Speedskating Championships Present Volunteer Opportunities

Along with the United States Olympic Education Center's successful bid to host the U.S. Short Track Speedskating Championships comes a rare opportunity for the campus and community to get involved in a high-profile event that is held just once every four years. The trials are scheduled Dec. 12-16 and will determine the field of American skaters who will represent their country at the 2006 Winter Games.

“If any organizations or faculty want us to speak to a group about getting involved and volunteering, we’d be happy to do that,” said Jeff Kleinschmidt (USOEC). “In fact, we almost make it a challenge to any group to figure out how to get involved. We're open to any ideas they might have."

Kleinschmidt says individuals who would like to volunteer can contact the USOEC at ext. 2888. The NMU and Marquette communities have previous experience in this arena. A World Cup speedskating event held at the Berry Events Center in October 2003 engaged many campus and community volunteers.

The NMU chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) used the competition as a hands-on learning tool.

"PRSSA planned the entertainment to fill the lulls in the competition; came up with ideas such as the flags on 3rd Street and the skates on Washington; promoted the event on campus through posters, t-shirts and meetings; and served as chaperones, ushers and escorts," said Wally Neibauer (CAPS). "We had somewhere around 50 students involved, including PR students who weren't members of the organization."

Kleinschmidt cited some other examples from the World Cup event that might be repeated for the U.S. Championships: the Black Student Union filled plastic jugs with corn kernels so they could be distributed to fans and used as noisemakers; the NMU Contractor's Club at the Jacobetti Center made the wooden skate cutouts that were painted and hung on downtown light posts; and Cat Pack made banners for display in the Berry Events Center.