CWG volunteers programme launched

The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CGOC) on Friday launched ‘Delhi United,’ a programme aimed at recruiting 30,000 volunteers for the mega event.

Launching the logo and the website of the programme on the eve of the International Volunteers Day here, CGOC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi expressed confidence “the volunteers would contribute immensely towards ensuring that we host a great Games.”

Olympic gold medal winning shooter Abhinav Bindra shared a beautiful anecdote to underscore the importance of volunteers in the successful conduct of any Games.

“When I won the gold in Beijing (Olympics), there were two Chinese volunteers who gave me a card, all done in Hindi. I have it framed next to my gold medal,” Bindra said.

The estimated 30,000 volunteers will be sourced from the Delhi Government, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sports Authority of India, National sports federations, National Cadet Corps and the general public.

The volunteers will be provided training under five broad categories — general training, role specific, venue specific, event leadership and train the trainer programme.

In order to facilitate easy registration of the volunteers, the CGOC has launched a portal ( www.cwgdelhi2010.org/delhiunited).

Meanwhile, the Union Sports Ministry has instructed the CGOC that “India’s youth should be represented in the Delhi Commonwealth Games as volunteers.”

“Apart from students of Delhi, there should be a good representation among volunteers from youth and students from all over the country,” the Ministry has said. — Sports Reporter