Technical volunteers

During Euro-2012 UEFA holds talent show for the first time in its history. Nearly 230 university students got a chance to work as volunteers during the finals of the Championship in eight host cities in Poland and Ukraine. Ukrainian and Polish university students together with UEFA staff will help commentators to solve technical issues; they will also work in the sphere of TV programs and video reports production.

There were 600 interviews held with students from the host cities. In Kyiv students of Kyiv Mohyla Academy went through the selection process. UEFA engaged in volunteering young people from Kharkiv who study at National Economics University and those from Donetsk who study at Donetsk National University. In Lviv students from two universities – State University of Physical Culture and Ivan Franko National University – volunteer at the Championship.

“UEFA is very satisfied with the work of Ukrainian students. They have a very high level of professionalism and are highly motivated – this makes for great performance of their duties. It is a great experience for us,” said press officer of UEFA, who asked not to give his name.

We saw young people in a special room while being on a press-tour to NSC Olimpiisky. The room was filled with special sound equipment and its walls are decorated with a few monitors where everyone can watch a game.

“All the students that work here are commentary supporters. Our duties are to provide technical assistance for commentators who comment on games of the European Soccer Championship. We configure and check equipment, for example, we control sound level. We also solve technical issues if they happen,” told The Day Serhii MYKHAILYK, alumnus of Kyiv Mohyla Academy. We asked young man about his impressions from the work. “It is fantastic!” exclaimed Serhii. “It is an incredible experience hard to describe. For most people who work here it is the first time to ever deal with such equipment. For example, by profession I am a lawyer, and such kind of work for me is like a complete reset for my mind. The main thing here is not to be able to work professionally with the sound but to be willing to learn and work.”

Olha DATSIUK another volunteer at the Championship also has positive impressions. She studied to be a journalist and is now viewing her duties as “experience with live broadcasts” because in the future she plans to work on television. “Of course, it is a great communication experience,” added the girl. “There are many foreigners here and we can speak with them not only about work but, for example, also about cultural differences. Recently we tried to find out whether Ukrainian girls are really so beautiful or is it only a polite gesture from the foreigners. It turned out that it is really the truth due to the fact that Ukrainian women do not try to hide their femininity.”

By the way in the end of Euro-2012 UEFA will select two most talented students who will get an invitation for one-week internship to UEFA headquarters in Switzerland, where they will meet with experts working in the area of their specialization.

“What do you think about working with Ukrainian students?” was our question to Brian MALHOLLAND, manager of the commentary control room who is directly supervising young Ukrainians. He replied jokingly: “They are terrible! No, they are really fantastic! They have a high level of knowledge, work with great enthusiasm, and learn new things very quick. Even I’ve learned something from them!”