Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-08-22 17:46:28

(BEIJING, August 21)– Most of them are not journalists by profession, but their work is helps press cover the Beijing Olympics as they post flash quotes from athletes on an online database.

They are volunteers enrolled by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) to offer their services for the Olympic News Service (ONS) program. The ONS team for the Beijing Olympics consists of 900 people, of which half are not from China. The reason: language skills.

Through the internal website INFO2008, the team releases instant information to help all accredited media put together timely reports. The INFO content is comprehensive. The volunteers gather responses about athlete’s immediate feelings: about their gold wins, their thoughts on how a subpar performance lead to defeat, and their opinions about the tough competition at the Olympic Games.

The volunteers abide by a set of rules. They have extensive access in the print media areas of the mixed zone, but must yield to TV reporters at the Beijing Olympic Broadcasting (BOB) broadcast area.

A group of 17 foreign journalism students, including 15 from Britain and two from Italy, is volunteering at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. They are headed by manager Yin Pumin and four professionals from outside of China: career editor Cassidy Adam, senior specialist Hickson Wayne and professional journalists Mcgrath Olivia Gomes Miguel.

From July 27 to August 8, the official kick-off of the Beijing Games, experts held an intensive training course for ONS quote-collecting volunteers. Cassidy Adam and his colleagues roll played athletes, coaches, and other media personnel, while the trainees conducted mock interviews and produced and registered news into the INFO system step by step. This training enabled students to get a better grasp of the system itself. It also gave them an opportunity to improve their writing and reporting skills.

Since the Games began, the Shunyi Park has proved to be an important Olympic venue. A total of thirty-two gold medals in were awarded at the park in events like Rowing, Canoe/Kayak Slalom , Flat Water, Swimming, and Marathon events, leaving volunteers reporting on these events with little free time.

In most cases, athletes are quite helpful about answering questions. They know that the ONS program serves the accredited media, said Italian Nicoletta Debendeictis.

Updated: 2008-08-18 21:35:31

(BEIJING, August 18) — International Rowing Federation (FISA) president Denis Oswald presented gifts on Monday to volunteers working at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. He then inscribed praises for the volunteers and accepted an English language set of “Smile Bracelets” from them.

The text of the inscription is as follows: “The organization of an Olympic regatta requires a lot of efforts where the volunteers contribute a lot. Without them the regatta could not be successful. In Shunyi the volunteers were just fantastic. Thank you.”

After the ceremony, Mr. Oswald presented a medal commending excellent volunteer services to Zhou Xuan, an outstanding representative of the Shunyi volunteers, who collectively, won high honors from the International Rowing Federation for their selfless, first-rate services.

Updated: 2008-08-22 04:30:11

Jingjing the panda does a Kung Fu move.

(BREIJING, August 21) — They jump and jiggle around Olympic venues in their bright overstuffed cartoon-like outfits, bringing smiles and laughter to Olympic audiences.

They are Fuwa, the mascots of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and there are five of them, one for each of the five Olympic rings: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, Nini. Strung together their Chinese names spell out “Beijing welcomes you,” or in Chinese, “Beijing huanying ni.” They are caricatures of things China and things Olympic: a lotus fish, a giant panda, an Olympic torch, a Tibetan antelope, and a swallow that flies high above Beijing skies on the kites of children.

They might look cute and huggable, but being an Olympic Fuwa is no easy task. The Fuwa at the Table Tennis venue play ping pong to the amusement of spectators before and after matches, and their skills are required to be on par with professionals. There was a competitive selection process, and the lucky few who have been chosen, have been practicing for months.

A group of five sophomore and freshmen Wushu martial arts students from the Beijing Sports University have volunteered their time and expertise as Fuwa at the Olympic Wushu venue. Although they have been competing since they were little, these students have found something especially challenging about performing quick moves in sweaty hot costumes, while trying to make out the bulky shape of their opponents through two tiny holes not-so-conveniently placed at the top of their costumes. But these tireless volunteers come back day after day, to new crowds and more applause.

