21 to 24.
With that many kids in the schools at night there’s a callout to the community for help.
“We are desperate for volunteers in what we call our ‘dorm management' portfolio and what we’re talking about is on the school sites we need adults there to make sure the kids are OK,” Manhas said. “We need upwards of 350 volunteers and we need them to offer support and any kind of time commitment people can provide is welcome.”
Volunteering for dorm management is divided into a 24-hour day, so four six-hour shifts and adults can do as many or as few as they wish, Manhas added.
“It’s about just being in the building, welcoming and greeting athletes, directing people to their classrooms and other areas of the school,” he said.
In each classroom there will be coaches and even parents of athletes who will be responsible for the children’s behaviour, Manhas said.
“So it’s important to note that our volunteers aren’t responsible for the kids," he added. "Coaches and other adults will be responsible for their teams, we just need adults to hang out with the kids in the building if they need something. We just want people to volunteer and we will work around their schedule.”
There will be lots of after-competition activities for the athletes so there won’t be much downtime taking place at the schools and if there is it will be low key so volunteers will be supervising children reading, playing board games, cards or watching movies before they head off to sleep in the teams’ designated classroom, Manhas added.
“Comfort is important – we don’t want the kids to be anxious about where they’re sleeping and that’s one thing about schools – just by nature schools are welcoming and familiar to kids,” Manhas said. “So hopefully athletes will come and just feel comfortable in familiar surroundings. They will be with their team and there will be some social activities they can do in their downtime that will keep them engaged.”
Volunteers play an important role in making that happen.
“For the four days the athletes are here we want to serve the kids, we want to make sure they have a great time in our community and that’s where our volunteers are critical,” Manhas said. “We just need people to be present and come hang out with the athletes for a while.”
To volunteer click through to accommodations – dorm management at BC Summer Games volunteer registration.
