Volunteers integral to Sochi 2014 Paralympics

The entire group of volunteers at the Paralympic Winter Games have already benefitted from an extensive experience in best practice to support people with an impairment.

Over 8,000 volunteers have taken part in Russia’s first-ever Winter Paralympic Games, working a combined total of 80,000 shifts. The majority of the volunteers are Russian, coming from Moscow, Krasnodar and St. Petersburg. Over 400 international volunteers from over 60 countries around the world are engaged.

The Sochi 2014 team also includes a number of volunteers with an impairment. The volunteer team is young and energetic, with an average age of 25. Many of them have received dedicated training on best practice to support Paralympic athletes and have proven an important part of the Games.

The entire group of volunteers at the Paralympic Winter Games have already benefitted from an extensive experience in best practice to support people with an impairment. The volunteers underwent training in two volunteer centere at Sholokhov Moscow State University and the Russian State Social University (Moscow). They have already taken part in a whole series of dedicated events for people with an impairment, worked at Paralympic Test Events in Sochi during the 2012-2013 season and at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Before the Paralympic Winter Games, a total of 70 "My Venue" training programmes awaited the volunteers, which included added content on the specific Paralympic requirements.

The planning for the Games has created conditions to ensure the volunteers enjoy a comfortable stay in Sochi. For the first time in Paralympic history, they are provided with accommodation - three meals a day to help give them all the energy they need for the day.

In the volunteer villages in the Coastal and Mountain Clusters, tents, stages, sound, lighting and video equipment have been set up to provide entertainment for volunteers in their spare time, with performances from a cultural and entertainment programme.

The majority of the volunteers at the Paralympic Winter Games are involved in areas such as event services (1824 people), sport (800 people), NPC services (347 people), accreditation (457 people), arrivals and departures (115 people) and language services (162 people).