The World Senior Karate Championships will take place in 43 days in Bremen, Germany, and the organising committee is working hard to deliver a perfectly organised event. Among all missions, volunteers recruitment may be one of the most important, as volunteers often are the key to make a roaring success of an event. The recruitment was launched one year ago, and the first application came from Bavaria, about 800 km. away from Bremen. This first one has been followed by a lot of volunteers that were happy to join the team.

The World Senior Karate Championships will take place in 43 days in Bremen, Germany, and the organising committee is working hard to deliver a perfectly organised event. Among all missions, volunteers recruitment may be one of the most important, as volunteers often are the key to make a roaring success of an event. The recruitment was launched one year ago, and the first application came from Bavaria, about 800 km. away from Bremen. This first one has been followed by a lot of volunteers that were happy to join the team.

About 600 volunteers and helpers will then support the karate World Championships in Bremen. From all over Germany, but also from abroad they have stepped forward to support the largest event in the history of German Karate Federation. If being a karateka is not required, most of them are. A lot are “back again”, and have been part of the organising team of the European Championships 2003 in Bremen as well.

Volunteers are at the heart of the Championships. They give generously their time, their skills and their energy. For an event of this dimension, missions are wide and each of them will make its contribution to the project by joining one of the many teams: management, logistics, tournament organisation, security, media / communication, catering, medical treatment, referee course or tourist information...
Being a volunteer in such an international event is a personal investment and hard work, but this does not dampen their enthusiasm. They want to be part of it for different reasons.

With no surprise, when asked why they joined the volunteering programme, volunteers all express the incredible opportunity that such an event represents. It is the most important competition in karate and as Martina (security) explains “No matter whether you are a traditionalist, a competitor or a recreational athlete, such an event fascinates and inspires”. For Michael “To contribute to the tournament fills me with pride. It is also a way to interact with your peers from around the world and establishing contacts”.
   
Moreover, they express their feeling and involvement in karate. For Anna (logistics) “This is everything! Being in the middle of the World Championships, and support a sport that has changed my life for the better”. They want to give something back, having benefited from it when they were competitors “Taking part myself in competitions and regularly comes in the enjoyment of a volunteer, you should return even something on occasion” explains Tine.

They are waiting impatiently for the start of the competition, and their enthusiasm promises an incredible championships.

Application is still possible, so if you want to join the team, please visit the dedicated website: www.karate2014.de or the WKF website: www.wkf.net