There is something special about volunteering
Over a hundred volunteers will participate in the EUSA combat sports in Warsa. One of them will be Wiktor Makowski from Poland. He will arrive for the competition right after the FISU Summer World Games. How did his adventure with volunteering begin?
This will not be his first EUSA combat sports, as it all started in Zagreb in 2023. It was his first event organised by EUSA in which he participated as a volunteer. Thanks to that event, I learned about the European and World Academic Championships and the opportunity to participate in them as a volunteer. I liked the whole format of volunteering with EUSA so much that a year later I decided to participate again, this time in Debrecen, Hungary.
He says his experiences as a volunteer in Zagreb have been great. "I met a lot of great people, got to know Croatian culture, and practised my English. As part of my volunteering, I helped organise karate. The tasks were varied: from preparing the hall for fights, carrying flags at the opening and closing ceremonies, to the most interesting tasks, such as working with the referees to manage the scoreboard, where I had to learn the rules of the sport and the referee's signals in 5 minutes in order to score points correctly. It wasn't easy, but it was interesting, a new challenge, and a chance to practise working under pressure, recalls Wiktor.
The volunteer's responsibilities depend on the duration of the event. ‘In my case, I was there for the entire duration of the event, as well as two days before and one day after the competition. Apart from the competition itself, I helped set up signs so that no one would get lost, participated in the athletes' training sessions and cleaned up the hall the day after the competitions, he says.
According to Wiktor, the most enjoyable thing about such events is working in an international team. ‘We work together towards a common goal, we practise teamwork, we practise foreign languages, and overall there is a pleasant atmosphere. I think this is one of the most important aspects of why I keep coming back to this type of volunteering, namely the interaction with people, not only from Europe but from all over the worlds, he says.
In his opinion, it is worth spending a few days of your holiday on such an experience. ‘It may seem that volunteering during the holidays is a waste of time. After all, you can go to work and earn some extra money, but I'm going abroad to work for free at a sporting event. However, there is something special about these sports volunteering programmes that makes me come back to them with pleasure,’ he says.
Privately, Wiktor loves sports, plays football and runs. Thats why he likes the format of volunteering, where he can see how different sports disciplines work, be part of international competitions, and feel the excitement and atmosphere. He says he doesn't remember any unpleasant situations with other competitors. "Honestly, I don't remember any such situations, rather everyone respects each other and there are no problems. The competitors and other people involved in organising the events do not hinder the work of the volunteers and everything runs smoothly in a pleasant atmosphere.
The event is organized by EUSA, University Sports Association of Poland, University Sports Association of Warsaw, the Polish Taekwondo Federation, the Polish Judo Association, the Polish Kickboxing Association, and the Polish University Karate Federation.
Main Partner: The City of Warsaw.
Event Partners: The Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the Regional Government of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship, and the Służewiec Horse Racing Track. The European Universities Championships are held under the honorary patronage of the Marshal of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship and the Mayor of the City of Warsaw.
The Championships take place at facilities of OSiR Włochy, the Faculty of Management at the University of Warsaw, the ARCHE Hotels network and Arena Ursynow.
Author: RZ