The FISU World University Cheerleading Championship 2024 was held from August 2 to 4 in Split, and volunteers played a key role in its successful organization. A total of 58 volunteers, including 8 international volunteers, participated in various teams to ensure the smooth running of the competition.
Volunteer Teams
Volunteers were divided into five main teams:
- Sports Team – assisting with athlete registration, guiding teams, and taking care of the audience
- Attache Team – intermediaries between athletes and organizers
- Media Team – managing social media and capturing important competition moments
- Info Point – providing information to athletes and officials
- IT/Accreditation Team – producing accreditations and preparing welcomes for participants
Volunteers ranged in age from 11 to 52 and all gained invaluable experience and new acquaintances.
Volunteer Experience: Tina Balaž
Tina Balaž is a student of tourism and sports management whose volunteering journey began in 2023 at the EUSA Combat Championship. In her first year of studies, she played handball for her polytechnic and heard about UniSport this way:
“I started following the UniSport HR Instagram profile and saw a call for volunteers, so I signed up immediately. The EUSA Combat Championship was my first volunteer experience and it will always hold a special place in my heart because I met wonderful people with whom I still hang out today. This is the most important thing I gain from every volunteering experience – a new friendship. That volunteering experience encouraged me to apply for future events that followed. In the past two years, I have volunteered at 13 different events: three times at the Davis Cup Qualifiers, the European Championships in karate and parakarate, UniSport Finals, EUSA Rowing… Every volunteering experience has its own special story and it would really be hard to single out one event as the best because each one is unique in its own way.”
Among all these experiences was also the FISU World University Cheerleading Championship:
“Volunteering at the FISU World University Cheerleading Championship in Split as an attache was a special experience for me because it was my first time in this role. My task was to take care of the Canadian team, making sure all necessary information reached them and that feedback was also communicated back to the organizers. The volunteer and organizational teams were excellent, the atmosphere was positive, and this motivated us all to give our best every day. Through this volunteering, I had the opportunity to develop my teamwork and communication skills, and in my opinion, the most important thing I gained were new friends whom I still hang out with today.”
What do they all have in common?
“Through volunteering, I have had many different volunteer roles—from info point, accreditation, and ceremony teams to sports team, results, and attache. Through various tasks in different positions, I improved my social and organizational skills. Volunteering gave me the opportunity for personal growth; apart from helping to realize the event itself, I develop skills and knowledge that will surely help me in the future. In my opinion, the best part of volunteering is that you are part of the ‘behind the scenes’ team, which is actually the center of the whole event. Spectators watching on TV or live see, so to speak, the ‘finished product,’ while we volunteers see how much effort and work is truly required to make everything succeed, and that is a unique experience we wouldn’t get as ordinary viewers.”
All events where Tina volunteered:
EUSA Combat 2023, Davis Cup Qualifiers Varaždin, European Karate and Parakarate Championships, UniSport Finals, ESI Debrecen-Miskolc 2024, Karate1 Youth League, EUSA Rowing, Karate1 Youth League, FISU World Forum, FIBA EuroBasket Qualifiers, World Handball Championship Varaždin and Zagreb, and UniSport ViLA.
“My favorite volunteer memory is when I competed in the 2024 EUSA Rowing competition in Zagreb and also volunteered at the same time. It was truly a beautiful and special experience where volunteers cheered for me in their free time when they didn’t have responsibilities,” Tina concludes.
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