The following guidelines apply to all our volunteers:
All of our volunteers are extremely important for the competition and in case you are unable to complete your shift, notify your team leader as early as possible. Finding a substitute within a team and changing shifts may be done only with the permission of the team leader.
The official communication of the event will be done by the media team. Even though as a volunteer you see and hear many things, please keep it to yourself until it is officially announced. The good spirit of the competitions can and should be hyped on social media with #helsinki2017
In case you have questions on your task, please contact your team leader or the volunteer coordinator.
The volunteers are insured during their shifts by the organization.
By adhering to these rules, we can guarantee a pleasant experience on the event and the best possible atmosphere to work in for the volunteers. Thank you for participating in creating the 2017 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.
Let's make the competitions great together!
Volunteers infodesk is open in the volunteer lounge Kontti 27.3-1.4 at 8-9, 16-17 and 20-21. Other times you can call 044-730 3518.
The competitions start on the 29th of March, but there will be a great demand for volunteers also at the setting-up stages of the event. Starting from your very first shift, you will need your personal accreditation card to be granted access to the venue. You can obtain the card at the accreditation desk at the rink by presenting a picture ID. The volunteer accreditation and clothes distribution will be arranged before the competitions at the accreditation desk located next to the main entrance to Hartwall Arena, and its opening hours are as follows:
Monday, March 20 from 3 PM to 7 PM (15–19)
Wednesday, March 22 from 3 PM to 7 PM (15–19)
Thursday, March 23 to Friday, March 24 from 5 PM to 8 PM (17–20)
Saturday, March 25 from 11 AM to 2 PM (11-14)
Sunday, March 26 from 3PM to 6 PM (15-18)
(The HSL cards will be ditributed with the clothes.) In case these times are impossible for you, please contact the coordinators (venla.worlds2017 [at] gmail.com)
Volunteers primary entrance is the entrance behind the arena on level 0, near Kontti. This applies once you have your accreditation card.
Accreditation card and what its symbols stand for:
The card has a picture, name and nationality with a coloured backgound. The background colour changes:
Explanations for the symbols:
In addition to these, the coloured background might have letters, the letters on the example card, PH and TV, are the most common ones. PH stands for photographer and TV for a company holding TV rights to the competition.
All volunteers will be given two shirts, a short-sleeved and a long-sleeved shirt, as well as a fleece jacket. The clothes distribution times are announced under the title accreditation. You will need your personal accreditation card to get your clothing.
In addition, some of the volunteer teams working at the event will use quilted jackets and special VIP-clothing. These pieces of clothing are loaned to the volunteers during the competition and they will be made available for purchase for the volunteers after the competition. We will inform everyone during the competition week of how to purchase these garments.
Dressode for your shifts:
- all volunteers dress their own dark and neat trousers (dark jeans are ok)
- shirt & fleece
- quilted jacket for those who work in the cold, you will get it from your team leader
Throughout the competition week, coffee, tee and light snacks will be served continuously at the volunteers’ own recreation room called “Kontti”. A heartier snack will be provided in the mornings and evenings for those who work long shifts. Lunch and dinner will be prepared and served daily. During lunch and dinner, no snacks will be offered. Depending on the duration of your shift, your team leader will give you a ticket that entitles you to a free meal. The ticket will entitle you to have either lunch or dinner only on that particular day, and therefore, you will not be able to use the ticket later at another time or on another day.
Make sure to keep the recreation room tidy for the benefit and pleasure of everyone!
There will not be lockers for the volunteers to store their valuables. Depending on the volunteer team you belong to and on your duties, you can keep a small pouch for your valuables with you.
The opening hours of ”Kontti” (notice that there might still be some changes to the opening hours and the mealtimes once the final event schedule has been published):
On the 23rd of March from 10 AM to 9 PM (10-21)
Between the 24th of March and the 26th of March from 8 AM to 9 PM (8-21)
Between the 27th of March and the 2nd of April from 5.30 AM to 11 PM (5.30–23)
A heartier breakfast from 7 AM to 8 AM (7–8)
Lunch from 11 AM to 1 PM (11–13)
Dinner from 5 PM to 7 PM (17–19)
A heartier evening snack from 9 PM to 10 PM (21–22)
All those who have been issued with an accreditation card for the event will also get the HSL Travel Card which will allow them to travel by bus or commuter train regionally and in Helsinki also by the Metro, tram and Suomenlinna ferry. The HSL cards will be ditributed with the clothes. The Travel Card will be valid between the 23rd of March and the 3rd of April 2017. You will find the timetables and routes of public transportation at the website of Reittiopas. (The address of Hartwall Arena is Areenankuja 1 and the address of Pirkkola Ice Rink is Plotinrinne 1.)
The accreditation card will also allow you to use the shuttle bus that runs between the official hotel, Scandic Park Helsinki, and the ice rink every 20 minutes. A limited amount of parking space has been reserved at the Hartwall Arena indoor parking garage for the organizers and volunteers. Priority in parking will be given to those who do early-morning or late-night shifts. Please contact your team leader to ask more about parking.
The accreditation card will allow you to access the ice rink also outside your working hours. Should there be seats available at the stands of the stadium, you are welcome to watch the competitions in your free time. You should, however, check the bulletin board for volunteers daily to see in which sections the free seats are located.
In case of an emergency, you should follow the instructions by the Security Manager of Hartwall Arena regarding, for example, the evacuation of the ice stadium. In case someone in the audience should get injured or sick, it is important to get help by fetching the security guard closest by and/or a paramedic to take over the situation. The same applies should any disturbance or misconduct occur at the stadium. The security guards are equipped with radiophones and they can therefore quickly call for more help. There is a separate group of medical staff that is responsible for giving first aid to spectators.
An appointed doctor will be present during all practices and competitions to primarily take care of the competitors. Should a volunteer need medical treatment, they should primarily turn to the first aid team of the Finnish Red Cross (The Finnish abbreviation SPR) for help.
To thank the volunteers for their hard work and dedication, a final party is organized on the 22nd of April. Be sure to mark this date on your calendar. We will send you an invitation to the party and ask you to RSVP closer to the date.
All volunteers will receive their Volunteer Certificate after the Championships. The certificate will be posted to your home address, so please take a couple of minutes straight away to check that we have the right address for you in the volunteer system at sport.mobilise.se.
Should you need a more detailed description of your duties, please contact the Volunteer Coordinators: venla.worlds2017 [at] gmail.com.
Other contents of the Volunteers' Handbook:
Front Page of the Volunteers’ Handbook
Schedule Competition / Practices (these links will take you to the official competition website, to return to the handbook, click on the browser’s back button)
Live the great atmosphere over again and have a look of outstanding photos of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2017. The gallery is here.
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