Well, I made it to Winnipeg. It was a wonderful 2 hour fight from Kelowna. I thought that I would let you know what a day in the life of a Canada Games volunteer looks like.
Yesterday, Sunday July 30th, was my first day, on the job. It was a long day, I left the hotel at 10 am and I did not get back until 930 pm. My shift started at 11 am out at John Blumberg Softball Field. It is a very nice facility. There was a medical tent, among all the other upgrades for the Games. I met Val, she is the medical lead for softball for week 1, then Andrew is for week 2. Week 1 is Men’s Softball or Fastball. Week 2 is Women’s Softball/ Fastball. Val gave me a tour and showed me around the outdoor stadium. I asked lots of questions and she answered them. She was very knowledgeable about softball, sounds like she plays and umps. She is the manager/coach of the Manitoba Women’s Fastball team for week 2.
The medical tent is set up between the two ball diamonds. Then off to the back, there are two practice diamonds. How the procedure works is like this. The two teams have the practice diamonds an hour before their scheduled game time. They practice and there is a physiotherapist present in case someone gets injured. The teams move to the ball diamond about 15-20 minutes before their scheduled game to practice on the field. the physiotherapist moves with the teams from the practice diamond to the playing field.
I like to go around and meet the coaches and managers, as well as the umpires, because if something happens, they know who they are looking for.
I got to watch 3 games yesterday, the first game was over quick, a blowout of Ontario over New Brunswick. Then I saw Nova Scotia beat Alberta. The final game of the day was a nail biter, Nova Scotia vs. Newfoundland. Newfoundland tied it up in the bottom of the 7th inning, they only play seven innings. So we went to extra innings and in the 8th Nova Scotia won it but Newfoundland played really hard right to the end. Nova Scotia scored a couple of runs in the top of the 8th and when Newfoundland scored their first in the bottom of the 8th, I actually thought they were going to win. It was a great game to watch!
The other volunteers have been great. the drivers that pick me up from the hotel and take me out the ball park have been amazing. The driver last night, Andy, let me stop at Sergeant Sundae in Winnipeg. I had never heard about it but it was lined up outside the door at 930 pm on a Sunday night, so I figured it must be good… and it was.
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