Yingying does a somersault midair, just like her other Tibetan antelope friends.

As the Chinese saying goes, “One minute on stage, ten years hard practice behind the scene.” The men and women behind the Olympic Fuwa have done just that, and they deserve our applause, or at the very least, our smiles.

Updated: 2008-08-18 15:00:29

Role models and Olympic volunteers pose for a group photo in the Olympic Green. (Photo credit: Jiang Hongjing/Xinhua)

On August 17, ten of Beijing’s role models and 103 international volunteers for the Beijing Olympic Games met for a visit to the Olympic Green.

Role model Sun Maofang (C) poses for a photo in front of the Bird’s Nest. (Photo credit: Jiang Hongjing/Xinhua)
Beijing’s role models and Olympic volunteers visit the Olympic Green. (Photo credit: Jiang Hongjing/Xinhua)

Updated: 2008-08-17 16:02:13

Liu Jian, BOCOG Volunteer Department director (Photo credit: Fan Fan)

(BEIJING, August 16) — Participants of the week-long Olympic dream tour activity met Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC honorary president, for a heart-to-heart talk on Sunday morning.

Juan Antonio Samaranch poses for a photo with Olympic dream tour campers. (Photo credit: Fan Fan)

Upon seeing Mr. Samaranch, the excited young campers put forward one question after another concerning the Olympic Games. Of the 130 camp members, 73 are representatives from Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, areas that were worst hit in the May 12 earthquake. Their questions were about the Olympic spirit and the spirit of Chinese rescue efforts in earthquake relief.

Mr. Samaranch made a point of praising the contributions made by all Olympic volunteers.

Without their efforts, the Olympic Games would not have been such a success. We are grateful for them. We show our respect for them, he said.

Mr. Samaranch encouraged the young campers to look forward to bright futures. The earthquake and following relief efforts have showed the world that China is a great country and her people are a great people, he said.

The Olympic dream tour activity lasts from August 12 to 18. The young campers will be invited to participate in a series of activities with “Olympic dream, harmonious China” as the theme.

Updated: 2008-08-13 15:29:01

(BEIJING, August 13)– The city volunteers of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games were busy handing out Green Olympics-themed publicity manuals to visitors at Wangfujing on Wednesday.

The publicity manuals integrate many traditional Chinese cultural elements, such as the art of Chinese paper-cutting, elegant blue and white porcelain patterns, and lovely cartoon images of giant pandas. Olympic venue and stadium maps are also included in the manuals.

The manual is designed not only to promote Chinese culture, but also to call for foreign visitors to act as “Green Olympics volunteers.”

In the manual, China’s pandas call for everyone to become more environmentally conscious. The pamphlet encourages readers to take public transportation more, replace towels less frequently in hotels, take shorter showers, tighten water taps, use less disposable tableware, make use of environmentally-friendly shopping bags, turn off unused lights and electrical appliances and keep room temperatures above 26 degrees Celsius, among other green hints.

Foreign visitors appear to like the manuals, some even snatching them up to save as souvenirs.

The publicity manuals, available in Chinese, English and French, were published by the United Nations Office for Project Services.

Updated: 2008-08-12 23:54:54

12

Volunteers distribute score reports at the Main Press Center (MPC) in Beijing. (Photo credit: Li Zihuan/Xinhua)

(Beijing, August 12) — The MPC and all Olympic competition venues have their own volunteer score report distribution teams. These volunteer teams are responsible for handling all scheduling information and scores that have been relayed in by international reporters located at the competition venues. The work completed by the volunteers requires a high level of professionalism, close attention to detail and patience.

Sorting through files (Photo credit: Li Zihuan/Xinhua)

Everyday, more than 500 different types of schedule and score reports must be processed and photocopied. The volunteers handle a total of some 40,000 photocopies per day. Volunteers spend their days in front of printers, photocopy machines and endless pieces of paper. Although they are unable to watch the competitions, volunteers are the first to know the outcomes of each event. As they work together to provide logistical support for the thousands of international reporters that have come to the Games, the volunteers’ sense of team spirit is tangible.

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