PRACTICES OF OLYMPIC VOLUNTEERING DURING A PANDEMIC

Abstract

The article examines the practice of Olympic volunteering during a pandemic. Olympic volunteers are people who volunteer to prepare for and host the Olympic and Paralympic Games without receiving direct payment. Olympic volunteering refers to a type of sports volunteering at the sites of major sport events (sports mega-events). Traditionally for the organization and holding of events, including sport events, volunteers are involved, who are recognized as a significant resource for the success of events at various levels. Such events as the Olympic Games - sports mega-events have special volunteer programs that allow people to gain experience in an international organization, attend events, gain new knowledge and skills. Based on the results of an online survey of volunteers (N =250) who participated in the organization and conduct of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which were held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, channels for obtaining information about the possibility of participating in Olympic volunteering, incentives and barriers will be analysed for volunteers in the Olympic program. Special attention in the article will be paid to the peculiarities of the Olympic direction of volunteering during a pandemic. Based on the analysis of the results of the online survey of volunteers, we found that people with previous experience of volunteering often take part in the practices of Olympic volunteering. More than half of Olympic volunteers are satisfied with their participation in the Olympic Games. Also, more than half of the survey participants plan to continue to participate in volunteer activities in the future. Among the features that characterize the Olympic volunteer program in 2021, one can single out the additional responsibility of volunteers to ensure the safety of events, compliance with all necessary safety requirements, the need to acquire additional knowledge and skills, and a more attentive attitude towards each participant in the events. At the same time, it is important that modern security measures did not have a negative impact on the intentions of volunteers to continue volunteering.