It’s almost the end of the school year, a time for celebration and reminiscing on the year’s achievements and memorable moments. This year was one of my highlights in terms of volunteering in that I was introduced to many amazing and unique volunteering opportunities. These are two of my favourite experiences.
1. Otafest
At Otafest I volunteered as a Sketch Drive artist; an artist who draws caricatures of customers within 10-15 minutes. At first, I was extremely nervous for my audition into the sketch drive team, however, upon meeting the coordinator, I was surprised by how lax and gregarious the Otafest team was. After the volunteer informational meeting, I found that the team wasn’t extremely formal, but still managed to be organized and inclusive of everyone. I loved being a part of the SketchDrive team and I sincerely hope I can be a part of the Ota-community next year as well.
Day 1: Have you ever gone to a volunteering event forty minutes early and still end up a minute late? Well… That was me on the first day. Although we were introduced to the building already at the volunteer information session and there were signs literally at every corner, I still managed to get lost in the University of Calgary on my first day at Ota. When I arrived (finally) we had the chance to decorate a banner and I had the pleasure of seeing all of the artists’ drawing styles and unique techniques for the first time. It was eye-opening to see so many talented artists who shared the same passion and hobbies (everyone was so amazing at art I felt like kneeling in a corner and crying because of my incompetence). Unfortunately, for my first day, I didn’t attract any customers, but I had the chance to observe the talents around me.
Day 2: SO. MANY. PEOPLE. The second day was almost exactly opposite of my first, as people crowded the stands. I served around 12 people in my shift and my hands were sore afterwards. It was a great work experience.
Day 3: The last day was freedom. Although I still had one shift, I was able to go into vendor’s hall and trade pins. I also took a bunch of photos of cosplayers and meet with friends. All in all, Otafest gave us a lot of flexibility and genuinely wished for us –as volunteers– to have the same experience as guests.
2. Canadian Open Badminton
The Yonex Canada Open was one of my biggest volunteering highlights this year as badminton is a sport that I favour among others and enjoy watching. Although I only signed up for one shift (I regret not signing up for more), my experience was fairly positive. The training and volunteering were both nerve racking as I was afraid to make any mistakes due to how this was an international competition. It turned out that I was anxious for a good reason due to how many line judges who made mistakes weren’t allowed to judge more important matches, however, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought to line judge. The chance to watch players up close was the real attraction due to how the matches were so intense. Some lionized players came as well, such as Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia, an olympic silver medallist, and Michelle Li,who was the first Canadian woman to win gold in the Commonwealth Games. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to approach players unless allowed (which was rare especially with the more decorated athletes), so I wasn’t able to obtain photos of players. One thing that startled me was the lack of aesthetics and general decoration there was at the Canadian Open. The place in which the competition was held was within a hockey rink and the only extra decoration was curtains and red carpet. Some signs were made of cardboard as well, and directions were fairly ambiguous. However, the general experience and opportunity to volunteer for the Yonex Canadian Open was amazing.