Downtown Guelph will be transformed into a sports village this summer with the arrival of the Guelph Games and organizers are looking for hundreds of volunteers to help make it happen.
“It is actually bigger than just a tournament for athletes, “ said Guelph Games CEO Helen Stoumbos. “It’s a big festival and we are shutting down Carden Street for four days.
"We’re putting up a beach volleyball court and grandstands and permitting the entire street for adult beverages.”
They are expecting athletes from around the world including teams from San Diego, Winnipeg and Ottawa.
“It’s an international event so anyone from anywhere that wants to come is welcome,” said Stoumbos. “This is a masters, over-30-multi-sport games and I love the name. I am a Guelphite, born and raised, and I am super proud to be having an event like this in my hometown.”
Stoumbos pulled up to the La Reina restaurant earlier this week in one of two decked out Guelph Games Jeeps accompanied by Olympic gold medalist Jamie Sale. They were there to attend a launch party for the festival and to meet and greet fans and festival supporters.
Among those who attended were Guelph Games brand ambassadors John Sleeman, his son Cooper Sleeman and two-time Stanley Cup champion Craig Simpson.
Stoumbos was delighted with the turnout at the event and the overall response to the festival.
Stoumbos is a Canadian Soccer Hall of Famer and competed for Canada around the world during the 1990s at the World Student Games, the FIFA World Cup and the CONCACAF Women’s Championships to name just a few. She retired from competing in 2000 but went on to coach as well as host and produce sports broadcasts for Sportsnet, CBC Sports and GoITV.
“From a venue perspective we have some of the best venues I have ever been to,” she said. “Everything is within walking distance. I don’t think there has ever been anything hosted similar to this where the venues could be all within walking distance. I was at an event in Vancouver and I had to drive an hour from soccer to beach volleyball. Here it is walking distance.”
Guelph also has a reputation for being a great town for getting volunteers and they are going to need a lot of them.
“We need anybody and everybody that wants to come and be a part of such an incredible event,” said Stombous. “We’ll need volunteers here downtown. We’ll need volunteers at the university. We’ll need volunteers for registration. We’ll need volunteers to oversee some of the activation so we need about 400 volunteers. We are throwing it out there to get as many people involved as possible. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The festival runs from Thursday June 25 to Sunday June 28
To learn more about the Guelph Games visit: https://www.theguelphgames.com/ or to volunteer call 1 844 TGGAMES (244-2637) or email [email protected]
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